Question 1

How to compile LESS files dynamically in a Ruby app with less.rb?

Accepted Answer

Instantiate `Less::Parser`, parse your LESS code string, and call `to_css` on the returned tree. For example, `Less::Parser.new.parse('.class { width: 1+1 }').to_css` generates CSS directly in Ruby.

Question 2

less.rb vs sass for Ruby: which is better?

Accepted Answer

less.rb is best if you're tied to LESS syntax and need Ruby integration without Node.js. For broader adoption and native Ruby support, sass with gems like sassc might be more straightforward and feature-rich.

Question 3

Does less.rb support custom import paths for LESS files?

Accepted Answer

Yes, configure it using the `:paths` option when creating a parser, as shown in the README with `Less::Parser.new(:paths => ['./lib', 'other/lib'])`, to resolve imports from specified directories.

Question 4

How to minify CSS output using less.rb?

Accepted Answer

Pass `:compress => true` to the `to_css` method, like `tree.to_css(:compress => true)`, which produces compressed CSS without extra whitespace, as demonstrated in the usage examples.

Question 5

Is less.rb compatible with Rails asset pipeline?

Accepted Answer

It can be integrated programmatically, but it's not a built-in solution. You may need custom initializers or helpers to hook it into Rails, as it doesn't provide direct Sprockets support out of the box.

Question 6

What's the performance impact of using less.rb in production?

Accepted Answer

Since it runs less.js via a Ruby-JavaScript bridge, compilation might be slower than native Ruby preprocessors, especially for large stylesheets, due to the overhead of inter-process communication.

Ruby Compiler

What is Ruby Compiler?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Found a gem we're missing?

Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions