Kernel#exit

exit(status = 0) -> never returns

Returns: never returns (exits process) · Updated March 13, 2026 · Kernel Methods

process exit termination

The exit method terminates the Ruby program immediately. It raises a SystemExit exception which, by default, is not caught, causing the program to terminate.

Syntax

exit
exit(status)
exit(status: code)

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`status`	`Integer`	`0`	The exit status code returned to the operating system. A status of 0 indicates success; non-zero indicates failure.

Examples

Basic usage

puts "Starting program..."
exit
puts "This will never run"
# Output: Starting program...

Exiting with a status code

begin
  file = File.open("data.txt")
rescue Errno::ENOENT
  puts "Error: File not found"
  exit(1)  # Exit with error status
end
# If we reach here, exit with success
exit(0)

Using keyword argument

exit(status: 42)

Common Patterns

Using exit in CLI tools

require 'optparse'

options = {}
OptionParser.new do |opts|
  opts.on("-v", "--version", "Show version") do
    puts "MyApp version 1.0"
    exit(0)
  end
end.parse!

Preventing accidental exit

begin
  exit(1)
rescue SystemExit => e
  puts "Exit attempted with status: #{e.status}"
  # Handle gracefully instead of terminating
end

Errors

Calling exit raises a SystemExit exception. If this exception is not caught, the program terminates with the specified status. To prevent termination, you can rescue SystemExit:

begin
  exit(1)
rescue SystemExit
  puts "Caught exit attempt"
end
puts "Program continues"
# Output: Caught exit attempt
# Output: Program continues