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Appendix

RubyGems.org API

Details on interacting with RubyGems.org over HTTP.

Most endpoints are under API v1. API v2 covers lookups scoped to one specific gem version.

NOTE: The API is a work in progress, and can use your help! RubyGems itself and the RubyGems gem use the API to push gems, add owners, and more.

API Authorization

Some API calls require an Authorization header. To create or view existing API keys, click on your username when logged in to RubyGems.org, ‘Settings’, and then ‘API Keys’. Here’s an example of using an API key:

$ curl -H 'Authorization:YOUR_API_KEY' \
  https://rubygems.org/api/v1/some_api_call.json

If you are using Multi-factor authentication, you will need to provide one-time passcode in the OTP header. Here’s an example of using your API key with a OTP:

$ curl -H 'Authorization:YOUR_API_KEY' \
       -H 'OTP:YOUR_ONE_TIME_PASSCODE' \
  https://rubygems.org/api/v1/some_api_call.json

Each key carries a set of scopes, and a call fails if the key lacks the scope it needs. Pushing a gem, for example, requires push_rubygem. See API key scopes for the full list.

Ruby Library

You can also interact with RubyGems.org using Ruby.

The gems client provides a Ruby interface to all the resources listed below. This library has full documentation that includes some basic usage examples in the README. You can install the library with the command:

gem install gems

Rate Limits

Please see RubyGems.org ratelimits

Gem Methods

GET - /api/v1/gems/[GEM NAME].(json|yaml)

Returns some basic information about the given gem. See below an example response for the gem “rails” in JSON format:

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems/rails.json

{
  "name": "rails",
  "downloads": 769153204,
  "version": "8.1.3.1",
  "version_created_at": "2026-07-29T15:02:41.060Z",
  "version_downloads": 78333,
  "platform": "ruby",
  "authors": "David Heinemeier Hansson",
  "info": "Ruby on Rails is a full-stack web framework optimized for programmer happiness and sustainable productivity.",
  "licenses": ["MIT"],
  "metadata": {
    "changelog_uri": "https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.3.1",
    "bug_tracker_uri": "https://github.com/rails/rails/issues",
    "source_code_uri": "https://github.com/rails/rails/tree/v8.1.3.1",
    "rubygems_mfa_required": "true"
  },
  "yanked": false,
  "sha": "ccd11a36bfc171bf9c66d585d14c0ece91c0c9dde840aae60c0118d6f5c9c52a",
  "spec_sha": "5b60af49df6edf722925a85d144f1118abda22485a820da2c516e97cab8347b8",
  "project_uri": "https://rubygems.org/gems/rails",
  "gem_uri": "https://rubygems.org/gems/rails-8.1.3.1.gem",
  "homepage_uri": "https://rubyonrails.org",
  "wiki_uri": null,
  "documentation_uri": "https://api.rubyonrails.org/v8.1.3.1/",
  "mailing_list_uri": "https://discuss.rubyonrails.org/c/rubyonrails-talk",
  "source_code_uri": "https://github.com/rails/rails/tree/v8.1.3.1",
  "bug_tracker_uri": "https://github.com/rails/rails/issues",
  "changelog_uri": "https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.3.1",
  "funding_uri": null,
  "dependencies": {
    "development": [],
    "runtime": [
      {
        "name": "actioncable",
        "requirements": "= 8.1.3.1"
      },
      {
        "name": "actionmailbox",
        "requirements": "= 8.1.3.1"
      },
      {
        "name": "actionmailer",
        "requirements": "= 8.1.3.1"
      },
      ...
    ]
  }
}

GET - /api/v1/search.(json|yaml)?query=[YOUR QUERY]

Submit a search to RubyGems.org for active gems, just like a search query on the site. Returns an array of the JSON or YAML representation of gems that match.

$ curl 'https://rubygems.org/api/v1/search.json?query=cucumber'

$ curl 'https://rubygems.org/api/v1/search.yaml?query=cucumber'

The results are paginated so the API call will return only the first 30 matched gems. To get subsequent results, use the page query parameter until an empty response is received.

$ curl 'https://rubygems.org/api/v1/search.json?query=cucumber&page=2'

GET - /api/v1/search/autocomplete?query=[YOUR QUERY]

Returns an array of gem names matching the query, for populating a search box.

