diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/pr_tests.yml
index d21047e2..62dfeb04 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr_tests.yml
@@ -5,10 +5,11 @@
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Release       Puppet   Ruby    EOL
 # PE 2021.Y     7.x      2.7     Quarterly updates
+# PE 2023.Y     8.x      3.2     Quarterly updates
 #
-# https://puppet.com/docs/pe/2018.1/component_versions_in_recent_pe_releases.html
-# https://puppet.com/misc/puppet-enterprise-lifecycle
-# https://puppet.com/docs/pe/2018.1/overview/getting_support_for_pe.html
+# https://www.puppet.com/docs/pe/latest/component_versions_in_recent_pe_releases.html
+# https://www.puppet.com/products/puppet-enterprise/support-lifecycle
+# https://www.puppet.com/docs/pe/latest/getting_support_for_pe
 # ==============================================================================
 #
 # https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/events-that-trigger-workflows
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: "Install Ruby ${{matrix.puppet.ruby_version}}"
         uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
         with:
-          ruby-version: 2.5
+          ruby-version: 2.7
           bundler-cache: true
       - run: |
           bundle show
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: 'Install Ruby ${{matrix.puppet.ruby_version}}'
         uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
         with:
-          ruby-version: 2.5
+          ruby-version: 2.7
           bundler-cache: true
       - name: 'Ensure executables are installed'
         run: |
@@ -75,6 +76,9 @@ jobs:
           - label: 'Puppet 7.x'
             puppet_version: '~> 7.0'
             ruby_version: '2.7'
+          - label: 'Puppet 8.x'
+            puppet_version: '~> 8.0'
+            ruby_version: '3.2'
     env:
       PUPPET_VERSION: '${{matrix.puppet.puppet_version}}'
     steps:
diff --git a/.rubocop.yml b/.rubocop.yml
index b4bb8979..5bc12b23 100644
--- a/.rubocop.yml
+++ b/.rubocop.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
-require: rubocop-rspec
+---
+require:
+  - rubocop-performance
+  - rubocop-rspec
+  - rubocop-rake
 AllCops:
-  TargetRubyVersion: 2.4
+  TargetRubyVersion: 2.7
   Include:
     - '*.rb'
     - 'rakelib/*.rake'
@@ -19,489 +23,489 @@ AllCops:
     - Guardfile
     - Vagrantfile
 Layout/ConditionPosition:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/ElseLayout:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/UnreachableCode:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Lint/UselessComparison:
-  Enabled: True
+Lint/BinaryOperatorWithIdenticalOperands:
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/EnsureReturn:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Lint/HandleExceptions:
-  Enabled: True
+Lint/SuppressedException:
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/LiteralAsCondition:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/ShadowingOuterLocalVariable:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/LiteralInInterpolation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/HashSyntax:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Style/RedundantReturn:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/EndOfLine:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Lint/AmbiguousOperator:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/AssignmentInCondition:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceBeforeComment:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/AndOr:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/RedundantSelf:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Metrics/BlockLength:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 # Method length is not necessarily an indicator of code quality
 Metrics/MethodLength:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 # Module length is not necessarily an indicator of code quality
 Metrics/ModuleLength:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Style/WhileUntilModifier:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/AmbiguousRegexpLiteral:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Security/Eval:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/BlockAlignment:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/DefEndAlignment:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/EndAlignment:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/DeprecatedClassMethods:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/Loop:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/ParenthesesAsGroupedExpression:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/RescueException:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Lint/StringConversionInInterpolation:
-  Enabled: True
+Lint/RedundantStringCoercion:
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/UnusedBlockArgument:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/UnusedMethodArgument:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/UselessAccessModifier:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/UselessAssignment:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/Void:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/AccessModifierIndentation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Naming/AccessorMethodName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Alias:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Layout/AlignArray:
-  Enabled: True
+Layout/ArrayAlignment:
+  Enabled: true
 
-Layout/AlignHash:
-  Enabled: True
+Layout/HashAlignment:
+  Enabled: true
 
-Layout/AlignParameters:
-  Enabled: True
+Layout/ParameterAlignment:
+  Enabled: true
 
 Metrics/BlockNesting:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/AsciiComments:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Attr:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Style/BracesAroundHashParameters:
-  Enabled: True
+# Style/BracesAroundHashParameters:
+#   Enabled: true
 
