rustup vs RVM
rustup
rustup.rsRVM
rvm.ioSide by side
| Figure | rustup | RVM |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Runtime Version Managers | 8.2 (#5) | 7.4 (#20) |
| Purpose | rustup installs the Rust programming language from official release channels. | RVM is a command-line tool for installing and managing multiple Ruby environments, from interpreters to gem sets. |
| Security | rustup downloads over HTTPS but does not yet validate download signatures. | RVM says it cryptographically signs releases and the installer script, and verifies signatures during updates. |
| Support | The rustup site directs users to the Rust community for help, and the rustup book points to the GitHub issue tracker for problems. | RVM is maintained by community volunteers, with support through issue trackers and pull requests. |
Plans
In their own words
rustup
rustup installs Rust from its official release channels and manages the toolchains and supporting components developers use. It can switch among stable, beta, and nightly compilers, keep toolchains updated, and install specific versions or dated releases. For cross-compilation, add a target’s standard library with `rustup target add`; Android builds also require the Android NDK and usually a linker. rustup manages official channels, archived releases, alternate hosts, and local builds. It installs command proxies for tools including rustc, rustdoc, Cargo, rust-analyzer, Clippy, and Miri. Component availability varies by release and toolchain, especially for nightly. Installation uses a shell script on Unix and rustup-init.exe on Windows. Downloads use HTTPS, but download signatures are not yet validated. rustup is free and open source, with a free plan. Its listed supported platforms are Linux, macOS, and Windows; the installer also runs on FreeBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, and illumos.
RVM
RVM is a command-line tool for installing and managing Ruby versions and gem sets. It can create a self-contained environment for each project, with a selected Ruby version and the gems that project needs. Named gemsets organize gems across Ruby versions, and a shared cache stores one on-disk copy of each downloaded gem. RVM can run test suites, rake tasks, benchmarks, and gem commands against multiple Ruby versions at the same time, supporting consistent setups across development, CI, QA, staging, and production. Its commands cover installing, selecting, upgrading, reinstalling, uninstalling, and removing Ruby versions. Documented integrations include Bundler, Capistrano, Chef, Jenkins, Heroku, and Passenger. RVM supports most UNIX-like systems and Windows through Cygwin or Bash on Ubuntu on Windows. Basic installation needs Bash, curl, gpg2, and GNU tools; git is needed for head Ruby versions. It documents single-user, multi-user, and mixed-mode installs, and recommends single-user mode for an isolated home-directory setup. RVM is free and maintained by community volunteers.