Language Ruby

Ruby

Ruby 3.x syntax

• Use pattern matching for structural dispatch on hashes, arrays, and domain data; avoid using it as a verbose if/elsif.
• Prefer endless methods only for tiny, obvious expressions. Multi-step behavior deserves a normal def.
• Hash shorthand ({name:, email:}) is clear when local names match keys; use explicit pairs when transformation happens.
• Use Ractor for isolated parallelism only when its object-sharing constraints fit better than threads or processes.

case payload
in {type: "user_created", id:, email:}
  create_user(id:, email:)
in {type: "user_deleted", id:}
  delete_user(id)
else
  raise ArgumentError, "unknown payload"
end

def active? = status == "active"

Blocks, procs, and lambdas

• Blocks are the default for one-off callbacks and iteration; yield when the method owns the flow.
• Proc is lenient about arity and return; use it for flexible callbacks only when that behavior is intentional.
• Lambdas behave like methods for arity and return locally. Prefer them for stored callable behavior.

def with_lock(lock)
  lock.acquire
  yield
ensure
  lock.release
end

normalize = ->(value) { value.to_s.strip.downcase }

Frozen string literals

• Add # frozen_string_literal: true to new files unless the project has a different convention.
• Treat strings as immutable values; use String.new, unary +, or dup when mutation is required.
• Avoid hidden mutation of arguments. Return a new string unless the method name clearly signals mutation with !.

Enumerable and Comparable

• Include Enumerable when the type can define a meaningful each.
• Include Comparable when `` has a total ordering that callers will agree with.
• Prefer map, filter, each_with_object, tally, and sum over manual accumulator loops.

class Money
  include Comparable
  attr_reader :cents

  def initialize(cents) = @cents = cents
  def (other) = cents  other.cents
end

Error handling

• Rescue the narrowest exception class you can actually handle.
• Keep begin/rescue scopes small so unrelated failures are not swallowed.
• Avoid bare rescue (no class specified); the implicit StandardError scope hides intent and can silently swallow subclasses you did not anticipate. Always name the class explicitly.
• Re-raise with context when crossing a boundary; preserve the original exception when useful.

def load_config(path)
  JSON.parse(File.read(path), symbolize_names: true)
rescue Errno::ENOENT => e
  raise ConfigMissing, "missing config at #{path}: #{e.message}"
end

Framework-neutral conventions

• Plain Ruby objects are enough for domain behavior; do not require Rails, ActiveSupport, or callbacks unless the project already uses them.
• Keep files, constants, and namespaces aligned so autoloaders and simple require calls both stay predictable.
• Use Bundler for dependency boundaries, Rake for project tasks, and gemspecs only when shipping a library.
• Rails-adjacent names like service objects, jobs, serializers, and presenters should describe ordinary Ruby objects first.

Tooling

• Format: rubocop -a (safe autocorrect; no dedicated import tool in Ruby)
• Lint: rubocop
• Test: rspec / rake test (see Testing below)

Testing

• RSpec favors expressive examples, matchers, and shared context; keep examples behavior-focused and avoid over-nesting.
• Minitest favors small stdlib tests with direct assertions; use it when simplicity and low dependency weight matter.
• Follow the repository's existing test style before introducing a second framework.

Avoid

• Monkey-patching core classes outside a tightly controlled compatibility boundary.
• Clever metaprogramming when a method, module, or explicit object would be clearer.
• Mutating arguments without a clear ! method name or documented contract.
• Broad rescue StandardError around large methods.
• Treating Rails conventions as Ruby requirements in non-Rails code.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: lugassawan
• Source: lugassawan/swe-workbench
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.