 Style/CaseEquality:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/CaseIndentation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/CharacterLiteral:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Naming/ClassAndModuleCamelCase:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/ClassAndModuleChildren:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Style/ClassCheck:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 # Class length is not necessarily an indicator of code quality
 Metrics/ClassLength:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Style/ClassMethods:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/ClassVars:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/WhenThen:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/WordArray:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Style/UnneededPercentQ:
-  Enabled: True
+Style/RedundantPercentQ:
+  Enabled: true
 
-Layout/Tab:
-  Enabled: True
+Layout/IndentationStyle:
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceBeforeSemicolon:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Layout/TrailingBlankLines:
-  Enabled: True
+Layout/TrailingEmptyLines:
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceInsideBlockBraces:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceInsideHashLiteralBraces:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceInsideParens:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/LeadingCommentSpace:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceBeforeFirstArg:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceAfterColon:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceAfterComma:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceAfterMethodName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceAfterNot:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceAfterSemicolon:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceAroundEqualsInParameterDefault:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceAroundOperators:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceBeforeBlockBraces:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/SpaceBeforeComma:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/CollectionMethods:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/CommentIndentation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/ColonMethodCall:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/CommentAnnotation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 # 'Complexity' is very relative
 Metrics/CyclomaticComplexity:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Naming/ConstantName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Documentation:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Style/DefWithParentheses:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/PreferredHashMethods:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/DotPosition:
   EnforcedStyle: trailing
 
 Style/DoubleNegation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/EachWithObject:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/EmptyLineBetweenDefs:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Layout/IndentArray:
-  Enabled: True
+Layout/FirstArrayElementIndentation:
+  Enabled: true
 
-Layout/IndentHash:
-  Enabled: True
+Layout/FirstHashElementIndentation:
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/IndentationConsistency:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/IndentationWidth:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/EmptyLines:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/EmptyLinesAroundAccessModifier:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/EmptyLiteral:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 # Configuration parameters: AllowURI, URISchemes.
 Layout/TrailingWhitespace:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
-Metrics/LineLength:
-  Enabled: False
+Layout/LineLength:
+  Enabled: false
 
 Naming/BinaryOperatorParameterName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/CommandLiteral:
   EnforcedStyle: percent_x
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/MethodCallWithoutArgsParentheses:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/MethodDefParentheses:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/LineEndConcatenation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/StringLiterals:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/TrailingCommaInArguments:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/GlobalVars:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/GuardClause:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/IfUnlessModifier:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/MultilineIfThen:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/NegatedIf:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/NegatedWhile:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Next:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/SingleLineBlockParams:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/SingleLineMethods:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/SpecialGlobalVars:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/TrivialAccessors:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/UnlessElse:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/VariableInterpolation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Naming/VariableName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/WhileUntilDo:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/EvenOdd:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Naming/FileName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/For:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Lambda:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Naming/MethodName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/MultilineTernaryOperator:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/NestedTernaryOperator:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/NilComparison:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/FormatString:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/MultilineBlockChain:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Semicolon:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/SignalException:
   EnforcedStyle: semantic
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/NonNilCheck:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Not:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/NumericLiterals:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/OneLineConditional:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/ParenthesesAroundCondition:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/PercentLiteralDelimiters:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/PerlBackrefs:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Naming/PredicateName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/RedundantException:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/SelfAssignment:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Proc:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/RaiseArgs:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/RedundantBegin:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/RescueModifier:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 # based on https://github.com/voxpupuli/modulesync_config/issues/168
 Style/RegexpLiteral:
   EnforcedStyle: percent_r
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/UnderscorePrefixedVariableName:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Metrics/ParameterLists:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Lint/RequireParentheses:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/ModuleFunction:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Lint/Debugger:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/IfWithSemicolon:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/Encoding:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Style/BlockDelimiters:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 Layout/MultilineBlockLayout:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 # 'Complexity' is very relative
 Metrics/AbcSize:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 # 'Complexity' is very relative
 Metrics/PerceivedComplexity:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 Layout/ClosingParenthesisIndentation:
-  Enabled: True
+  Enabled: true
 
 # RSpec
 
@@ -511,26 +515,26 @@ RSpec/BeforeAfterAll:
 
