diff --git a/components/ruby/.rubocop.yml b/components/ruby/.rubocop.yml
index 8cec8cb4e..cc2978285 100644
--- a/components/ruby/.rubocop.yml
+++ b/components/ruby/.rubocop.yml
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
+# Feel free to correct anything in this file
+
 AllCops:
   TargetRubyVersion: 3.1
diff --git a/components/ruby/Gemfile.lock b/components/ruby/Gemfile.lock
index c2593bcd7..482fb391f 100644
--- a/components/ruby/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/components/ruby/Gemfile.lock
@@ -1,36 +1,23 @@
 PATH
   remote: .
   specs:
-    chef-licensing (1.2.0)
-      activesupport (~> 7.2, >= 7.2.2.1)
+    chef-licensing (1.2.1)
       chef-config (>= 15)
       faraday (>= 1, < 2)
       faraday-http-cache
+      faraday_middleware (~> 1.0)
       mixlib-log (~> 3.0)
       ostruct (~> 0.1.0)
+      pstore (~> 0.1.1)
       tty-prompt (~> 0.23)
       tty-spinner (~> 0.9.3)
 
 GEM
   remote: https://rubygems.org/
   specs:
-    activesupport (7.2.2.2)
-      base64
-      benchmark (>= 0.3)
-      bigdecimal
-      concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0, >= 1.3.1)
-      connection_pool (>= 2.2.5)
-      drb
-      i18n (>= 1.6, < 2)
-      logger (>= 1.4.2)
-      minitest (>= 5.1)
-      securerandom (>= 0.3)
-      tzinfo (~> 2.0, >= 2.0.5)
     addressable (2.8.7)
       public_suffix (>= 2.0.2, < 7.0)
     ast (2.4.3)
-    base64 (0.3.0)
-    benchmark (0.5.0)
     bigdecimal (3.3.1)
     byebug (12.0.0)
     chef-config (18.8.46)
@@ -44,14 +31,12 @@ GEM
       concurrent-ruby
     coderay (1.1.3)
     concurrent-ruby (1.3.5)
-    connection_pool (2.5.4)
     cookstyle (8.5.0)
       rubocop (= 1.81.0)
-    crack (1.0.1)
+    crack (1.0.0)
       bigdecimal
       rexml
     diff-lcs (1.6.2)
-    drb (2.2.3)
     faraday (1.10.4)
       faraday-em_http (~> 1.0)
       faraday-em_synchrony (~> 1.0)
@@ -77,23 +62,34 @@ GEM
     faraday-patron (1.0.0)
     faraday-rack (1.0.0)
     faraday-retry (1.0.3)
+    faraday_middleware (1.2.1)
+      faraday (~> 1.0)
+    ffi (1.17.2)
+    ffi (1.17.2-aarch64-linux-gnu)
+    ffi (1.17.2-aarch64-linux-musl)
+    ffi (1.17.2-arm-linux-gnu)
+    ffi (1.17.2-arm-linux-musl)
+    ffi (1.17.2-arm64-darwin)
     ffi (1.17.2-x64-mingw-ucrt)
+    ffi (1.17.2-x86-linux-gnu)
+    ffi (1.17.2-x86-linux-musl)
+    ffi (1.17.2-x86_64-darwin)
+    ffi (1.17.2-x86_64-linux-gnu)
+    ffi (1.17.2-x86_64-linux-musl)
     ffi-win32-extensions (1.0.4)
       ffi
     fuzzyurl (0.9.0)
     hashdiff (1.2.1)
-    i18n (1.14.7)
-      concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0)
     json (2.15.1)
     language_server-protocol (3.17.0.5)
     lint_roller (1.1.0)
-    logger (1.7.0)
     method_source (1.1.0)
-    minitest (5.26.0)
     mixlib-config (3.0.27)
       tomlrb
     mixlib-log (3.2.3)
       ffi (>= 1.15.5)
+    mixlib-shellout (3.3.9)
+      chef-utils
     mixlib-shellout (3.3.9-x64-mingw-ucrt)
       chef-utils
       ffi-win32-extensions (~> 1.0.3)
@@ -111,17 +107,18 @@ GEM
     pry (0.15.2)
       coderay (~> 1.1)
       method_source (~> 1.0)
+    pstore (0.1.4)
     public_suffix (6.0.2)
     racc (1.8.1)
     rainbow (3.1.1)
     rake (13.3.0)
     regexp_parser (2.11.3)
     rexml (3.4.4)
-    rspec (3.13.2)
+    rspec (3.13.1)
       rspec-core (~> 3.13.0)
       rspec-expectations (~> 3.13.0)
       rspec-mocks (~> 3.13.0)
-    rspec-core (3.13.6)
+    rspec-core (3.13.5)
       rspec-support (~> 3.13.0)
     rspec-expectations (3.13.5)
       diff-lcs (>= 1.2.0, < 2.0)
@@ -146,7 +143,6 @@ GEM
       prism (~> 1.4)
     ruby-progressbar (1.13.0)
     ruby2_keywords (0.0.5)
-    securerandom (0.4.1)
     tomlrb (1.3.0)
     tty-color (0.6.0)
     tty-cursor (0.7.1)
@@ -160,11 +156,7 @@ GEM
     tty-screen (0.8.2)
     tty-spinner (0.9.3)
       tty-cursor (~> 0.7)
-    tzinfo (2.0.6)
-      concurrent-ruby (~> 1.0)
-    unicode-display_width (3.2.0)
-      unicode-emoji (~> 4.1)
-    unicode-emoji (4.1.0)
+    unicode-display_width (2.6.0)
     webmock (3.25.1)
       addressable (>= 2.8.0)
       crack (>= 0.3.2)
@@ -175,7 +167,18 @@ GEM
     wmi-lite (1.0.7)
 
