# Ruby The **RudderStack Ruby SDK** lets you track your customer event data from your Ruby code and send it to your specified destinations via RudderStack. Check out the [**GitHub codebase**](https://github.com/rudderlabs/rudder-sdk-ruby-sync) to get a more hands-on understanding of the SDK. [![Github Badge](https://img.shields.io/gem/v/rudder_analytics_sync.svg?style=flat)](https://rubygems.org/gems/rudder_analytics_sync) ## SDK setup requirements To set up the RudderStack Ruby SDK, the following prerequisites must be met: * You will need to set up a [**RudderStack account**](https://app.rudderstack.com). * Once signed up, set up a Ruby source in the dashboard. For more information, follow [**this guide**](https://www.rudderstack.com/docs/rudderstack-cloud/sources/#adding-a-source). You should then see a **Write Key** for this source, as shown below: ![Ruby source write key](https://876606571-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Lq5Ea6fHVg3dSxMCgyQ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-01c8dc12d12825ad87cb0d5f407a543d085853eb%2Fruby-sdk-1.png?alt=media) * You will also need a data plane URL. Follow [**this section**](https://rudderstack.com/docs/rudderstack-open-source/installing-and-setting-up-rudderstack/#what-is-a-data-plane-url-where-do-i-get-it) for more information on the data plane URL and where to get it. ## Installing the Ruby SDK To install the RudderStack Ruby SDK, add this line to your application's Gem file: ```ruby gem 'rudder_analytics_sync' ``` You can also install it yourself, as shown: ```bash gem install rudder_analytics_sync ``` ## Using the SDK To use the SDK, create a client instance as shown in the following snippet: ```ruby require 'rudder_analytics_sync' Analytics = RudderAnalyticsSync::Client.new( write_key: WRITE_KEY, # required data_plane_url: DATA_PLANE_URL on_error: proc { |error_code, error_body, exception, response| # defaults to an empty proc } ) ``` You can then use this client to send event requests, as shown: ```ruby Analytics.track( user_id: user.id, event: 'Created Account' ) ``` ### Manually batching events You can manually batch events with `Analytics.batch` as shown: ```ruby Analytics.batch do |batch| batch.context = {...} # shared context for all events batch.integrations = {...} # shared integrations hash for all events batch.identify(...) batch.track(...) batch.track(...) ... end ``` ## Identify The `identify` call lets you identify a visiting user and capture any related information such as their name, email address, etc. RudderStack does not store the user state in any of the server-side SDKs. Unlike the client-side SDKs that deal with only a single user at a given time, the server-side SDKs deal with multiple users at the same time. Therefore, for any of the calls supported by the Node.js SDK, you need to specify either `userId` or `anonymousId` every time. A sample `identify` call is as shown: ```ruby Analytics.identify( user_id: '12345', traits: { email: "#{ username.email }", friends: 1 }, context: {ip: '10.81.20.10'} ) ``` The `identify` method parameters are as shown: | **Field** | **Type** | **Presence** | **Description** | | -------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `anonymousId` | String | Optional | Sets the user ID for cases where there is no unique identifier for the user. Either `userId` or `anonymousId` is required. | | `userId` | String | Optional, if `anonymousId` is already set | Unique identifier for a particular user in your database. | | `context` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of information that provides context about a message. However, it is not directly related to the API call. | | `integrations` | Object | Optional | A dictionary containing the destinations to be either enabled or disabled. | | `timestamp` | Date | Optional | The timestamp of the message's arrival. | | `traits` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of the traits associated with the user, such as `name`or `email`. | ## Track The `track` call lets you record the user actions along with their associated properties. Each user action is called an **event**. A sample `track` call is shown below: ```ruby Analytics.track( user_id: '12345', event: 'Item Sold', properties: { revenue: 9.95, shipping: 'Free' } ) ``` The `track` method parameters are as described below: | Name | Type | Presence | Description | | -------------- | ------ | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `user_id` | String | Required | The developer identification for your user | | `event` | String | Required | Name of the event being performed by the user | | `properties` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of the properties associated with a particular event. | | `context` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of information that provides context about a message. However, it is not