 # We don't use rspec in this way
 RSpec/DescribeClass:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 # Example length is not necessarily an indicator of code quality
 RSpec/ExampleLength:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 RSpec/NamedSubject:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 # disabled for now since they cause a lot of issues
 # these issues aren't easy to fix
 RSpec/RepeatedDescription:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 RSpec/NestedGroups:
-  Enabled: False
+  Enabled: false
 
 # this is broken on ruby1.9
-Layout/IndentHeredoc:
-  Enabled: False
+Layout/HeredocIndentation:
+  Enabled: false
 
 # disable Yaml safe_load. This is needed to support ruby2.0.0 development envs
 Security/YAMLLoad:
@@ -545,8 +549,17 @@ Style/FormatStringToken:
 RSpec/FilePath:
   Enabled: false
 
-Naming/UncommunicativeMethodParamName:
-  AllowedNames: [io, id, to, by, on, in, at, ip, nw]
+Naming/MethodParameterName:
+  AllowedNames:
+    - 'io'
+    - 'id'
+    - 'to'
+    - 'by'
+    - 'on'
+    - 'in'
+    - 'at'
+    - 'ip'
+    - 'nw'
 
 # SIMP-specific additions:
 
@@ -557,3 +570,323 @@ RSpec/HookArgument:
 RSpec/EmptyLineAfterHook:
   Enabled: false
 
+Gemspec/DeprecatedAttributeAssignment:
+  Enabled: true
+Gemspec/RequireMFA:
+  Enabled: true
+Layout/LineContinuationLeadingSpace:
+  Enabled: true
+Layout/LineContinuationSpacing:
+  Enabled: true
+Layout/LineEndStringConcatenationIndentation:
+  Enabled: true
+Layout/SpaceBeforeBrackets:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/AmbiguousAssignment:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/AmbiguousOperatorPrecedence:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/AmbiguousRange:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/ConstantOverwrittenInRescue:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/DeprecatedConstants:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/DuplicateBranch:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/DuplicateRegexpCharacterClassElement:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/EmptyBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/EmptyClass:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/EmptyInPattern:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/IncompatibleIoSelectWithFiberScheduler:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/LambdaWithoutLiteralBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/NoReturnInBeginEndBlocks:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/NonAtomicFileOperation:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/NumberedParameterAssignment:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/OrAssignmentToConstant:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/RedundantDirGlobSort:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/RefinementImportMethods:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/RequireRangeParentheses:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/RequireRelativeSelfPath:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/SymbolConversion:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/ToEnumArguments:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/TripleQuotes:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/UnexpectedBlockArity:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/UnmodifiedReduceAccumulator:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/UselessRuby2Keywords:
+  Enabled: true
+Naming/BlockForwarding:
+  Enabled: true
+Security/CompoundHash:
+  Enabled: true
+Security/IoMethods:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/ArgumentsForwarding:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/CollectionCompact:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/DocumentDynamicEvalDefinition:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/EmptyHeredoc:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/EndlessMethod:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/EnvHome:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/FetchEnvVar:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/FileRead:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/FileWrite:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/HashConversion:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/HashExcept:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/IfWithBooleanLiteralBranches:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/InPatternThen:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/MagicCommentFormat:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/MapCompactWithConditionalBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/MapToHash:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/MultilineInPatternThen:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/NegatedIfElseCondition:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/NestedFileDirname:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/NilLambda:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/NumberedParameters:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/NumberedParametersLimit:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/ObjectThen:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/OpenStructUse:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/QuotedSymbols:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantArgument:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantInitialize:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantSelfAssignmentBranch:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/SelectByRegexp:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/StringChars:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/SwapValues:
+  Enabled: true
+Gemspec/DevelopmentDependencies:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/DuplicateMagicComment:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/DuplicateMatchPattern:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/MixedCaseRange:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/RedundantRegexpQuantifiers:
+  Enabled: true
+Lint/UselessRescue:
+  Enabled: true
