Ruby

ImageKit provides comprehensive Ruby support through two packages designed for different use cases in the Ruby ecosystem:

The ImageKit Ruby SDK is a complete Ruby library for integrating ImageKit's media API. It provides:

• URL generation with transformations for images and videos
• File upload management through ImageKit's REST API
• Signed URLs for secure content delivery
• Helper methods for authentication and responsive images
• Type safety with comprehensive RBI (Sorbet) and RBS definitions

The SDK is built on Ruby's standard net/http library with connection pooling, supports Ruby 3.2.0+, and ships with complete YARD documentation.

Installation:

gem "imagekitio"

Documentation:

• API Reference (RubyDoc)
• GitHub Repository

The ImageKit Rails gem builds on top of the Ruby SDK to provide Rails-specific integrations:

• View helpers (ik_image_tag, ik_video_tag) for responsive images and videos
• Active Storage service for storing uploads in ImageKit
• Automatic responsive images with srcset generation
• Seamless integration with Rails asset pipeline and ERB templates

The Rails gem handles common Rails patterns like form uploads, model attachments, and view rendering with transformations.

Installation:

gem "imagekitio"
gem "imagekitio-rails"

Documentation:

• Rails Integration Guide
• GitHub Repository

Use the Ruby SDK for:

• Non-Rails Ruby applications (Sinatra, Hanami, etc.)
• Background job processors
• Command-line tools and scripts
• Custom integrations where you need direct API access

Example:

require 'imagekitio'

client = Imagekitio::Client.new(
  private_key: ENV['IMAGEKIT_PRIVATE_KEY']
)

# Upload a file
response = client.files.upload(
  file: Pathname('/path/to/image.jpg'),
  file_name: 'image.jpg'
)

# Generate URL with transformations
url = client.helper.build_url({
  src: '/default-image.jpg',
  url_endpoint: 'https://ik.imagekit.io/your_imagekit_id',
  transformation: [{ width: 400, height: 300, quality: 80 }]
})

Use the Rails gem for:

• Full-stack Rails applications
• Active Storage integration
• View helpers for images and videos
• Form uploads with model attachments

Example:

<%# app/views/products/show.html.erb %>
<%= ik_image_tag(@product.featured_image, 
  transformation: [{ width: 800, height: 600, crop: 'at_max' }],
  sizes: '(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 800px',
  alt: @product.name
) %>

Both packages support ImageKit's complete transformation API:

• Image resizing, cropping, and format conversion
• Quality optimization and format auto-detection
• Effects (blur, grayscale, rotation, etc.)
• Text and image overlays
• Chained transformations
• AI-powered transformations (background removal, upscaling)

Upload files to ImageKit through the Ruby SDK's file management API or through Rails Active Storage integration:

# Direct upload with Ruby SDK
client.files.upload(file: File.read('image.jpg'), file_name: 'image.jpg')

# Rails Active Storage
user.avatar.attach(params[:avatar])
# Automatically stored in ImageKit

Generate signed URLs for private content with expiration times:

# Ruby SDK
url = client.helper.build_url({
  src: '/private-image.jpg',
  signed: true,
  expires_in: 3600
})

# Rails view helper
<%= ik_image_tag('/private-image.jpg', signed: true, expires_in: 3600) %>

• ImageKit REST API Reference
• Image and video transformation
• CarrierWave Integration - For legacy Rails applications using CarrierWave