$ curl 'https://rubygems.org/api/v1/search/autocomplete?query=nokogiri'

["nokogiri","nokogiri-diff","nokogiri-happymapper","nokogiri-styles", ...]

GET - /api/v1/gems.(json|yaml)

List all gems that you own. Returns an array of the JSON or YAML representation of gems you own.

$ curl -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
          https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems.json

POST - /api/v1/gems

Submit a gem to RubyGems.org. Must post a built RubyGem in the request body.

$ curl --data-binary @gemcutter-0.2.1.gem \
       -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems

Successfully registered gem: gemcutter (0.2.1)

DELETE - /api/v1/gems/yank

Remove a gem from RubyGems.org’s index. Platform is optional.

$ curl -X DELETE -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -d 'gem_name=bills' -d 'version=0.0.1' \
       -d 'platform=x86-darwin-10' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems/yank

Successfully deleted gem: bills (0.0.1)

GET - /api/v1/gems/[GEM NAME]/reverse_dependencies.json

List dependants of the specified gem. This is all the dependants whose latest version depend on the particular gem. Returns an array that includes names of the dependant gems.

Pass only=runtime or only=development to restrict the result to that dependency type. Both types are returned by default.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems/shoulda/reverse_dependencies.json

[
  "jeweler",
  "rubigen",
  "verhoeff",
  "vanilla",
  "soup",
  ...
]

Gem Version Methods

GET - /api/v1/versions/[GEM NAME].(json|yaml)

Returns an array of gem version details like the below:

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/versions/coulda.json

[
  {
    "authors": "Evan David Light",
    "built_at": "2011-08-08T04:00:00.000Z",
    "created_at": "2011-08-08T21:23:40.254Z",
    "description": "Behaviour Driven Development derived from Cucumber but as an internal DSL with methods for reuse",
    "downloads_count": 9676,
    "metadata": {
      "homepage_uri": "http://coulda.tiggerpalace.com"
    },
    "number": "0.7.1",
    "summary": "Test::Unit-based acceptance testing DSL",
    "platform": "ruby",
    "rubygems_version": ">= 0",
    "ruby_version": null,
    "prerelease": false,
    "licenses": null,
    "requirements": null,
    "sha": "777c3a7ed83e44198b0a624976ec99822eb6f4a44bf1513eafbc7c13997cd86c",
    "spec_sha": "57b863cff56029a0085eaf1b3416b701ed4fa75418d062358b45753e270c9ffa"
  }
]

GET - /api/v1/versions/[GEM NAME]/latest.json

Returns an object containing the latest version of particular gem.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/versions/rails/latest.json

{
  "version": "4.2.1"
}

GET - /api/v2/rubygems/[GEM NAME]/versions/[VERSION NUMBER].(json|yaml) (API v2)

Returns a dictionary with versions details for a specific gem version.

To return the version for a specific platform (e.g. “ruby”, “java”, “x86_64-linux”), use the platform query parameter.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v2/rubygems/coulda/versions/0.7.1.json

{
  "name": "coulda",
  "downloads": 101713,
  "version": "0.7.1",
  "version_created_at": "2011-08-08T21:23:40.254Z",
  "version_downloads": 9676,
  "platform": "ruby",
  "authors": "Evan David Light",
  "info": "Behaviour Driven Development derived from Cucumber but as an internal DSL with methods for reuse",
  "licenses": null,
  "metadata": {
    "homepage_uri": "http://coulda.tiggerpalace.com"
  },
  "yanked": false,
  "sha": "777c3a7ed83e44198b0a624976ec99822eb6f4a44bf1513eafbc7c13997cd86c",
  "spec_sha": "57b863cff56029a0085eaf1b3416b701ed4fa75418d062358b45753e270c9ffa",
  "project_uri": "https://rubygems.org/gems/coulda",
  "gem_uri": "https://rubygems.org/gems/coulda-0.7.1.gem",
  "homepage_uri": "http://coulda.tiggerpalace.com",
  "wiki_uri": null,
  "documentation_uri": null,
  "mailing_list_uri": null,
  "source_code_uri": null,
  "bug_tracker_uri": null,
  "changelog_uri": null,
  "funding_uri": null,
  "dependencies": {
    "development": [],
    "runtime": [
      {
        "name": "yourdsl",
        "requirements": "~> 0.7"
      }
    ]
  },
  "built_at": "2011-08-08T04:00:00.000Z",
  "created_at": "2011-08-08T21:23:40.254Z",
  "description": "Behaviour Driven Development derived from Cucumber but as an internal DSL with methods for reuse",
  "downloads_count": 9676,
  "number": "0.7.1",
  "summary": "Test::Unit-based acceptance testing DSL",
  "rubygems_version": ">= 0",
  "ruby_version": null,
  "prerelease": false,
  "requirements": null
}

