DocScribe for RubyMine

DocScribe is a RubyMine plugin that auto-generates inline YARD documentation for Ruby methods using docscribe — a Ruby gem that analyzes AST and suggests YARD-compatible documentation. Compatible with docscribe >= 1.4.0 (daemon mode requires >= 1.5.1; validate-types, source routing and file-scoped update require >= 1.6.2).

Also, available for VS Code on the VS Code Marketplace.

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
  • From JetBrains Marketplace
  • From disk
• Usage
  • Actions
  • Diagnostics
  • Quick-Fix
  • Settings
• Development
• Architecture
• License

• Fast daemon mode — persistent Ruby server via Unix socket JSON-RPC, eliminating CLI startup overhead on repeated operations
• Inline diagnostics — undocumented methods highlighted in the editor on file open and save
• Quick-fix intention — lightbulb action to generate YARD documentation with one click
• RBS type inference — uses RBS signatures for accurate @param and @return types (when gem "rbs" is in your Gemfile)
• Workspace-wide check — scan all Ruby files in the project
• Flexible strategies — safe (document missing methods only) and aggressive (replace existing docs, preserve manual descriptions)
• Update types from RBS — refresh YARD docs from RBS signatures
• Invalid YARD type validation — highlights malformed YARD types like Sym bol even without RBS (toggle in settings)
• File-scoped Update Types — intention fixes current file only
• Collapsible YARD docs — fold all YARD comment blocks automatically on file open (configurable in settings)
• Configurable — hide comments by default
• .rake and Rakefile support — diagnostics and actions work on Rake files and bare Rakefiles
• Automatic backend selection — detects docscribe version on first use, chooses daemon (>= 1.5.1) or CLI fallback
• JSON output — uses docscribe --format json for reliable diagnostics parsing

• RubyMine 2026.1+ (also works in IntelliJ IDEA with Ruby plugin)
• Ruby with Bundler
• docscribe gem >= 1.4.0

The plugin automatically selects the backend based on the detected docscribe version: daemon mode for >= 1.5.1, CLI fallback for older versions. If the Ruby SDK is unavailable, it falls back to system PATH Ruby.

gem install docscribe

Or add to your Gemfile:

gem "docscribe", group: :development

For RBS type inference:

gem "rbs", group: :development

Docscribe infers @param / @return types from the Ruby AST and falls back to Object when uncertain. When RBS is enabled, signatures from sig/*.rbs (and the RBS collection, if present) override that heuristic and produce accurate types.

• Enabled via docscribe.yml: rbs.enabled: true (or false to force inference).
• Otherwise auto-detected: enabled if sig/ contains *.rbs or rbs is in Gemfile.lock / Gemfile; disabled otherwise. rbs_collection.lock.yaml automatically adds --rbs-collection.

Since v0.1.7 the plugin forwards this decision to both the daemon (cli_overrides) and the CLI fallback (--rbs).

Install directly from the IDE: Settings -> Plugins -> Marketplace -> search "DocScribe".

Or download from the JetBrains Marketplace.

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases and install via Settings -> Plugins -> ⚙ -> Install Plugin from Disk.

All actions are available in the editor right-click menu under the DocScribe group.

Open a Ruby file — undocumented methods are underlined with a warning. Hover to see what's missing. Diagnostics update automatically on file save and open.

Invalid InvalidType warnings highlight the YARD line (# @param / # @return), not the def line. Fatal errors stay red ERROR.

Click the lightbulb or press Alt+Enter on an annotated diagnostic and select "Apply docscribe fix" to auto-generate documentation for that method.

If the gem is not installed, the plugin shows a BALLOON WARNING with an Add to Gemfile button (writes gem "docscribe" to the Gemfile root) instead of a red squiggle.

Navigate to Settings -> Tools -> DocScribe:

# Build the plugin
./gradlew buildPlugin

# Run in development IDE
./gradlew runIde

# Run tests
./gradlew test

# Check formatting and static analysis
./gradlew spotlessCheck detekt

# Verify compatibility
./gradlew verifyPlugin

Output: build/distributions/docscribe-rubymine-*.zip

• docscribe-rubymine — IntelliJ Platform plugin (Kotlin)
• docscribe — Ruby gem (gem + CLI) — GitHub

The plugin runs a persistent Ruby daemon (Docscribe::Server) over a Unix domain socket using JSON-RPC 2.0 for all check/fix operations. If the daemon is unavailable, it falls back to spawning the docscribe CLI directly via GeneralCommandLine/CapturingProcessHandler. Output is parsed from the RuboCop-compatible JSON format for inline diagnostics.

MIT