+Metrics/CollectionLiteralLength:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/ArrayIntersect:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/ComparableClamp:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/ConcatArrayLiterals:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/DataInheritance:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/DirEmpty:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/ExactRegexpMatch:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/FileEmpty:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/MapToSet:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/MinMaxComparison:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/OperatorMethodCall:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantArrayConstructor:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantConstantBase:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantCurrentDirectoryInPath:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantDoubleSplatHashBraces:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantEach:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantFilterChain:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantHeredocDelimiterQuotes:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantLineContinuation:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantRegexpArgument:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantRegexpConstructor:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/RedundantStringEscape:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/ReturnNilInPredicateMethodDefinition:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/SingleLineDoEndBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Style/YAMLFileRead:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/ClickLinkOrButtonStyle:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/MatchStyle:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/NegationMatcher:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/SpecificActions:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/SpecificFinders:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/SpecificMatcher:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/RSpec/HaveSelector:
+  Enabled: true
+Capybara/RSpec/PredicateMatcher:
+  Enabled: true
+FactoryBot/AssociationStyle:
+  Enabled: true
+FactoryBot/ConsistentParenthesesStyle:
+  Enabled: true
+FactoryBot/FactoryAssociationWithStrategy:
+  Enabled: true
+FactoryBot/FactoryNameStyle:
+  Enabled: true
+FactoryBot/IdSequence:
+  Enabled: true
+FactoryBot/RedundantFactoryOption:
+  Enabled: true
+FactoryBot/SyntaxMethods:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/BeEmpty:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/BeEq:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/BeNil:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/ChangeByZero:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/ContainExactly:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/DuplicatedMetadata:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/EmptyMetadata:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/Eq:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/ExcessiveDocstringSpacing:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/IdenticalEqualityAssertion:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/IndexedLet:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/MatchArray:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/MetadataStyle:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/NoExpectationExample:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/PendingWithoutReason:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/ReceiveMessages:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/RedundantAround:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/SkipBlockInsideExample:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/SortMetadata:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/SpecFilePathFormat:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/SpecFilePathSuffix:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/SubjectDeclaration:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/VerifiedDoubleReference:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/Rails/AvoidSetupHook:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/Rails/HaveHttpStatus:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/Rails/InferredSpecType:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/Rails/MinitestAssertions:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/Rails/NegationBeValid:
+  Enabled: true
+RSpec/Rails/TravelAround:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/AncestorsInclude:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/BigDecimalWithNumericArgument:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/BlockGivenWithExplicitBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/CollectionLiteralInLoop:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/ConcurrentMonotonicTime:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/ConstantRegexp:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/MapCompact:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/MapMethodChain:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/MethodObjectAsBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/RedundantEqualityComparisonBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/RedundantSortBlock:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/RedundantSplitRegexpArgument:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/RedundantStringChars:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/ReverseFirst:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/SortReverse:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/Squeeze:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/StringIdentifierArgument:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/StringInclude:
+  Enabled: true
+Performance/Sum:
+  Enabled: true
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index c0eccd39..d07ab8d4 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-gem_sources = ENV.fetch('GEM_SERVERS','https://rubygems.org').split(/[, ]+/)
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+gem_sources = ENV.fetch('GEM_SERVERS', 'https://rubygems.org').split(%r{[, ]+})
 