GET - /api/v2/rubygems/[GEM NAME]/versions/[VERSION NUMBER]/contents.(json|yaml|sha256) (API v2)

Returns the checksum of every file packaged in a specific gem version. The platform query parameter selects a non-default platform, as above.

Only versions pushed after RubyGems.org started recording file manifests have this data. Older versions respond 404 with “Content is unavailable for this version.”

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v2/rubygems/rails/versions/8.1.3.1/contents.json

{
  "MIT-LICENSE": {
    "sha256": "717ba1949502290f8e47688ae2e323acd06c8ca47aec9f7596b15f678c1af4a2"
  },
  "README.md": {
    "sha256": "293a6407fb786e32297e2ac50f216affe95779ab182fc64ec764dece160a4f80"
  }
}

The sha256 format returns the same data as a shasum file instead:

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v2/rubygems/rails/versions/8.1.3.1/contents.sha256

717ba1949502290f8e47688ae2e323acd06c8ca47aec9f7596b15f678c1af4a2  MIT-LICENSE
293a6407fb786e32297e2ac50f216affe95779ab182fc64ec764dece160a4f80  README.md

GET - /api/v1/attestations/[GEM NAME]-[VERSION].json

Returns the sigstore attestations published with a gem version, as an array of sigstore bundles. Versions pushed without attestations return an empty array.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/attestations/rails-8.1.3.1.json

[
  {
    "mediaType": "application/vnd.dev.sigstore.bundle.v0.3+json",
    "messageSignature": { ... },
    "verificationMaterial": { ... }
  }
]

GET - /api/v1/timeframe_versions.json

Returns an array of gem versions that were created within the timeframe specified by the timestamp parameters.

An iso8601 timestamp parameter named from is required. This is the time from which you’d like to start querying. You may include an iso8601 timestamp parameter named to. If present, only the versions created within from and to will be returned. If to is not given, all versions created between from and the current time will be returned.

NOTE: The timeframe you specify with from and to cannot exceed a 7 day span.

The results are paginated so the API call will return only the first 30 versions in your timeframe. To get subsequent results, use the page query parameter until an empty response is received.

Example response:

$ curl 'https://rubygems.org/api/v1/timeframe_versions.json?from=2019-01-18T21:24:29Z&to=2019-01-18T21:24:31Z

[{
  "name": "rails",
  "downloads": 158094751,
  "version": "6.0.0.beta1",
  "version_downloads": 677,
  "platform": "ruby",
  "authors": "David Heinemeier Hansson",
  "info": "Ruby on Rails is a full-stack web framework optimized for programmer happiness and sustainable productivity. It encourages beautiful code by favoring convention over configuration.",
  "licenses": ["MIT"],
  "metadata": {},
  "sha": "f70cc2e606eafd6c3fd1d7e15f015d6a3e5626d34724ba5c0114922a8eb864b8",
  "project_uri": "http://localhost/gems/rails",
  "gem_uri": "http://localhost/gems/rails-6.0.0.beta1.gem",
  "homepage_uri": "http://rubyonrails.org",
  "wiki_uri": "",
  "documentation_uri": "http://api.rubyonrails.org",
  "mailing_list_uri": "http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk",
  "source_code_uri": "http://github.com/rails/rails",
  "bug_tracker_uri": "http://github.com/rails/rails/issues",
  "changelog_uri": null,
  "dependencies": {
    "development": [],
    "runtime": [{
      "name": "actioncable",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "actionmailbox",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "actionmailer",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "actionpack",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "actiontext",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "actionview",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "activejob",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "activemodel",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "activerecord",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "activestorage",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "activesupport",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "bundler",
      "requirements": "\u003e= 1.3.0"
    }, {
      "name": "railties",
      "requirements": "= 6.0.0.beta1"
    }, {
      "name": "sprockets-rails",
      "requirements": "\u003e= 2.0.0"
    }]
  },
  "built_at": "2019-01-18T00:00:00.000Z",
  "created_at": "2019-01-18T21:24:30.197Z",
  "description": "Ruby on Rails is a full-stack web framework optimized for programmer happiness and sustainable productivity. It encourages beautiful code by favoring convention over configuration.",
  "downloads_count": 677,
  "number": "6.0.0.beta1",
  "summary": "Full-stack web application framework.",
  "rubygems_version": "\u003e= 1.8.11",
  "ruby_version": "\u003e= 2.5.0",
  "prerelease": true,
  "requirements": []
}]

