Rails Docs

Ruby on Rails 8.1 — Skill Documentation

Metadata

• Target Version: Rails 8.1.x (October 2025)
• Ruby Version: 3.2+ required
• Source: guides.rubyonrails.org
• Files: 22
• Lines: ~6,800

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Quick Reference

| Topic | File | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | Getting Started (installation, quick start, MVC, directory structure) | getting-started.md | Install Ruby/Rails, create app, first CRUD | | Active Record (basics, migrations, validations, callbacks, associations, queries) | active-record.md | ORM, CRUD, schema conventions, model lifecycle | | Action View (layouts, rendering, helpers, form helpers) | action-view.md | Templates, partials, form helpers, rendering | | Action Controller (overview, advanced, CSRF, streaming) | action-controller.md | Parameters, sessions, cookies, filters, rescue | | Routing (RESTful routes, resources, constraints) | routing.md | URL routing, resource routing, route helpers | | Active Support (core extensions, instrumentation) | active-support.md | Ruby extensions, present?, try, deep_dup | | Action Mailer / Mailbox / Text | action-mailer.md | Email sending, receiving, rich text content | | Active Job (background jobs, queues) | active-job.md | Job declaration, queuing, execution, callbacks | | Active Storage (file uploads, variants) | active-storage.md | Attachments, transformations, direct uploads | | Action Cable (WebSockets, real-time) | action-cable.md | Channels, streams, broadcasting, connections | | Internationalization (I18n) | i18n.md | Translations, pluralization, locale switching | | Testing (Minitest, fixtures, integration) | testing.md | Unit, functional, integration, system tests | | Security (CSRF, SQL injection, XSS) | security.md | Authentication, session security, production | | Caching (fragment, Russian doll, SQL) | caching.md | Page, action, fragment, query caching | | API-Only Applications | api-app.md | JSON API, ActionController::API, rendering | | Configuration (command line, assets, JS, init, autoloading) | configuration.md | Config files, generators, Propshaft, importmaps | | Debugging & Error Reporting | debugging.md | Logger, debugger, error reporting, instrumentation | | Performance & Threading | performance.md | Tuning, concurrency, thread safety, code execution | | Advanced Active Record (PostgreSQL, multi-DB, encryption, CPK) | advanced-active-record.md | PG-specific, multi-database, encryption, composite PKs | | Extending Rails (plugins, Rack, generators, engines) | extending-rails.md | Plugin creation, Rack middleware, custom generators | | Upgrading & Release Notes | upgrading.md | Upgrade steps, Rails 8.1/8.0/7.2 features |

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Core Concepts

• MVC Architecture: Model (Active Record), View (Action View), Controller (Action Controller)
• Convention over Configuration: Sensible defaults — pluralized table names, id primary keys, created_at/updated_at timestamps
• Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY): Single source of truth for data, logic, and presentation
• RESTful Design: Resources map to CRUD operations via HTTP verbs
• Rails Stack: Puma server, SQLite/PostgreSQL/MySQL, Solid Queue, Solid Cache, Solid Cable (Rails 8 defaults)
• Hotwire: Turbo Drive, Turbo Frames, Turbo Streams, Stimulus — built-in, no JS framework required
• Kamal: Deployment tool for provisioning and deploying Rails apps to any cloud

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Common Patterns

Generate a scaffold (full CRUD)

bin/rails generate scaffold Article title:string body:text
bin/rails db:migrate

Model with validations and associations

class Article 
  
  
  

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: pledgeandgrow
• Source: pledgeandgrow/pledge-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.