Migrating from Paperclip to ActiveStorage without downtime
How we moved a production Rails app with a large S3 media library from Paperclip to ActiveStorage using dual writes, a backfill, staged cutovers, and compatibility monkey patches.
LESSONS FROM REAL RAILS APPLICATIONS
Better Rails.
Stronger businesses
Practical lessons from taking over, stabilizing, and improving real applications. For engineers who care about what happens after deployment.
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All articlesRails Database Migrations Across Multiple Git Branches
Reproduce database drift across Rails feature branches, compare manual rollback and branch-specific databases, and try actual_db_schema with observable checks.
Running Rails migrations before Kamal switches containers
How we traced Kamal's deployment lifecycle to run Rails migrations before cutover, pin the release image, and refresh secrets with a small Ruby extension.
Ruby Is Mature and Still Moving Forward
My takeaways from the 2026 Rails Community Survey: new applications, practical architecture, shared maintenance challenges, and reasons to feel optimistic.
A small RSpec helper that saves code, risk, and AI tokens
Replace repeated ENV cleanup with stub_env, then teach your AI assistant to use it. A real refactoring with measured line and token counts, and its limitations.
How to Prevent schema.rb Conflicts in Rails
Diagnose Rails schema.rb conflicts, remove phantom migrations, and regenerate a clean schema without losing legitimate changes from other branches.
Your Rails App Still Works. Is It Still Supported?
A practical guide for founders to check Ruby, Rails, and hosting support, prioritize upgrade risks, and modernize a live application in manageable steps.
AI Is Changing What I Can Afford to Focus On
A client's leadership feedback came full circle at WideFix. A conversation with AI helped me turn it into team principles, clearer positioning, and work on our website.
Ruby Won't Die While We Still Love It
Why Ruby stays alive through the developers who love it: a personal story of building with Ruby, sharing gems, and earning the community's trust.
Squash-tree: Preserve and Inspect Squash History Without Fighting Git
Preserves the history of the original commits after git squash. Inspect the squash tree and cherry-pick whenever and whatever you want.
ActualDbSchema v0.9.0: CI/CD Integration with Database-Stored Migrations
Enhanced CI/CD integration and database-stored migrations for consistent schema management across all environments.
Ruby and Rails upgrade: personal experience
A personal story on upgrading Ruby from 3.1 to 3.4 and Rails from 6.1 to 7.2 in a live project. Reflection on using AI tools to speed up the process. Shared challenges and lesso...
New UI Features for Schema Tracking and Migration Management in ActualDbSchema
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