 gem_sources.each { |gem_source| source gem_source }
 
@@ -9,12 +11,11 @@ gemspec
 gem 'bundler'
 gem 'facter'
 gem 'highline', :path => 'ext/gems/highline'
-gem 'puppet', ENV.fetch('PUPPET_VERSION',  '~>7')
-gem 'rake', '>= 12.3.3'
+gem 'puppet', ENV.fetch('PUPPET_VERSION', ['>= 7', '< 9'])
 gem 'simp-rake-helpers', ENV['SIMP_RAKE_HELPERS_VERSION'] || ['>= 5.12.1', '< 6']
 
+gem 'r10k', ENV.fetch('R10k_VERSION', '~> 4')
 gem 'simp-beaker-helpers', ENV['SIMP_BEAKER_HELPERS_VERSION'] || ['>= 1.28.0', '< 2']
-gem 'r10k', ENV.fetch('R10k_VERSION',  '~>3')
 
 group :testing do
   # to parse YUM repo files in `simp config` test
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ group :development do
 
   gem 'rubocop'
   gem 'rubocop-performance'
+  gem 'rubocop-rake'
   gem 'rubocop-rspec'
 end
 
@@ -48,10 +50,10 @@ extra_gemfiles = [
   ENV['EXTRA_GEMFILE'] || '',
   "#{__FILE__}.project",
   "#{__FILE__}.local",
-  File.join(Dir.home, '.gemfile'),
+  File.join(Dir.home, '.gemfile')
 ]
 extra_gemfiles.each do |gemfile|
   if File.file?(gemfile) && File.readable?(gemfile)
-    eval(File.read(gemfile), binding)
+    eval(File.read(gemfile), binding) # rubocop:disable Security/Eval
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/commands/bootstrap.rb b/lib/simp/cli/commands/bootstrap.rb
index 9bc43c1e..bff058ba 100755
--- a/lib/simp/cli/commands/bootstrap.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/commands/bootstrap.rb
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ def configure_bootstrap_puppetserver
       ]
 
       conf_files.each do |file|
-        if File.exists?(file)
+        if File.exist?(file)
           backup_dir = File.join(@bootstrap_backup, File.dirname(file))
           FileUtils.mkdir_p(backup_dir)
           FileUtils.cp(file, backup_dir)
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ def configure_bootstrap_puppetserver
       # /etc/puppetlabs/puppet/auth.conf is installed by some versions of puppet-agent.
       # SIMP manages auth.conf in /etc/puppetlabs/puppetserver/conf.d.  Back up and
       # remove existing /etc/puppetlabs/puppet/auth.conf file.
-      if File.exists?('/etc/puppetlabs/puppet/auth.conf')
+      if File.exist?('/etc/puppetlabs/puppet/auth.conf')
         FileUtils.rm('/etc/puppetlabs/puppet/auth.conf')
         info("Removed /etc/puppetlabs/puppet/auth.conf", 'green')
       end
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ def ensure_puppet_agent_stopped
       FileUtils.rm_f(agent_run_lockfile)
       info("Successfully removed agent lock file #{agent_run_lockfile}", 'green')
     else
-      run_locked = File.exists?(agent_run_lockfile)
+      run_locked = File.exist?(agent_run_lockfile)
       # TODO: make the following spinner a function; it's used in ensure_puppetserver_running as well.
       if run_locked
         info("Detected puppet agent run lockfile #{agent_run_lockfile}", 'magenta')
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ def ensure_puppet_agent_stopped
         stages = ["\\",'|','/','-']
         rest = 0.1
         while run_locked do
-          run_locked = File.exists?(agent_run_lockfile)
+          run_locked = File.exist?(agent_run_lockfile)
           stages.each{ |x|
             $stdout.flush
             print "> #{x}\r"
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ def ensure_puppet_processes_stopped
 
     confdir = Simp::Cli::Utils.puppet_info[:config]['confdir']
     routes_yaml = File.join(confdir, 'routes.yaml')
-    if File.exists?(routes_yaml)
+    if File.exist?(routes_yaml)
       backup_dir = File.join(@bootstrap_backup, confdir)
       FileUtils.mkdir_p(backup_dir)
       backup_routes_yaml = File.join(backup_dir, 'routes.yaml')
@@ -677,7 +677,7 @@ def print_intro
   def set_up_logger
     # Open log file
     logfilepath = File.dirname(File.expand_path(@bootstrap_log))
-    FileUtils.mkpath(logfilepath) unless File.exists?(logfilepath)
+    FileUtils.mkpath(logfilepath) unless File.exist?(logfilepath)
     @logfile = File.open(@bootstrap_log, 'w')
   end
 
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/commands/doc.rb b/lib/simp/cli/commands/doc.rb
index 507b73fe..0473ce7e 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/commands/doc.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/commands/doc.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ def run(args)
 
     main_page = %x{rpm -ql simp-doc | grep html/index.html$ | head -1}.strip.chomp
 
-    unless File.exists?(main_page)
+    unless File.exist?(main_page)
       err_msg = "Could not find the SIMP documentation. Please ensure that you can access '#{main_page}'."
       raise Simp::Cli::ProcessingError.new(err_msg)
     end
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/create_simp_server_fqdn_yaml_action.rb b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/create_simp_server_fqdn_yaml_action.rb
index fea3fd6e..efb23cc7 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/create_simp_server_fqdn_yaml_action.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/create_simp_server_fqdn_yaml_action.rb
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def apply
       @host_yaml = File.join( File.dirname( @template_file ), "#{fqdn}.yaml" )
       @applied_status = :failed
 
