Using Ruby with Aptana on Windows 8

With an increasing number of awesome web development tools being built with Linux systems in mind, Windows users like myself may have to jump through a few hoops to get things working. My latest hoop was re-configuring Ruby (this time to use SASS) to work in Aptana Studio 3’s built-in terminal after a clean-swipe upgrade to Windows 8. I’d done it before, but I don’t do this nearly enough to recall every step from memory, and I had to research a bit to remember. Anyway, this is as much for myself as anyone else looking for this.

Problem: Even after installing the Ruby Installer, I’m unable to run Ruby commands in Aptana

Solution: Add the path to Ruby in the PATH Windows System Environment

1. Go to Explorer, right-click on Computer, then select Properties. (You can alternatively search for “environment” in the Start Screen, filter to Settings, and select Edit the System Environment Variables. Skip to Step 4.)
2. Click Change Settings next to the Windows “you may screw something up” shield.
3. Under the System Settings dialog box that appears, go to the Advanced tab.
4. Click Environment Variables…
5. Under System Variables, scroll down to Path and click Edit…
6. You’ll find a list of filepaths, separated by semicolons. At the end, add a semicolon as indicated, and type:

;C:\Ruby193\bin

Obviously, replace C:\Ruby193 with your Ruby directory if it differs.

That’s it! No need to restart (but you may need to restart Aptana). From there, you have full access to all your precious gems from Aptana. And for you Windows users that don’t use Aptana (Why wouldn’t you? Why are you even reading this?), you should. Terminal window right in the editor. Awesome.