 PLATFORMS
+  aarch64-linux-gnu
+  aarch64-linux-musl
+  arm-linux-gnu
+  arm-linux-musl
+  arm64-darwin
+  ruby
   x64-mingw-ucrt
+  x86-linux-gnu
+  x86-linux-musl
+  x86_64-darwin
+  x86_64-linux-gnu
+  x86_64-linux-musl
 
 DEPENDENCIES
   byebug
@@ -187,4 +190,4 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   webmock (~> 3.25, >= 3.25.1)
 
 BUNDLED WITH
-   2.3.27
+   2.6.9
diff --git a/components/ruby/chef-licensing.gemspec b/components/ruby/chef-licensing.gemspec
index c05045f9a..03940949f 100644
--- a/components/ruby/chef-licensing.gemspec
+++ b/components/ruby/chef-licensing.gemspec
@@ -30,10 +30,11 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.add_dependency "tty-prompt", "~> 0.23"
   spec.add_dependency "faraday", ">= 1", "< 2"
   spec.add_dependency "faraday-http-cache"
-  spec.add_dependency "activesupport", "~> 7.2", ">= 7.2.2.1"
+  spec.add_dependency "faraday_middleware", "~> 1.0"
   spec.add_dependency "tty-spinner", "~> 0.9.3"
   spec.add_dependency "mixlib-log", "~> 3.0"
 
   # Gem dependency needed with Ruby 3.4 upgrade
   spec.add_dependency "ostruct", "~> 0.1.0"
+  spec.add_dependency "pstore", "~> 0.1.1"
 end
diff --git a/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/list_license_keys.rb b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/list_license_keys.rb
index 004d95299..8cee49e64 100644
--- a/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/list_license_keys.rb
+++ b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/list_license_keys.rb
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@
 require_relative "exceptions/describe_error"
 require "pastel" unless defined?(Pastel)
 require_relative "config"
+require_relative "string_refinements"
 