Gem Download Methods

GET - /api/v1/downloads.(json|yaml)

Returns an object containing the total number of downloads on RubyGems.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/downloads.json

{
  "total": 461672727
}

GET - /api/v1/downloads/[GEM NAME]-[GEM VERSION].(json|yaml)

Returns an object containing the total number of downloads for a particular gem as well as the total number of downloads for the specified version.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/downloads/rails_admin-0.0.0.json

{
  "version_downloads": 3142,
  "total_downloads": 3142
}

GET - /api/v1/downloads/all.(json|yaml)

Returns the 50 most downloaded gem versions, each as a pair of the version record and its download count.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/downloads/all.json

{
  "gems": [
    [{ "number": "1.6.2", "full_name": "jmespath-1.6.2", ... }, 648386198],
    ...
  ]
}

Owner Methods

GET - /api/v1/owners/[USER HANDLE|USER ID]/gems.(json|yaml)

View all gems for a user. This is all the gems a user can push to. Owner gems list can be requested with both user handle or user id.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/owners/qrush/gems.json

[
  {
    "name": "factory_bot",
...
  },
...
]

GET - /api/v1/gems/[GEM NAME]/owners.(json|yaml)

View all owners of a gem. These users can all push to this gem. role is either owner or maintainer. email appears only for users who have made their email address public.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems/gemcutter/owners.json

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "handle": "qrush",
    "email": "nick@quaran.to",
    "role": "owner"
  },
  {
    "id": 7644,
    "handle": "gemcutter",
    "role": "owner"
  }
]

POST - /api/v1/gems/[GEM NAME]/owners

Add an owner to a RubyGem you own, giving that user permission to manage it. See Owner & Maintainer Roles for more details on roles.

The new owner is added unconfirmed. Ownership access begins once they click the confirmation link mailed to them.

$ curl -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -F 'email=josh@technicalpickles.com&role=owner' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems/gemcutter/owners

techpickles was added as an unconfirmed owner. Ownership access will be enabled after the user clicks on the confirmation mail sent to their email.

DELETE - /api/v1/gems/[GEM NAME]/owners

Remove a user’s permission to manage a RubyGem you own.

$ curl -X DELETE -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
        -d "email=josh@technicalpickles.com" \
        https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems/gemcutter/owners

Owner removed successfully.

PATCH - /api/v1/gems/[GEM NAME]/owners

Update an existing owner’s role for a RubyGem you own. See Owner & Maintainer Roles for more details on roles.

$ curl -X PATCH -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
        -d "email=josh@technicalpickles.com&role=maintainer" \
        https://rubygems.org/api/v1/gems/gemcutter/owners
  
Owner updated successfully.

Profile Methods

GET - /api/v1/profiles/[USER HANDLE|USER ID].(json|yaml)

View basic user info for a user. email appears only if the user has made their email address public.

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/profiles/qrush

{
  "id": 1,
  "handle": "qrush",
  "email": "nick@quaran.to"
}

The same user can be requested by id:

$ curl https://rubygems.org/api/v1/profiles/1

GET - /api/v1/profile/me.(json|yaml)

View basic user information for your account, including Multi-factor authentication status. Requires username and password to be passed.

mfa is one of disabled, ui_only, ui_and_api or ui_and_gem_signin. A warning key is present when the account’s MFA level is below the recommended one.

$ curl -u "nick@gemcutter.org:schwwwwing" \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/profile/me

{
  "id": 1,
  "handle": "qrush",
  "email": "nick@quaran.to",
  "mfa": "ui_and_api"
}

WebHook Methods

GET - /api/v1/web_hooks.(json|yaml)

List the webhooks registered under your account.

