Kernel#require_relative

require_relative(name) -> true or false

Returns: Boolean · Updated March 13, 2026 · Kernel Methods

loading require files modules

require_relative loads an external Ruby file using a path relative to the file containing the require_relative call, not the current working directory. This makes it ideal for loading local dependencies within a project, gem, or library. Unlike require, which searches the $LOAD_PATH, require_relative resolves the path relative to the directory of the file invoking it.

The method returns true if the file was successfully loaded for the first time, or false if it had already been loaded. This behavior mirrors require, making it easy to prevent duplicate loading of the same module.

Syntax

require_relative(name) -> true or false

The name parameter can be a string representing a file path (with or without the .rb extension). Ruby automatically appends .rb if the file is not found with the exact name given.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
name	String	The relative path to the Ruby file to load, without the .rb extension

Examples

Basic usage

require_relative "helpers"

Loading with output

# helpers.rb
module Helpers
  def self.greet(name)
    "Hello, #\{name}!"
  end
end

# main.rb
require_relative "helpers"

puts Helpers.greet("World")
# => Hello, World!

Nested directory loading

# lib/utils/math.rb
module Math
  module Operations
    def self.add(a, b)
      a + b
    end
  end
end

# main.rb
require_relative "lib/utils/math"

puts Math::Operations.add(5, 3)
# => 8

Checking if already loaded

result1 = require_relative "helpers"
puts result1
# => true

result2 = require_relative "helpers"
puts result2
# => false

Common Patterns

Loading gem-like library structures:

require_relative "my_app/version"
require_relative "my_app/config"
require_relative "my_app/core"

Using dir for more complex paths:

require_relative __dir__ + "/../config/environment"

Conditional loading:

require_relative "debugging" if ENV["DEBUG"]

Errors

LoadError - file not found:

require_relative "nonexistent_file"
# => LoadError: cannot load such file

LoadError - called from eval:

eval("require_relative helpers")
# => LoadError: cannot infer basepath

ArgumentError:

require_relative
# => ArgumentError: wrong number of arguments