Ruby Butler Ideas & Future Features

This document contains a curated collection of ideas and potential enhancements for Ruby Butler's evolution.

Central Configuration System

• Global rb.toml configuration file

  • Respect XDG Base Directory Specification on Unix systems
  • Override default settings like Ruby installation directories
  • Configure default Ruby version preferences

• Local rb.toml project files

  • Project-specific Ruby version requirements
  • Basic project information (name, version, description, author, license)
  • Custom project scripts (npm-inspired)

npm-Inspired Script System

• Custom project scripts in rb.toml
  • rb setup - Project initialization and dependency installation
  • rb lint - Code quality checks (RuboCop, etc.)
  • rb test - Test suite execution
  • rb build - Build/compile project artifacts
  • Custom user-defined scripts with project-specific meanings

TOML-Based Gemfile Alternative

• Merge Gemfile functionality into rb.toml
  • Dependencies section with version constraints
  • Development vs production dependency groups
  • Platform-specific dependencies
  • Maintain compatibility with existing Gemfile ecosystem

Enhanced Dependency Management

• Custom install/resolve implementation for extra speed
  • Faster dependency resolution algorithms
  • Parallel gem downloads and installations
  • Better conflict resolution strategies

Ruby Installation Management

• Proxy ruby installing to other tools and auto-install when missing
  • Detect and proxy to ruby-install, ruby-build, rbenv, etc.
  • Automatic Ruby version installation when missing
  • Support for multiple Ruby installation backends

Project Generator

• Simple project scaffolding
  • rb new <project> - Create new Ruby projects with templates
  • Simple gem skeleton generation (proxy to bundle gem when appropriate)
  • Custom project templates with rb.toml configuration
  • Template system for different project types (gem, app, script)