Rails + Hotwire Patterns

Overview

Patterns from 37signals' approach to Rails development. Emphasizes REST purity, thin controllers calling rich models, and Hotwire for dynamic interfaces without heavy JavaScript.

Read vanilla-rails.md for complete patterns and examples (~3000 tokens).

When to Use This Skill

Use when working on Rails applications with Hotwire:

• Adding new routes, controllers, or actions
• Implementing Turbo Streams or Turbo Frames
• Writing Stimulus controllers
• Organizing model concerns
• Building real-time features with broadcasts

Quick Reference

Routing

Model actions as resources. Custom actions become nested resources:

# Instead of: post :close, :reopen on cards
resources :cards do
  resource :closure  # create = close, destroy = reopen
end

Controllers

Thin controllers call rich model methods:

class Cards::ClosuresController < ApplicationController
  def create
    @card.close(user: Current.user)
  end

  def destroy
    @card.reopen(user: Current.user)
  end
end

Models

Small, focused concerns. One behavior per concern:

class Card < ApplicationRecord
  include Closeable, Watchable, Pinnable
end

Turbo Streams

Array-based DOM IDs for scoped targets:

<%= turbo_stream.replace [@card, :container], partial: "cards/container" %>

Stimulus

Private methods with #, dispatch events for coordination:

export default class extends Controller {
  #timer

  open() {
    this.dispatch("show")
  }
}

Core Principles

1. REST purity - Actions are CRUD on resources
2. Thin controllers - Controllers call models, models contain behavior
3. Small concerns - One behavior per concern
4. Turbo-first - Server renders HTML, Turbo handles updates
5. Stimulus for sprinkles - JavaScript enhances, doesn't replace

Bottom Line

Read vanilla-rails.md for the complete guide. These patterns work together - routing informs controller design, controllers return Turbo Streams, Stimulus coordinates the UI.