Boilermaker

A Rails 8 application template with Phlex components and AI-powered development tools.

Tech Stack

• Rails 8.0.3 with Ruby 3.4.4
• Phlex views and components (not ERB)
• Stimulus + Turbo for interactivity
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• SQLite with Solid Queue, Solid Cache, and Solid Cable
• Minitest with Capybara for testing

Quick Start

bin/setup    # Install dependencies
bin/dev      # Start development server

Visit http://localhost:3000

What's Different from Standard Rails

Views

This template uses Phlex instead of ERB. Views are Ruby classes:

app/views/posts/index.rb      # Not index.html.erb
app/components/posts/...      # Reusable components

Scaffolding generates Phlex views automatically.

Authentication

Built-in session-based auth with optional 2FA (TOTP). Configure features in config/boilermaker.yml.

IDs

Model IDs are obfuscated via Hashids in URLs.

Background Jobs & Caching

Uses SQLite-backed Solid Queue, Solid Cache, and Solid Cable instead of Redis.

Development

rails test           # Run tests
rails generate scaffold Post title:string  # Generates Phlex views
rubocop              # Style checks
brakeman             # Security scan

Starting a New Project from Boilermaker

After cloning, point origin to your new repo and add boilermaker as an upstream:

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/YOU/YOUR-NEW-REPO.git
git remote add boilermaker https://github.com/andrewhwaller/boilermaker.git
git push -u origin main

To pull updates from boilermaker later:

git fetch boilermaker
git merge boilermaker/main

AI Development Tools

This template includes Claude Code commands for AI-assisted development. Use these slash commands in Claude Code:

Core Workflow

Command	Description
/prime	Get oriented with the codebase - reads CLAUDE.md and key docs
/architecture <requirements>	Develop a spec for a new feature with multiple review iterations
/implement <spec>	Implement a feature from a spec using specialized agents
/debug <issue>	Debug an issue with code analysis and testing
/review	Review recent code changes against Rails/DHH standards

Specialized Agents

The commands use these sub-agents behind the scenes:

• Application Architect - Creates implementation specs
• DHH Code Reviewer - Reviews code against Rails conventions
• Rails Programmer - Implements backend code
• Stimulus Turbo Developer - Implements frontend with Phlex/Stimulus/Turbo
• Test Writer - Writes comprehensive tests
• Code Analyzer - Traces logic and finds bugs

Typical Workflow

1. Start a session: /prime to load project context
2. Plan a feature: /architecture docs/requirements/my-feature.md
3. Implement: /implement docs/plans/my-feature-spec.md
4. Debug issues: /debug "login form not submitting"
5. Review changes: /review before committing

See /docs/overview.md for full documentation structure.