 module ChefLicensing
   class ListLicenseKeys
+    using StringRefinements
     def self.display(opts = {})
       new(opts).display
     end
diff --git a/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/pstore_adapter.rb b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/pstore_adapter.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..655f6ca08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/pstore_adapter.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+require "pstore"
+
+module ChefLicensing
+  # Simple adapter to make PStore compatible with Faraday::HttpCache
+  class PStoreAdapter
+    def initialize(cache_dir)
+      @store_path = File.join(cache_dir, "chef_licensing_cache.pstore")
+      @store = PStore.new(@store_path)
+    end
+
+    # Interface methods required by faraday-http-cache
+    def read(key)
+      @store.transaction { @store[key] }
+    end
+
+    def write(key, value, options = {})
+      # PStore handles persistence, Faraday::HttpCache handles
+      # HTTP cache headers for expiration
+      @store.transaction { @store[key] = value }
+    end
+
+    def delete(key)
+      @store.transaction { @store.delete(key) }
+    end
+
+    def exist?(key)
+      @store.transaction { @store.root?(key) }
+    end
+
+    def clear
+      @store.transaction do
+        @store.roots.each { |root| @store.delete(root) }
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/restful_client/base.rb b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/restful_client/base.rb
index 2acfe118e..a13625d0f 100644
--- a/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/restful_client/base.rb
+++ b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/restful_client/base.rb
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 require "faraday" unless defined?(Faraday)
+require "faraday_middleware"
 require "faraday/http_cache"
-require "active_support"
 require "tmpdir" unless defined?(Dir.mktmpdir)
 require_relative "../exceptions/restful_client_error"
 require_relative "../exceptions/restful_client_connection_error"
 require_relative "../exceptions/missing_api_credentials_error"
 require_relative "../config"
+require_relative "../pstore_adapter"
 require_relative "middleware/exceptions_handler"
 require_relative "middleware/content_type_validator"
 
