---
title: factory_bot
teaser: 'factory\_girl is becoming factory\_bot.

  '
tags: news,web,rails,testing,rspec,ruby,factory_girl,factory_bot
author:
- Avielle Wolfe
- Josh Clayton
published_on: 2017-10-24
---

We're renaming factory\_girl to [factory\_bot][fb] (and factory\_girl\_rails to
[factory\_bot\_rails][fbr]). All the same functionality of factory\_girl, now
under a different name.

[fb]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_bot
[fbr]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_bot_rails

## Initial Rollout

After the rename of the gem, we rolled out version 4.8.2 of all of
factory\_girl, factory\_girl\_rails, factory\_bot, and factory\_bot\_rails on
October 20, 2017. We decided on a patch-level release because after internal
testing, the only visible outcome expected was a deprecation warning. After we
were made aware of troubles on October 21, 2017, we `gem yank`ed version 4.8.2
of both factory\_girl and factory\_girl\_rails.

We apologize for the issues this caused. The expected impact was introducing a
deprecation warning to those who were using the code, without a need to change
any constants or modify any files.

## Technical Details

As of the 4.9.0 releases of both [factory\_girl][fg49] and
[factory\_girl\_rails][fgr49], both gems will be officially deprecated. In the
4.9.0 version, while no functionality is changed, you'll receive a deprecation
warning asking you to switch to the renamed factory\_bot gem during each test
run.

[fg49]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_bot/releases/tag/v4.9.0
[fgr49]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_bot_rails/releases/tag/v4.9.0

Moving forward, all new changes will occur only on the factory\_bot and
factory\_bot\_rails gems.

## Upgrade Path

Upgrading your codebase should involve only a few steps; we've
provided a document on how to upgrade, including shell scripts, for
you to use [here].

[here]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_bot/blob/4-9-0-stable/UPGRADE_FROM_FACTORY_GIRL.md

## Why?

Throughout the years, [people have questioned] the [origins of the name]. On a
[more recent issue], though, more pressing concerns and impressions of the name
came to light. Those who were bothered by the name shared a concern that
female-gendered names (for software libraries and tools) in male-dominated
spaces can be problematic. While the original intent was not meant to focus on
gender, which [we clarified after this feedback], we knew adding the origin of
the name was a stop-gap solution. Constantly citing our original intent made
people marginally more comfortable, and we recognized that removing the source
of confusion or discomfort (the project name) might address this entirely.

[people have questioned]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_girl/issues/785
[origins of the name]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_girl/issues/849
[more recent issue]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_girl/issues/921
[we clarified after this feedback]: https://github.com/thoughtbot/factory_girl/pull/943

We held a lengthy discussion internally, and while many didn't find the name
concerning, some did, including multiple women and non-binary people within the
company and on our client teams.  We concluded that, even though not everyone
agreed, lack of concern from many shouldn't prevent the name being changed.
Being clever shouldn't be favored at the expense of others feeling
marginalized.

We like the new name, and it fits conveniently with our bot theme as well!