Bundler --without Group Still Required at Runtime in CI

You excluded a Gemfile group with --without (or BUNDLE_WITHOUT) to slim the install, but code in this job still requires a gem from that group. Bundler installed everything except what the job actually needs.

What this error means

After bundle install --without development:test, a later step that needs one of those gems fails to load it. The exclusion persisted in .bundle/config, so even a subsequent plain install keeps skipping the group.

bundle install --without development test
# ... later ...
Gem::LoadError: rspec is not part of the bundle. Add it to your Gemfile.

Common causes

Excluded a group the job still needs

A test job that excluded the :test group cannot load the test gems. The exclusion was too broad for what this job does.

BUNDLE_WITHOUT persisted in .bundle/config

bundle install --without writes the exclusion into .bundle/config, so it sticks for every later bundle command - including ones you expect to install the full set.

How to fix it

Do not exclude a group this job uses

Scope the exclusion to jobs that genuinely do not need the group.

# test job: install the test group
bundle config set --local without 'development'
bundle install
bundle exec rspec

Clear a persisted exclusion

Reset the without setting if a previous step left it in .bundle/config.

bundle config unset without
# or
bundle config set --local without ''
bundle install

How to prevent it

• Exclude groups only in jobs that truly do not need them.
• Check .bundle/config for a persisted without setting in CI.
• Prefer per-job without settings over a global exclusion.

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