Using the Geocoder gem to do IP Geolocation in Ruby
Geocoder is a well-maintained and popular Ruby gem available on Github. Among few other tools, it can be used to retrieve location from an IP address. Geocoder gem relies on an external API to provide the requested data. The list of supported API is available on their Github repository.
The tedious parts are obtaining a Key from your favorite API and configuring the gem, after which looking for an IP address location is very simple:
results = Geocoder.search("172.56.21.89")
results.first.coordinates
=> [30.267153, -97.7430608]
results.first.country
=> "United States"
The accuracy of the location you can obtain depends on your visitor's internet provider's infrastructure, as mentioned above, and the quality of the API you are using.
The downsides of the Geocoder gem
Geocoder does not know how to perform geolocation by itself. It is simply a proxy for using an external API.
As mentioned above, and depending on your choice's API service, it may be difficult to create a key and authorize your application. As an example, Google Cloud Console can be very confusing.
IP Geolocation in Ruby using Abstract (easier)
An even simpler alternative to Geocoder is the use of Abstract IP Geolocation API. It's a free, world-class API, extremely precise, and able to provide lots of details from an IP address, including city, region, country, GPS coordinates...
As for most API services, you will first have to create an account on the Abstract website, automatically providing you with the API key and giving you access to the documentation. Then you are already all set-up and ready to go!
At this stage, you can already test the API from your browser by opening a URL like the one below, replacing YOUR_API_KEY with the key you obtained from your account page in the Abstract website:
https://ipgeolocation.abstractapi.com/v1/?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&ip_address=92.184.105.98
As a result, you will obtain multiple details about a location associated with this IP address. You can also try it with your own public IP address.
Now let's implement this in a formal Ruby way, using the Net::HTTP Ruby standard library:
require 'net/http'
require 'net/https'
def make_abstract_request
uri = URI('https://ipgeolocation.abstractapi.com/v1/?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&ip_address=92.184.105.98')
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
http.verify_mode = OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_PEER
request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)
return response.body
rescue StandardError => error
puts "Error (#{ error.message })"
end
pp JSON.parse(make_abstract_request)
You can run this code in a ruby console. Here is the response you would get:
{
"ip_address": "92.184.105.98",
"city": "Daglan",
"city_geoname_id": 3021928,
"region": "Nouvelle-Aquitaine",
"region_iso_code": "NAQ",
"region_geoname_id": 11071620,
"postal_code": "24250",
"country": "France",
"country_code": "FR",
"country_geoname_id": 3017382,
"country_is_eu": true,
"continent": "Europe",
"continent_code": "EU",
"continent_geoname_id": 6255148,
"longitude": 1.19282,
"latitude": 44.7419,
"security": {
"is_vpn": false
},
"timezone": {
"name": "Europe/Paris",
"abbreviation": "CET",
"gmt_offset": 1,
"current_time": "11:52:28",
"is_dst": false
},
"flag": {
"emoji": "š«š·",
"unicode": "U+1F1EB U+1F1F7",
"png": "https://static.abstractapi.com/country-flags/FR_flag.png",
"svg": "https://static.abstractapi.com/country-flags/FR_flag.svg"
},
"currency": {
"currency_name": "Euros",
"currency_code": "EUR"
},
"connection": {
"autonomous_system_number": 3215,
"autonomous_system_organization": "Orange S.A.",
"connection_type": "Cellular",
"isp_name": "Orange S.A.",
"organizaton_name": "Internet OM"
}
}
Frequently Asked Questions
What is IP geolocation in Ruby?
IP geolocation in Ruby is the process of taking a visitor's IP address and querying a database or API to retrieve their physical location data, such as country, city, GPS coordinates, and timezone. You can implement this in Ruby using either the Geocoder gem or by calling an external geolocation API directly with Ruby's built-in Net::HTTP library.
How do I use the Geocoder gem to geolocate an IP address in Ruby?
Install the Geocoder gem, configure it with your chosen external API key, then call Geocoder.search("your_ip_address") to retrieve location results. The gem acts as an abstraction layer over multiple geolocation APIs, so you can swap providers without rewriting your lookup logic.
How do I call Abstract's IP Geolocation API directly from Ruby?
Use Ruby's standard Net::HTTP library to make a GET request to Abstract's IP Geolocation API endpoint, passing your API key and the target IP address as query parameters. Enable SSL on the HTTP connection to ensure the request is sent over HTTPS, then parse the JSON response to extract the location fields you need.
What is the difference between using Geocoder and calling an API directly in Ruby?
The Geocoder gem adds a convenient abstraction and supports multiple backend APIs, but it requires extra configuration and adds a dependency to your project. Calling an API like Abstract directly with Net::HTTP involves less setup and gives you full control over the request, at the cost of writing a bit more boilerplate code.
Can I use IP geolocation in a Ruby on Rails application?
Yes. Both the Geocoder gem and direct API integrations work within Rails. The Geocoder gem is especially popular in Rails apps because it integrates with ActiveRecord and can resolve the request IP directly from a controller using request.remote_ip. The same Net::HTTP approach used in plain Ruby works in Rails without modification.
How accurate is IP geolocation in Ruby, and does it work with VPNs?
IP geolocation accuracy varies depending on the provider and how ISPs allocate their address ranges: results can be off by a city or even a region. Users behind a VPN will appear to be located wherever the VPN server is, not their actual location, which is a known limitation of any IP-based geolocation approach regardless of the Ruby library or API used.
