New Rails Project

Creates a new Rails project following personal conventions from ~/.claude/NEW-PROJECT-RAILS.md.

Invocation

code

/new-project-rails                    # Interactive - prompt for project name
/new-project-rails <project-name>     # Create project with specified name

Project Conventions

Setting	Value
Location	`/opt/ruby/<project-name>`
Ruby manager	rvm
Default branch	`master` (not main)
Testing	RSpec (not Minitest)
Database	PostgreSQL (not SQLite)
Docker	Yes - with bind mounts for local dev

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Input

Required: Project name

Confidence thresholds:

•Project name provided → proceed (90%)
•No name provided → prompt user

Validation:

•Name should be lowercase, alphanumeric with underscores/hyphens
•Check /opt/ruby/<name> doesn't already exist

Step 2: Determine Versions

Check latest stable versions:

bash

# Latest Ruby
rvm list known | grep -E "^\[ruby-\]" | tail -5

# Latest Rails
gem search ^rails$ --remote | head -1

Confidence thresholds:

•Clear latest stable version → use it (85%)
•Multiple candidates or unclear → suggest and confirm

Step 3: Create Project Structure

bash

# Create and enter directory
mkdir -p /opt/ruby/<project-name>
cd /opt/ruby/<project-name>

# Set Ruby version
rvm install <ruby-version>  # if not already installed
rvm use <ruby-version>
echo "ruby-<version>" > .ruby-version

# Install Rails
gem install rails -v <rails-version>

# Generate project
rails new . --skip-test -d postgresql

Step 4: Configure Testing

bash

# Add RSpec to Gemfile (in :development, :test group)
# The gem line should be added after the group declaration

bundle install
rails generate rspec:install
bundle binstubs rspec-core

Add to Gemfile in :development, :test group:

ruby

gem 'rspec-rails'

Step 5: Fix Git Branch

bash

# Rename main to master
git branch -m main master

# Fix CI workflow references
sed -i '' 's/branches: \[ main \]/branches: [ master ]/' .github/workflows/ci.yml

Step 6: Update CI Workflow

In .github/workflows/ci.yml:

•Update actions/checkout to latest (v6)
•Update actions/cache to latest (v5)
•Ensure branch references use master

Step 7: Configure .gitignore

Add to .gitignore:

code

# Ignore Claude Code local settings
/.claude/settings.local.json

Step 8: Create Docker Files

Read templates from ~/.claude/NEW-PROJECT-RAILS.md and create:

•Dockerfile - Multi-stage build with bind mount support
•docker-compose.yml - App, worker, postgres services
•.dockerignore - Exclude dev/test files

Substitute <ruby-version> in Dockerfile.

Step 9: Configure Database

Update config/database.yml default section:

yaml

default: &default
  adapter: postgresql
  encoding: unicode
  pool: <%= ENV.fetch("RAILS_MAX_THREADS") { 5 } %>
  host: <%= ENV.fetch("DATABASE_HOST") { "localhost" } %>
  port: <%= ENV.fetch("DATABASE_PORT") { 55432 } %>
  username: <%= ENV.fetch("DATABASE_USERNAME") { "rails" } %>
  password: <%= ENV.fetch("DATABASE_PASSWORD", nil) %>

Step 10: Create .env Template

Create .env with placeholder:

code

RAILS_MASTER_KEY=<paste from config/master.key>

Add .env to .gitignore if not already present.

Step 11: Configure Background Jobs (if using worker)

Check if SolidQueue is present. If so, add to config/environments/development.rb:

ruby

# Use SolidQueue for background jobs (same as production)
config.active_job.queue_adapter = :solid_queue

Step 12: Update Gems

bash

bundle update

Step 13: Verify Setup

bash

# Run specs (should pass - no tests yet)
bin/rspec

# Verify Rails starts
bin/rails server &
sleep 3
curl -s http://localhost:3000 > /dev/null && echo "Rails running OK"
kill %1

Step 14: Report Success

code

✓ Rails project created successfully

  Project: <project-name>
  Path:    /opt/ruby/<project-name>
  Ruby:    <ruby-version>
  Rails:   <rails-version>

  Next steps:
    cd /opt/ruby/<project-name>

    # Local development:
    bin/rails db:create
    bin/rails server

    # Docker development:
    # First, copy master key to .env:
    cat config/master.key  # copy this value
    # Edit .env and paste as RAILS_MASTER_KEY value
    docker compose up -d

    # Create GitHub repo:
    git add .
    git commit -m "chore: initial Rails <rails-version> project with RSpec"
    gh repo create <username>/<project-name> --public --source=. --push

  Troubleshooting: ~/.claude/NEW-PROJECT-RAILS.md

Error Handling

Error	Resolution
Directory exists	Warn and ask to proceed or choose different name
Ruby version not found	Offer to install via rvm
Bundle install fails	Check for OpenSSL issues (see NEW-PROJECT-RAILS.md troubleshooting)
Port 3000 in use	Note in output, suggest killing process

Templates Reference

All file templates are defined in ~/.claude/NEW-PROJECT-RAILS.md. Read that file to get the exact content for:

•Dockerfile (Step 10)
•docker-compose.yml (Step 10)
•.dockerignore (Step 10)
•database.yml default section (Step 10)

This ensures the skill stays in sync with the guide.