-      if !File.exists?(@template_file) && !File.exists?(@host_yaml) && File.exists?(@alt_file)
+      if !File.exist?(@template_file) && !File.exist?(@host_yaml) && File.exist?(@alt_file)
         # Can get here if
         # (1) RPM/ISO install (so /usr/share/simp exists)
         # (2) Operator runs simp config more than once but with different hostnames
@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ def apply
       end
       info( "Creating #{File.basename(@host_yaml)} from #{File.basename(@template_file)} template" )
 
-      if File.exists?(@template_file)
-        if File.exists?( @host_yaml )
+      if File.exist?(@template_file)
+        if File.exist?( @host_yaml )
           diff   = `diff #{@host_yaml} #{@template_file}`
           if diff.empty?
             @applied_status = :succeeded
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ def apply
           end
         end
       else
-        if File.exists?(@host_yaml)
+        if File.exist?(@host_yaml)
           @applied_status = :unnecessary
           @applied_status_detail = "Template already moved to #{File.basename(@host_yaml)}"
           message = "#{File.basename(@host_yaml)} creation not required:\n" +
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/set_site_scenario_action.rb b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/set_site_scenario_action.rb
index 414bfef4..cca28797 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/set_site_scenario_action.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/set_site_scenario_action.rb
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def apply
 
       simp_scenario = get_item('cli::simp::scenario').value
       site_pp = File.join(@puppet_env_info[:puppet_env_dir], 'manifests', 'site.pp')
-      if File.exists?(site_pp)
+      if File.exist?(site_pp)
         backup_file = "#{site_pp}.#{@start_time.strftime('%Y%m%dT%H%M%S')}"
         info( "Backing up #{site_pp} to #{backup_file}" )
         FileUtils.cp(site_pp, backup_file)
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_master.rb b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_master.rb
index 1fc71a8d..b5b68f09 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_master.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_master.rb
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ def get_recommended_value
     end
 
     def validate item
+      return false unless item.class == String
+
       result = false
       if ( ( item =~ %r{^ldap[s]*://.+} ) ? true : false )
         i = item.sub( %r{^ldap[s]*://}, '' )
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_uri.rb b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_uri.rb
index 4d286573..ccc1bc2e 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_uri.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ldap_uri.rb
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ def get_recommended_value
 
 
     def validate_item item
+      return false unless item.class == String
       result = false
       if ( ( item =~ %r{^ldap[s]*://.+} ) ? true : false )
         i = item.sub( %r{^ldap[s]*://}, '' )
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ntp_servers.rb b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ntp_servers.rb
index d5f6af63..f684181d 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ntp_servers.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/data/simp_options_ntp_servers.rb
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def get_os_value( chronydfile = '/etc/chrony.conf', ntpdfile = '/etc/ntp.conf' )
         file = chronydfile
       elsif Simp::Cli::Utils.systemctl_running?('ntpd')
         file = ntpdfile
-      elsif File.exists?(chronydfile)
+      elsif File.exist?(chronydfile)
         file = chronydfile
       else
         file = ntpdfile
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/yes_no_item.rb b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/yes_no_item.rb
index e105c430..86664d2b 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/config/items/yes_no_item.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/config/items/yes_no_item.rb
@@ -26,8 +26,9 @@ def validate( v )
     # REJECTED: Override #query_ask using Highline's #agree? *** no, can't bool
     def highline_question_type
       lambda do |str|
-        return true  if ( str =~ /^(y(es)?|true)$/i ? true : false || str.class == TrueClass  )
-        return false if ( str =~ /^(n(o)?|false)$/i ? true : false || str.class == FalseClass )
+        return str if str.class == TrueClass || str.class == FalseClass
+        return true  if str.to_s =~ /^(y(es)?|true)$/i
+        return false if str.to_s =~ /^(n(o)?|false)$/i
         nil
       end
     end
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/config/utils.rb b/lib/simp/cli/config/utils.rb
index 531d73ae..91b6d5a9 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/config/utils.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/config/utils.rb
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ def validate_fqdn fqdn
 
 
     def validate_ip ip
+      return false unless ip.respond_to?(:=~)
       # using the native 'resolv' class in order to minimize non-EL rubygems
       # snarfed from:
       # http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3634998/how-do-i-check-whether-a-value-in-a-string-is-an-ip-address
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ def validate_ip ip
 
 
     def validate_hostname hostname
+      return false unless hostname.respond_to?(:=~)
       # based on:
       #   http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2532053/validate-a-hostname-string
       #
@@ -62,6 +64,7 @@ def validate_hostname hostname
 