@@ -132,7 +133,7 @@ def handle_post_connection(url = nil)
       end
 
       def get_connection(url = nil)
-        store = ::ActiveSupport::Cache.lookup_store(:file_store, Dir.tmpdir)
+        store = PStoreAdapter.new(Dir.tmpdir)
         Faraday.new(url: url) do |config|
           config.request :json
           config.response :json, parser_options: { object_class: OpenStruct }
diff --git a/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/string_refinements.rb b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/string_refinements.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d8b5a2232
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/ruby/lib/chef-licensing/string_refinements.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+module ChefLicensing
+  # String refinements to provide pluralization functionality
+  # Replaces ActiveSupport::Inflector for our specific use case
+  module StringRefinements
+    refine String do
+      def pluralize(count = 2)
+        return self if count == 1
+
+        # Simple pluralization rules
+        case downcase
+        when /s$/, /sh$/, /ch$/, /x$/, /z$/
+          "#{self}es"
+        when /[^aeiou]y$/
+          "#{self[0..-2]}ies"
+        when /f$/
+          "#{self[0..-2]}ves"
+        when /fe$/
+          "#{self[0..-3]}ves"
+        else
+          "#{self}s"
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/components/ruby/spec/README.md b/components/ruby/spec/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1a100a76c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/ruby/spec/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+Test harness notes for the chef-licensing specs
+
+Purpose
+-------
+This file documents the decisions made in `spec/spec_helper.rb` to keep the
+suite deterministic and hermetic.
+
+Key points
+----------
+- WebMock is required before the library (`require "webmock/rspec"`) so any
+  HTTP client initialization that happens at require-time is intercepted.
+  This prevents accidental real HTTP connections during test bootstrap.
+
+- The tests set a deterministic license server URL via
+  `ENV["CHEF_LICENSE_SERVER"]` and `ENV["LICENSE_SERVER"]` so tests don't
+  rely on developer/CI environment values or persisted files that might
+  point to production servers.
+
+- `ENV.delete("CHEF_LICENSE_KEY")` is used to ensure tests don't pick up
+  real credentials from the environment.
+
+- A suite-level temporary HOME (`TMP_TEST_HOME`) is created early so
+  require-time code that consults `ENV["HOME"]` or `ENV["USERPROFILE"]`
+  doesn't see a developer/CI home. Some specs still require a fresh HOME
+  per-example; the harness provides an `around(:each)` hook that swaps in a
+  temporary HOME for the duration of those examples.
+
+- Tests that need HTTP interactions should stub them explicitly using
+  WebMock's `stub_request`. Consider adding common stubs to
+  `spec/support/license_server_stubs.rb` to reduce duplication.
+
+Running the tests
+-----------------
+From the `components/ruby` directory run:
+
+```bash
+bundle exec rspec --format=documentation
+```
+
+If you only want to run a single spec file:
+
+```bash
+bundle exec rspec spec/path/to/file_spec.rb
+```
+
+Adding a new spec
+-----------------
+- If your spec touches the user's HOME, prefer creating temporary dirs
+  under `Dir.mktmpdir` and avoid writing into the suite-level HOME
+  directly. Use the provided per-example HOME swap when you need a
+  pristine HOME for each example.
+
+- If your spec makes HTTP calls, add a `stub_request` for the exact
+  request the code will issue. If multiple specs need the same stubs,
+  factor them into `spec/support/license_server_stubs.rb` and require that
+  from `spec/spec_helper.rb`.
+
+Contact
+-------
+If you have questions about why this setup exists, check the Git history
+for `spec/spec_helper.rb` or ask the maintainer team.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/components/ruby/spec/chef-licensing/activesupport_replacement_spec.rb b/components/ruby/spec/chef-licensing/activesupport_replacement_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..096066e3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/ruby/spec/chef-licensing/activesupport_replacement_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+require "spec_helper"
+require "chef-licensing/pstore_adapter"
+require "chef-licensing/string_refinements"
+
+RSpec.describe ChefLicensing::PStoreAdapter do
+  let(:cache_dir) { Dir.mktmpdir }
+  let(:adapter) { described_class.new(cache_dir) }
+
+  after do
+    FileUtils.rm_rf(cache_dir)
+  end
+
+  describe "#write and #read" do
+    it "stores and retrieves values" do
+      adapter.write("test_key", "test_value")
+      expect(adapter.read("test_key")).to eq("test_value")
+    end
+
+    it "returns nil for non-existent keys" do
+      expect(adapter.read("non_existent")).to be_nil
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#exist?" do
+    it "returns true for existing keys" do
+      adapter.write("test_key", "test_value")
+      expect(adapter.exist?("test_key")).to be true
+    end
+
+    it "returns false for non-existent keys" do
+      expect(adapter.exist?("non_existent")).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#delete" do
+    it "removes cached values" do
+      adapter.write("test_key", "test_value")
+      adapter.delete("test_key")
+      expect(adapter.read("test_key")).to be_nil
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#clear" do
+    it "removes all cached values" do
+      adapter.write("key1", "value1")
+      adapter.write("key2", "value2")
+      adapter.clear
+      expect(adapter.read("key1")).to be_nil
+      expect(adapter.read("key2")).to be_nil
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+RSpec.describe ChefLicensing::PStoreAdapter do
+  let(:cache_dir) { Dir.mktmpdir }
+  let(:adapter) { described_class.new(cache_dir) }
+
+  after do
+    FileUtils.rm_rf(cache_dir)
+  end
+
+  it "provides the same interface as ActiveSupport::Cache" do
+    adapter.write("test_key", "test_value")
+    expect(adapter.read("test_key")).to eq("test_value")
+    expect(adapter.exist?("test_key")).to be true
+
+    adapter.delete("test_key")
+    expect(adapter.read("test_key")).to be_nil
+  end
+end
+
+RSpec.describe ChefLicensing::StringRefinements do
+  using ChefLicensing::StringRefinements
+
+  describe "#pluralize" do
+    it "pluralizes regular words" do
+      expect("Day".pluralize(2)).to eq("Days")
+      expect("cat".pluralize(2)).to eq("cats")
+    end
+
+    it "handles words ending in s, sh, ch, x, z" do
+      expect("class".pluralize(2)).to eq("classes")
+      expect("dish".pluralize(2)).to eq("dishes")
+      expect("church".pluralize(2)).to eq("churches")
+      expect("box".pluralize(2)).to eq("boxes")
+    end
+
+    it "handles words ending in y" do
+      expect("city".pluralize(2)).to eq("cities")
+      expect("boy".pluralize(2)).to eq("boys") # vowel before y
+    end
+
+    it "handles words ending in f/fe" do
+      expect("leaf".pluralize(2)).to eq("leaves")
+      expect("knife".pluralize(2)).to eq("knives")
+    end
+
+    it "returns singular for count of 1" do
+      expect("Day".pluralize(1)).to eq("Day")
+      expect("cat".pluralize(1)).to eq("cat")
+    end
+
+    it "defaults to plural for no argument" do
+      expect("Day".pluralize).to eq("Days")
+    end
+  end
+end