You might want to look into using svn:externals property on vendor/plugins. It lets you connect your svn repository to external code sources, and also lets you lock to a specific version -- Rails 1.1.6, 1.2.2, or whatever. If I understand what you're trying to do correctly, changing the Rails gem when you upgrade should be as simple as changing the svn:externals property to point to the new version. I use this method to manage Acts_As_Ferret and a few other plugins, works for me. Some urls: http://snippets.dzone.com/posts/show/3231 http://www.redhillconsulting.com.au/blogs/simon/archives/000332.html http://www.martinicity.net/articles/2007/01/31/keeping-your-rails-codebase-clean-with-svn-externals Best, John