 
     def validate_netmask( x )
+      return false unless x.respond_to?(:=~)
       # a brute-force regexp that validates all possible valid netmasks
       nums = '(128|192|224|240|248|252|254)'
       znums = '(0|128|192|224|240|248|252|254)'
diff --git a/lib/simp/cli/environment/puppet_dir_env.rb b/lib/simp/cli/environment/puppet_dir_env.rb
index ca350283..a530f071 100644
--- a/lib/simp/cli/environment/puppet_dir_env.rb
+++ b/lib/simp/cli/environment/puppet_dir_env.rb
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ def puppetfile_generate
         f.puts puppetfile_modules.to_puppetfile
       end
 
-      if File.exists? @puppetfile_path
+      if File.exist? @puppetfile_path
         info "Skipping generation of Puppetfile (to include Puppetfile.simp) in '#{File.dirname(@puppetfile_path)}'".cyan
         info '>> File already exists'.cyan
       else
diff --git a/simp-cli.gemspec b/simp-cli.gemspec
index 168a1660..a11e09aa 100644
--- a/simp-cli.gemspec
+++ b/simp-cli.gemspec
@@ -43,11 +43,8 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   ### When the environment variable $SIMP_RPM_BUILD is set, the following
   ### dependencies will not be included in the .gemspec dependencies:
   #### ------------
-  unless (
-    ENV.fetch( 'SIMP_RPM_BUILD', false ) || \
-    ENV.fetch( 'SIMP_CLI_GEMSPEC_NO_PUPPET_VERSION', false ) =~  /yes|true/
-  )
-    s.add_runtime_dependency 'puppet',   '>= 6.22', '< 8'
+  unless ['yes', 'true'].include?(ENV['SIMP_RPM_BUILD']) || ['yes', 'true'].include?(ENV['SIMP_CLI_GEMSPEC_NO_PUPPET_VERSION'])
+    s.add_runtime_dependency 'puppet',   '>= 7', '< 9'
   end
   #### ------------
 
@@ -60,9 +57,9 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_development_dependency 'guard-shell', '~> 0'
   s.add_development_dependency 'guard-rspec', '~> 4'
   s.add_development_dependency 'pry',         '~> 0'
-  s.add_development_dependency 'pry-doc',     '~> 0'
-  s.add_development_dependency 'dotenv',      '~> 1'
-  s.add_development_dependency 'rubocop',     '~> 0.49'
+  s.add_development_dependency 'pry-doc',     '~> 1'
+  s.add_development_dependency 'dotenv',      '~> 2'
+  s.add_development_dependency 'rubocop',     '~> 1'
 
   # simple text description of external requirements (for humans to read)
   s.requirements << 'SIMP OS installation'
diff --git a/spec/bin/simp_spec.rb b/spec/bin/simp_spec.rb
index dbff3112..1adb5ce1 100644
--- a/spec/bin/simp_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/bin/simp_spec.rb
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ def execute(command, input_file = nil)
   # in case we have screwed up our test
   Timeout::timeout(30) { Process.wait(pid) }
   exitstatus = $?.nil? ? nil : $?.exitstatus
-  stdout = IO.read(stdout_file) if File.exists?(stdout_file)
-  stderr = IO.read(stderr_file) if File.exists?(stderr_file)
+  stdout = IO.read(stdout_file) if File.exist?(stdout_file)
+  stderr = IO.read(stderr_file) if File.exist?(stderr_file)
   { :exitstatus => exitstatus, :stdout => stdout, :stderr => stderr }
 ensure
   FileUtils.remove_entry_secure(log_tmp_dir) if log_tmp_dir
@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ def execute_and_signal(command, signal_type)
   Process.kill(signal_type, pid)
   Timeout::timeout(10) { Process.wait(pid) }
   exitstatus = $?.nil? ? nil : $?.exitstatus
-  stdout = IO.read(stdout_file) if File.exists?(stdout_file)
-  stderr = IO.read(stderr_file) if File.exists?(stderr_file)
+  stdout = IO.read(stdout_file) if File.exist?(stdout_file)
+  stderr = IO.read(stderr_file) if File.exist?(stderr_file)
   pipe_w.close
   { :exitstatus => exitstatus, :stdout => stdout, :stderr => stderr }
 ensure
diff --git a/spec/lib/simp/cli/commands/config_read_answers_file_spec.rb b/spec/lib/simp/cli/commands/config_read_answers_file_spec.rb
index f5523baa..c37fa2cf 100644
--- a/spec/lib/simp/cli/commands/config_read_answers_file_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/simp/cli/commands/config_read_answers_file_spec.rb
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
   end
 
