How to set up centralized logging in Rails for production?

Production Rails recommends using Lograge to reduce log volume and a service like Papertrail for storage. The guide provides configuration code to add request_id and user_id, streamlining debugging.

What's the safest way to handle database migrations in Rails?

Use Strong Migrations to catch unsafe operations during development, as recommended in the guide. This prevents issues like locking tables or data loss when deploying to production.

Production Rails vs Heroku's Rails best practices – which is better?

Production Rails offers a comprehensive, tool-agnostic approach suitable for any infrastructure, while Heroku's guide is optimized for their platform. Choose based on your deployment environment and need for vendor flexibility.

How to implement feature flags in a Rails app?

The guide suggests using Rollout for feature management and Field Test for A/B testing. This allows enabling or disabling features without code deploys, with examples for safe rollouts.

What are good alternatives to Rollbar for error reporting in Rails?

While Rollbar is highlighted, other services like Sentry or Bugsnag can be used. The guide's core advice is to use a dedicated error reporting service for better production debugging and alerts.

Is Memcached the only caching option recommended?

The guide specifically recommends Memcached with Dalli for high-performance caching, but it's focused on proven tools; alternatives like Redis might be suitable depending on your application's needs and existing stack.

Open-Awesome

production_rails

CC-BY-4.0

A comprehensive guide and collection of best practices for deploying, monitoring, and securing Ruby on Rails applications in production environments.

GitHub

2.3k stars138 forks0 contributors

What is production_rails?

Production Rails is a guide that provides best practices for operating Ruby on Rails applications in production environments. It covers critical areas like security, error handling, logging, database management, and performance monitoring to help developers build reliable and scalable applications. The guide recommends specific libraries and services to implement these practices effectively.

Target Audience

Rails developers, DevOps engineers, and engineering teams responsible for deploying and maintaining Ruby on Rails applications in production, particularly those seeking to improve reliability and scalability.

Value Proposition

It offers a curated, experience-driven compilation of tools and techniques that prevent common production issues, saving time and reducing risk compared to piecing together solutions independently. The guide is maintained by an active open-source contributor with real-world insights from high-scale environments.

Overview

Best practices for running Rails in production

Use Cases

Best For

Teams deploying Rails applications to production for the first time
Improving monitoring and alerting for existing Rails apps
Implementing secure database migration strategies
Optimizing background job processing and caching
Setting up comprehensive error tracking and logging
Managing feature rollouts and A/B testing safely

Not Ideal For

Teams using non-Ruby on Rails frameworks or languages
Applications deployed on fully-managed platforms like Heroku that abstract away infrastructure concerns
Small hobby projects where the overhead of comprehensive production tooling is unjustified
Organizations with strict data sovereignty or compliance needs requiring in-house, audited solutions

Pros & Cons

Pros

Real-World Curated Tools

Recommends specific, battle-tested libraries like Strong Migrations and Sidekiq based on experience at high-scale companies such as Instacart, reducing guesswork.

Holistic Production Coverage

Covers essential areas from security and error reporting to performance monitoring and feature management, providing a complete blueprint for production readiness.

Practical Implementation Examples

Includes ready-to-use code snippets, such as Lograge configuration and database timeout settings, making it easier for developers to apply the advice.

Proactive Issue Prevention

Emphasizes tools like Safely for exception handling and Rollout for feature flags to prevent and manage production issues before they impact users.

Cons

Third-Party Service Dependence

Heavily advocates for specific external services (e.g., Rollbar, Papertrail, New Relic), which can lead to vendor lock-in, increased costs, and integration complexity.

Rails-Exclusive Focus

The guide is tailored solely for Ruby on Rails, making it irrelevant for teams using other frameworks or languages, limiting its general applicability.

Integration Overhead

Implementing the full suite of recommendations requires setting up and maintaining multiple independent tools, which can be daunting and time-consuming for smaller or resource-constrained teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

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