directly related to the API call. | | `timestamp` | Date | Optional | The timestamp of the message's arrival. | | `anonymous_id` | String | Optional | Sets the user ID for cases where there is no unique identifier for the user. Either `userId` or `anonymousId` is required. | | `integrations` | Object | Optional | A dictionary containing the destinations to be either enabled or disabled. | ## Page The `page` call allows you to record the page views on your website along with the other relevant information about the viewed page. A sample `page` call is as shown: ```ruby Analytics.page( user_id: userid, category: 'Food', name: 'Pizza', properties: { url: 'https://dominos.com' } ) ``` The `page` method parameters are as described below: | **Field** | **Type** | **Presence** | **Description** | | -------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `anonymousId` | String | Optional | Sets the user ID for cases where there is no unique identifier for the user. Either `userId` or `anonymousId` is required. | | `userId` | String | Optional, if `anonymousId` is already set | Unique identifier for a particular user in your database. | | `context` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of information that provides context about a message. However, it is not directly related to the API call. | | `integrations` | Object | Optional | A dictionary containing the destinations to be either enabled or disabled. | | `name` | String | Required | Name of the page being viewed. | | `properties` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of the properties associated with the page being viewed, such as `url` and `referrer` | | `timestamp` | Date | Optional | The timestamp of the message's arrival. | ## Group The `group` call lets you associate an identified user to a group - either a company, project or a team and record any custom traits or properties associated with that group. A sample `group` call is as shown: ```ruby Analytics.group( user_id: '12345', group_id: '12', traits: { name: 'Company', description: 'Software'} ) ``` The `group` method parameters are as follows: | **Field** | **Type** | **Presence** | **Description** | | -------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `anonymousId` | String | Optional | Sets the user ID for cases where there is no unique identifier for the user. Either `userId` or `anonymousId` is required. | | `userId` | String | Optional, if `anonymousId` is already set | Unique identifier for a particular user in your database. | | `context` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of information that provides context about a message. However, it is not directly related to the API call. | | `integrations` | Object | Optional | A dictionary containing the destinations to be either enabled or disabled. | | `groupId` | String | Required | Unique identifier of the group, as present in your database. | | `traits` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of the properties or traits associated with the group, such as `email` or `name`. | | `timestamp` | Date | Optional | The timestamp of the message's arrival. | ## Alias The `alias` call lets you merge different identities of a known user. `alias` is an advanced method that lets you change the tracked user's ID explicitly. This method is useful when managing identities for some of the downstream destinations. A sample `alias` call is as shown: ```ruby Analytics.alias(previous_id: '12345', user_id: '123') ``` The `alias` method parameters are as mentioned below: | **Field** | **Type** | **Presence** | **Description** | | -------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `userId` | String | Optional, if `anonymousId` is already set | Unique identifier for a particular user in your database. | | `context` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of information that provides context about a message. However, it is not directly related to the API call. | | `integrations` | Object | Optional | A dictionary containing the destinations to be either enabled or disabled. | | `previousId` | String | Required | The previous unique identifier of the user. | | `traits` | Object | Optional | Dictionary of the properties or traits associated with the group, such as `email` or `name`. | | `timestamp` | Date | Optional | The timestamp of the message's arrival. | For a detailed explanation of the `alias` call, refer to our [RudderStack API Specification](https://rudderstack.com/docs/rudderstack-api/api-specification/rudderstack-spec/alias/) guide. ## Contact us For any queries on any of the sections covered in this guide, you can [**contact us**](mailto:%20docs@rudderstack.com), or start a conversation on our [**Slack**](https://rudderstack.com/join-rudderstack-slack-community/) channel. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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