---
title: Incompatible gems
source: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/apm/agents/ruby-agent/troubleshooting/incompatible-gems
---

## Problem

You are using a Ruby gem that is incompatible with the New Relic Ruby agent.

## Solution

While New Relic strives to be compatible with all gems, there are some that will not work properly with the Ruby agent. This details incompatible gems and known workarounds.

**db-charmer**

**Problem**: The [db-charmer](http://rubygems.org/gems/db-charmer) gem has incompatibilities of how it patches Rails controllers.

**Solution**: Force New Relic to load and start before `DbCharmer.enable_controller_magic!` is called. For example, add the following to your **config/application.rb**:

````ruby
require 'newrelic_rpm'
NewRelic::Agent.manual_start
DbCharmer.enable_controller_magic!
```

````

**escape_utils**

**Problem:** The [escape_utils](https://github.com/brianmario/escape_utils) gem is incompatible with automatic instrumentation for New Relic's page load timing feature (sometimes referred to as real user monitoring or RUM). Due to the way `escape_utils` monkey-patches Rack, your whole HTML response may be escaped.

**Solution:** If you see HTML source instead of the rendered page, use either of these options:

-   Remove the `escape_utils` gem.
-   Use [manual instrumentation](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/agents/ruby-agent/features/page-load-timing-ruby#manual_instrumentation) for page load timing.

**right_http_connection**

**Problem:** If the [right_http_connection](http://rubygems.org/gems/right_http_connection) gem is loaded after `newrelic_rpm`, it patches the `Net::HTTP` class in a way that causes New Relic's Externals instrumentation to be missed.

**Solution:** Ensure that `right_http_connection` is required before `newrelic_rpm`.

**ar-octopus**

**Problem:** The [ar-octopus](https://github.com/tchandy/octopus) gem changes the way ActiveRecord's connection management works, breaking the Ruby agent's ability to gather instance information, apply vendor-specific obfuscation to queries, and capture explain plans for long-running database queries.

**Solution:** No known workaround. Either remove the `ar-octopus` gem, or continue to use it, in which case no explain plans will be captured.