$ curl -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/web_hooks.json

{
  "all gems": [
    {
      "url": "http://gemwhisperer.heroku.com",
      "failure_count": 1
    }
  ],
  "rails": [
    {
      "url": "http://example.com",
      "failure_count": 0
    }
  ]
}

POST - /api/v1/web_hooks

Create a webhook. Requires two parameters: gem_name and url. Specify * for the gem_name parameter to apply the hook globally to all gems.

$ curl -X POST -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -F 'gem_name=rails' -F 'url=http://example.com' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/web_hooks

Successfully created webhook for rails to http://example.com

$ curl -X POST -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -F 'gem_name=*' -F 'url=http://example.com' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/web_hooks

Successfully created webhook for all gems to http://example.com

DELETE - /api/v1/web_hooks/remove

Remove a webhook. Requires two parameters: gem_name and url. Specify * for the gem_name parameter to apply the hook globally to all gems.

$ curl -X DELETE -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -d 'gem_name=rails' -d 'url=http://example.com' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/web_hooks/remove

Successfully removed webhook for rails to http://example.com

$ curl -X DELETE -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -d 'gem_name=*' -d 'url=http://example.com' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/web_hooks/remove

Successfully removed webhook for all gems to http://example.com

POST - /api/v1/web_hooks/fire

Test fire a webhook. This can be used to test out an endpoint at any time, for example when you’re developing your application. Requires two parameters: gem_name and url. Specify * for the gem_name parameter to apply the hook globally to all gems.

An Authorization header is included with every fired webhook so you can be sure the request came from RubyGems.org. The value of the header is the SHA2-hashed concatenation of the gem name, the gem version and your API key.

$ curl -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -F 'gem_name=rails' -F 'url=http://example.com' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/web_hooks/fire

Successfully deployed webhook for rails to http://example.com

$ curl -H 'Authorization:rubygems_b9ce70c306b3a2e248679fbbbd66722d408d3c8c4f00566c' \
       -F 'gem_name=*' -F 'url=http://example.com' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/web_hooks/fire

Successfully deployed webhook for all gems to http://example.com

Activity Methods

GET - /api/v1/activity/latest

Pulls the 50 gems most recently added to RubyGems.org (for the first time). Returns an array of the JSON or YAML representation of the gems.

$ curl 'https://rubygems.org/api/v1/activity/latest.json'

GET - /api/v1/activity/just_updated

Pulls the 50 most recently updated gems. Returns an array of the JSON or YAML representation of the gem versions.

$ curl 'https://rubygems.org/api/v1/activity/just_updated.json'

Misc Methods

POST - /api/v1/api_key.(json|yaml)

Create a new API key using HTTP basic auth, and return it. Keys are stored hashed, so this response is the only chance to read the key.

Accepts name, the scopes to enable (see API key scopes), and optionally expires_at, rubygem_name to scope the key to a single gem, and mfa to require an OTP when the key is used.

$ curl -X POST -u "nick@gemcutter.org:schwwwwing" \
       -d 'name=ci-push' -d 'push_rubygem=true' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/api_key.json

{
  "rubygems_api_key": "rubygems_701243f217cdf23b1370c7b66b65ca97",
  "status": "ok"
}

PATCH - /api/v1/api_key

Update the scopes of an existing key, passed as the api_key parameter.

$ curl -X PATCH -u "nick@gemcutter.org:schwwwwing" \
       -d 'api_key=rubygems_701243f217cdf23b1370c7b66b65ca97' \
       -d 'yank_rubygem=true' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/api_key

Scopes for the API key ci-push updated

NOTE: GET /api/v1/api_key, which gem signin used to call, has been retired and now responds 410 Gone. Create keys with the request above or on the API keys page.

POST - /api/v1/oidc/trusted_publisher/exchange_token

Exchange an OIDC ID token for a RubyGems API key. This endpoint is intended to be used by the release-gem GitHub Action for trusted publishing.

The request body must be a JSON object with a single key, jwt, whose value is the ID token (as a string).

$ curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Accept: application/json" \
       -d '{"jwt": $ID_TOKEN}' \
       https://rubygems.org/api/v1/oidc/trusted_publisher/exchange_token"

{
  "rubygems_api_key": "rubygems_701243f217cdf23b1370c7b66b65ca97",
  "name": "GitHub Actions rubygems/configure-rubygems-credentials @ .github/workflows/token.yml",
  "scopes": ["push_rubygem"],
  "expires_at": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}
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