How to Check Rails Version in Ruby on Rails

To check the Rails version, run rails -v or rails --version in your terminal. Alternatively, inside a Rails project, you can check the version by running Rails.version in the Rails console.

Syntax

You can check the Rails version using the command line or inside the Rails console.

• rails -v or rails --version: Shows the installed Rails version in your system.
• Rails.version: Returns the Rails version string inside the Rails console or Ruby code.

bash

rails -v
# or
rails --version

# Inside Rails console
Rails.version

Example

This example shows how to check the Rails version from the terminal and inside the Rails console.

bash

# In terminal
$ rails -v

# Output
Rails 7.0.4

# Inside Rails console
$ rails console
> Rails.version
=> "7.0.4"

Output

Rails 7.0.4
=> "7.0.4"

Common Pitfalls

Some common mistakes when checking Rails version include:

• Running ruby -v instead of rails -v, which shows Ruby version, not Rails.
• Trying to check Rails.version outside a Rails project or without loading Rails, which causes errors.
• Using gem list rails shows installed gems but not the active project version.

bash

# Wrong: Checking Ruby version instead of Rails
ruby -v

# Wrong: Using Rails.version outside Rails console
Rails.version # causes error if Rails not loaded

# Right: Use rails command or Rails console inside project
rails -v
rails console
Rails.version

Quick Reference

Summary of commands to check Rails version:

Command	Description
rails -v	Shows Rails version in terminal
rails --version	Alternative to rails -v
Rails.version	Returns Rails version inside Rails console or Ruby code

Key Takeaways

Use rails -v in terminal to quickly see your Rails version.

Inside a Rails project, run rails console then Rails.version to get the version programmatically.

Do not confuse Ruby version (ruby -v) with Rails version.

Ensure you run Rails.version inside a Rails environment to avoid errors.