   after :each do
-    FileUtils.chmod 0777, @yaml_file if File.exists?(@yaml_file)
+    FileUtils.chmod 0777, @yaml_file if File.exist?(@yaml_file)
     FileUtils.remove_entry_secure @tmp_dir
   end
 
diff --git a/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/answers_yaml_file_writer_spec.rb b/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/answers_yaml_file_writer_spec.rb
index fbf46b16..eecf1a59 100644
--- a/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/answers_yaml_file_writer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/answers_yaml_file_writer_spec.rb
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@
 
     it 'writes a file' do
       @ci.apply
-      expect( File.exists?( @tmp_file ) ).to be true
+      expect( File.exist?( @tmp_file ) ).to be true
       expect( @ci.applied_status ).to eq :succeeded
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/generate_certificates_action_spec.rb b/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/generate_certificates_action_spec.rb
index ec5ff416..a115eee8 100644
--- a/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/generate_certificates_action_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/items/action/generate_certificates_action_spec.rb
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
           @ci.apply
           expect( @ci.applied_status ).to eq :succeeded
           dir = File.join( @tmp_dirs[:keydist], @fqdn )
-          expect( File.exists? dir ).to be true
+          expect( File.exist? dir ).to be true
         end
 
         it 'reports :failed status on failure' do
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
         it 'reports :unnecessary status' do
           @ci.generate_certificates(@fqdn)
           dir = File.join( @tmp_dirs[:keydist], @fqdn )
-          expect( File.exists? dir ).to be true
+          expect( File.exist? dir ).to be true
           @ci.apply
           expect( @ci.applied_status ).to eq :unnecessary
           expect(@ci.apply_summary).to match /Interim certificate generation for 'puppet.testing.fqdn' unnecessary:\n    Certificates already exist/m
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@
         end
 
         dir = File.join( @tmp_dirs[:keydist], @fqdn )
-        expect( File.exists? dir ).to be true
+        expect( File.exist? dir ).to be true
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/yaml_utils_spec.rb b/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/yaml_utils_spec.rb
index abe254d3..7de8960a 100644
--- a/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/yaml_utils_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/simp/cli/config/yaml_utils_spec.rb
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class YamlUtilsTester
 
   describe '#pair_to_yaml_tag' do
     {
-      'nil'            => { :value => nil, :exp => "key: \n" },
+      'nil'            => { :value => nil, :exp => %r{\Akey:[[:blank:]]?\n\z} }, # Newer libyaml does not add a space when the value is nil
       'boolean'        => { :value => true, :exp => "key: true\n" },
       'integer'        => { :value => 1, :exp => "key: 1\n" },
       'float'          => { :value => 1.5, :exp => "key: 1.5\n" },
@@ -89,7 +89,11 @@ class YamlUtilsTester
       }
     }.each do |type, attr|
       it "returns a valid YAML tag for a #{type} value" do
-        expect( @tester.pair_to_yaml_tag('key', attr[:value]) ).to eq(attr[:exp])
+        if attr[:exp].is_a?(Regexp)
+          expect( @tester.pair_to_yaml_tag('key', attr[:value]) ).to match(attr[:exp])
+        else
+          expect( @tester.pair_to_yaml_tag('key', attr[:value]) ).to eq(attr[:exp])
+        end
       end
     end
   end
@@ -326,7 +330,8 @@ class YamlUtilsTester
         result = @tester.merge_or_replace_yaml_tag('pam::access::users', nil, file_info)
         expect( result ).to eq :replace
         expected = File.join(@files_dir, 'base_nil_replace.yaml')
-        expect( IO.read(@test_file) ).to eq IO.read(expected)
+        expect( IO.read(@test_file) ).to eq(IO.read(expected))
+          .or eq(IO.read(expected).gsub(%r{:[[:blank:]]+$}, ':')) # Newer libyaml does not add a space when the value is nil
         YAML.load(IO.read(@test_file)) # verifies modified file is still valid YAML
       end