Vanilla Rails

Default architecture when writing Rails, from the Vanilla Rails philosophy of 37signals/Basecamp. Apply it while implementing — do not wait for a review command or for the user to name the philosophy.

Based on Fizzy

This skill is informed by Fizzy - a production Rails application from 37signals.

Key Fizzy patterns:

• Controllers call Active Record directly: @board.update!(board_params), @card.comments.create!(comment_params)
• Models composed of concerns: include Closeable, Golden, Postponable, Watchable
• State tracked with dedicated models: has_one :closure, has_one :goldness
• No app/services/ directory
• Complex multi-step processes use plain objects or ActiveRecord models with state

Quick Start

Vanilla Rails embraces Rails's built-in patterns and avoids premature abstraction: