Ruby Central, a non-profit organization behind popular open-source project RubyGems, is facing allegations that it ousted its core maintainers under pressure from major sponsor Shopify. According to Joel Drapper, a developer and former Shopify employee, the organization was coerced into taking control of several flagship projects, including Bundler and Rails, after Shopify demanded full ownership in exchange for funding.
The controversy began when Shopify withdrew its $250,000 annual sponsorship commitment to Ruby Central after the organization “platformed” Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson at a conference. This left Ruby Central financially strained and dependent on Shopify’s support. In response, Shopify allegedly threatened to cut funding unless Ruby Central took control of the RubyGems GitHub organization and core gems.
The alleged takeover was carried out in just over a week, with maintainers being removed from their roles and having their GitHub accounts deactivated. Drapper claims that Ruby Central’s board voted in favor of the move despite objections from maintainers and alternative paths, such as forking, remaining viable.
Shopify’s involvement has sparked controversy within the Ruby community, with some accusing core Rails figures of positioning a new project called Spinel as a threat to RubyGems. The organization behind Spinel aims to develop an alternative tooling manager that could potentially rival Bundler and RubyGems.
The situation remains murky, with questions surrounding how each board member voted and the involvement of other major players beyond Shopify. Drapper’s allegations have raised concerns about corporate influence in the open-source community and the impact on maintainers who had long nurtured these projects.
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/25/open_source_to_closed_doors