RubyCritic review
Combines Reek, Flay, and Flog into configurable reports for Ruby projects.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
RubyCritic is a free, open-source Ruby gem for developers who want a combined view of code quality in Ruby projects. It analyzes source files or directories and aggregates results from Reek, Flay, and Flog, with project- and file-level summaries of detected code smells. It can be run from the command line or through Rake, making it relevant to individual developers as well as teams that include analysis in a CI workflow.
Its reporting options are a central strength: results can be emitted as HTML, JSON, console output, or lint reports, and custom report formatters are supported. A `.rubycritic.yml` file provides configuration, while CI mode and comparisons against prior revisions help teams inspect changes. RubyCritic supports Git, Mercurial, and Perforce for revision comparisons, and it also integrates with Guard and Jenkins CI. This combination suits Ruby projects that want several code-smell perspectives in a single reporting workflow, rather than a hosted dashboard or a broader static-analysis suite.
RubyCritic is self-hosted and free, with community and documentation support. Its focus is intentionally narrower than tools that cover security analysis or type checking: it reports code quality and smells, and does not document automated fixes. Teams looking for those capabilities should consider a different tool alongside or instead of RubyCritic. For Ruby developers who can run a local gem and want configurable, multi-format analysis in local or CI workflows, it is a practical fit; those needing hosted service management or broader analysis coverage should look elsewhere.
RubyCritic pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Combines Reek, Flay, and Flog analysis in one workflow
- Outputs HTML, JSON, console, and lint reports
- Supports CI mode, branch comparisons, and Rake integration
- Where it doesn't
- Focused on code quality and smells, not security analysis or type checking
- Does not document automated fixes
- Requires local installation and operation; no hosted option
RubyCritic fact sheet, pricing and score →
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