Rails + Hotwire + Docker Starter Kit

This is a minimal yet production-ready Rails 7 starter kit, fully Dockerized for local development with Postgres, Redis, and Sidekiq. It's optimized for modern Rails development using Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus), TailwindCSS, and Sidekiq background jobs. Perfect for building Rails apps.

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✅ Stack Overview

• Ruby 3.2 (Alpine Linux)
• Rails 7.1
• PostgreSQL 15 (Docker container)
• Redis 7 (Docker container)
• Sidekiq for background jobs
• Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus)
• TailwindCSS (via tailwindcss-rails gem)
• Docker (no need to install Ruby, Rails, Postgres, or Redis on host)

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the Repo

git clone https://github.com/akshay-soni/dockerized_rails_starter_kit.git
cd your-app-folder

2. Build the Docker Images

docker-compose build

If you're on Apple Silicon, run this once:

docker-compose run --rm web bundle lock --add-platform aarch64-linux

Then rebuild:

docker-compose build

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3. Create the Rails App (only once when starting fresh)

If you haven't generated the app structure yet:

docker-compose run --no-deps web rails new . --force --database=postgresql --skip-javascript

Then fix config/database.yml:

host: db
username: postgres
password: password

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4. Create and Setup DB

docker-compose run web rails db:create

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5. Start the App

docker-compose up

Visit: http://localhost:3000

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🔥 Optional Feature Installs

🔹 Install Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus)

1. Add to your Gemfile:

   gem 'hotwire-rails'

2. Install the gem:

   docker-compose run --rm web bundle install

3. Install Hotwire:

   docker-compose run --rm web rails hotwire:install

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🔹 Install TailwindCSS

1. Add to your Gemfile:

   gem 'tailwindcss-rails'

2. Install the gem:

   docker-compose run --rm web bundle install

3. Install TailwindCSS:

   docker-compose run --rm web rails tailwindcss:install

4. Optional: add this to any view to verify:

   <div class="p-6 bg-indigo-100 text-indigo-800 font-bold rounded-xl shadow">
     TailwindCSS is working! 🎉
   </div>

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🛠 Common Commands

# Bundle install after adding gems
docker-compose run --rm web bundle install

# Rebuild containers
docker-compose build

# Run Rails console
docker-compose run web rails console

# Run DB migrations
docker-compose run web rails db:migrate

# Run Sidekiq manually
docker-compose run web bundle exec sidekiq

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🧰 How to Add a New Gem (Recommended Process)

1. Add gem to Gemfile.
2. Run bundle install inside Docker:

   docker-compose run --rm web bundle install

3. Rebuild the container:

   docker-compose build

4. Done! You can now use the gem inside your app.

💡 Tip: Always rebuild after changing the Gemfile or Dockerfile.

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💡 Tips

• Set RAILS_ENV=development in docker-compose.yml for dev mode
• Use docker-compose down --remove-orphans to clean up
• Sidekiq dashboard can be added with:

# config/routes.rb
require 'sidekiq/web'
mount Sidekiq::Web => '/sidekiq'

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📦 TODO (for future)

• Devise or Auth setup
• Multi-tenant (via Apartment gem or custom solution)
• Procfile.dev or bin/dev integration
• VSCode devcontainer.json for one-click setup

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✨ Author

Maintained by Akshay Soni. Built for fast and repeatable Rails app creation.

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Happy Hacking! 🚀