rails application templates
Last updated 28 May 2014
Rails application templates are Ruby scripts used with the "rails new myapp -m" command to generate a Rails web application. They are often used to generate starter apps that can be the basis of any new Rails project.
Also see an annotated list of Rails Examples, Tutorials, and Starter Apps.
If you’re new to Rails, see What is Ruby on Rails?, the book Learn Ruby on Rails, and recommendations for a Rails tutorial.
This is an article from the RailsApps project. The RailsApps project provides example applications that developers use as starter apps. Hundreds of developers use the apps, report problems as they arise, and propose solutions. Rails changes frequently; each application is known to work and serves as your personal “reference implementation.” Each application is accompanied by a tutorial so there is no mystery code. Support for the project comes from subscribers. Please accept our invitation to join the RailsApps project.
These websites allow you to select “recipes” and generate an application template and a starter app.
| Author | Site | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Erik Nomitch | prelang.com | choose features and save to GitHub |
| Daniel Davey | drone.bz | emphasis on Sass, Compass, Coffeescript and Slim |
| Michael Bleigh | RailsWizard | recipes are outdated, not maintained |
Install these gems to generate an application template and a starter app.
Some have a collection of “recipes”. Fork the gem and edit the recipes for a custom app template.
| Author | Gem | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Davey | app_drone | Built for the drone.bz website; many recipes |
| Daniel Kehoe | Rails Apps Composer | A fork of the RailsWizard gem; actively maintained |
| Dr. Nic Williams | App Scrolls | A fork of the RailsWizard gem |
| Michael Bleigh | RailsWizard | Built for the RailsWizard website; no longer maintained |
| Kevin Faustino | Rails Templater | Mongoid or ActiveRecord |
| Kristian Mandrup | Cream | Devise, CanCan, roles, many ORMs |
| Quick Left | Prologue | Devise, CanCan, ActiveRecord only, many recipes |
| Thomas Symborski | Gypsum | Fork of Prologue |
| Andrew Culver | Shinkansen | Fork of Gypsum |
| Thoughtbot | Suspenders | ActiveRecord only, no recipes |
| Yi-Ting Cheng | bootstrappers | MySQL only, no recipes |
| Cristiano Betta | primo | Haml PostgreSQL RSpec, no recipes |
| Carbon Five | Raygun | Slim PostgreSQL RSpec, no recipes |
| Nico Schuele | RailsBricks | Bootstrap, Devise, RSpec, no recipes |
Use these scripts with the "rails new myapp -m" command to generate an application.
| Author | Project | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Kehoe | Rails Composer | Rails 4.1, Devise or OmniAuth, ActiveRecord or Mongoid. Options for RSpec, Cucumber, Factory Girl, Haml, etc. |
| Author | Project | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Denny Britz | Rails Startup Template | Rails 4, Haml, RSpec, optional Twitter Bootstrap., etc. |
| Nick Janetakis | Opinionated Rails Application Templates | Rails 4, Postgres, Redis, Bootstrap, etc. |
| Author | Project | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Cardarella | DockYard’s Sail Plan | Rails 3.2, Haml, Compass, EasyAuth, RSpec, Capybara, FactoryGirl |
| lab2023 | lab2023 Rails Template | Rails 3.2, Devise, CanCan, RSpec, Capybara, FactoryGirl, etc. |
For a ranking of some older application templates by popularity, see:
The Ruby Toolbox: Rails App Templates
These projects were updated in 2011 and use Devise for authentication:
Devise, RSpec, Factory Girl, jQuery, Haml, Sass, Compass, Git, rvm, HTML5 Boilerplate, plus a layout. Uses subtemplates for easy customizing.
Devise (with Cucumber steps), Cucumber, RSpec, Factory Girl, Haml, Compass, jQuery, Git, Formtastic, a layout, and much more. Uses subtemplates for easy customizing.
Devise or Authlogic or OmniAuth, Cucumber, Capybara, RSpec, Factory Girl, Shoulda, jQuery, Haml, Compass, 960 grid or Blueprint, Capistrano or Heroku or Inploy, Git, plus a layout. Uses subtemplates for easy customizing.
PostgreSQL, Devise, Cucumber with Selenium and Capybara, RSpec with Machinist and Faker, JQuery, Simple Form, Haml, SASS, Git, rvm, Google analytics (optional), Hoptoad for issue tracking (optional), TellThemWhen for downtime notifications (optional). With a description of the recipe in the README.
These projects were updated in 2010 and use Devise:
Devise, RSpec, Cucumber with Capybara, Factory Girl, jQuery, Simple Form, Git, rvm. Uses subtemplates for easy customizing.
Devise, Cucumber, Shoulda with Factory Girl and Mocha, Haml, Sass, Formtastic, jQuery, Git, rvm.
This project was updated in 2010 and uses Mongoid:
Mongoid or ActiveRecord, RSpec, FactoryGirl, Cucumber (with Mongoid steps), jQuery, Haml, Sass, Compass. Uses subtemplates for easy customizing.
These projects were updated in 2011 and do not use Devise or Mongoid:
Cucumber, RSpec, jQuery, Haml or Jammit, Capistrano, Git, rvm, plus a layout. Uses subtemplates for easy customizing.
Cucumber, RSpec, Factory Girl or Fabrication, Haml, jQuery, Git, rvm.
Haml, Sass, Git, plus a layout.
These Rails 2.3 projects were once popular but haven’t been updated since 2009 or 2010: