Rails Example for Convox

A modern Rails 7.1 application ready to deploy on Convox Cloud Machines or your own Convox Rack.

This example demonstrates a production-ready Rails application with PostgreSQL database, Redis caching, health checks, and a real-time dashboard. It showcases Rails best practices while being optimized for Convox deployment.

Features

• Rails 7.1 with modern best practices
• PostgreSQL database with migrations and seeds
• User Management CRUD interface
• API Endpoints with JSON responses
• Health Monitoring with dedicated endpoints
• Dashboard showing real-time stats
• Docker Optimized for fast builds and small images
• Cloud Machine Ready with proper CPU/memory settings

Deploy to Convox Cloud

1. Create a Cloud Machine at console.convox.com

2. Create the app:

convox cloud apps create rails-app -i your-machine-name

3. Set the secret key:

convox cloud env set SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -hex 64) -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

4. Deploy the app:

convox cloud deploy -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

5. Run database setup:

# Run migrations
convox cloud run web "bundle exec rails db:migrate" -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

# Seed the database (optional)
convox cloud run web "bundle exec rails db:seed" -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

6. View your app:

convox cloud services -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

Visit the URL to see your application running!

Deploy to Convox Rack

1. Create the app:

convox apps create rails-app

2. Set the secret key:

convox env set SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -hex 64) -a rails-app

3. Deploy the app:

convox deploy -a rails-app

4. Run database setup:

# Run migrations
convox run web "bundle exec rails db:migrate" -a rails-app

# Seed the database (optional)
convox run web "bundle exec rails db:seed" -a rails-app

5. View your app:

convox services -a rails-app

Application Endpoints

• GET / - Dashboard with real-time statistics
• GET /health - Health check endpoint
• GET /api/status - System status JSON
• GET /users - User management interface
• GET /api/users - Users API endpoint
• GET /api/stats - Application statistics

Test the API

# Check health
curl https://your-app-url/health

# Get system status
curl https://your-app-url/api/status

# Get users list
curl https://your-app-url/api/users

Local Development

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/convox-examples/rails
cd rails

2. Start with Convox (no local Ruby/bundler needed!):

convox start

The app will be available at http://localhost:3000

Note: This example follows containerized best practices - all dependencies are installed inside Docker containers. You don't need Ruby, Node, or any dependencies installed locally.

Scaling

Convox Cloud

# Scale horizontally
convox cloud scale web --count 3 -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

# Scale vertically
convox cloud scale web --cpu 500 --memory 1024 -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

Convox Rack

# Scale horizontally
convox scale web --count 3 -a rails-app

# Scale vertically
convox scale web --cpu 500 --memory 1024 -a rails-app

Common Commands

View logs

# Cloud
convox cloud logs -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

# Rack
convox logs -a rails-app

Rails console

# Cloud
convox cloud run web "bundle exec rails console" -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

# Rack
convox run web "bundle exec rails console" -a rails-app

Database console

# Cloud
convox cloud run web "bundle exec rails dbconsole" -a rails-app -i your-machine-name

# Rack
convox run web "bundle exec rails dbconsole" -a rails-app

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
SECRET_KEY_BASE	Rails secret key	Yes
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection (auto-set by Convox)	Auto
RAILS_ENV	Rails environment	Set to production
RAILS_MAX_THREADS	Max threads per worker	Optional (default: 5)

Architecture Notes

SSL/TLS Handling

Convox handles SSL termination at the load balancer level. The application receives plain HTTP traffic on port 3000. This is standard practice for containerized applications:

• Load Balancer: Handles HTTPS (port 443) with Let's Encrypt certificates
• Application: Receives HTTP (port 3000) from the load balancer
• Configuration: config.force_ssl = false with config.assume_ssl = true

Host Authorization

For simplicity, this example sets ALLOW_ALL_HOSTS=true to handle:

• Health checks from internal Kubernetes IPs
• Requests forwarded through the Convox load balancer
• Various Convox subdomain patterns

For production applications, you should restrict this to your specific domains.

Troubleshooting

SSL/HTTPS Errors

If you see "Invalid HTTP format" or SSL-related errors, ensure:

• The app is configured to receive HTTP (not HTTPS) on port 3000
• config.force_ssl = false in production.rb
• SSL is handled by the Convox load balancer, not the Rails app

Host Authorization (Rails 7+)

If you see "Blocked hosts" errors:

• This example uses ALLOW_ALL_HOSTS=true for simplicity
• For production, configure specific allowed hosts in production.rb

Assets not loading

The app is configured with RAILS_SERVE_STATIC_FILES=true for simplicity. For production, consider using a CDN.

Memory issues

# Increase memory allocation
convox scale web --memory 1024 -a rails-app

What's Included

• Modern Rails 7.1 setup
• PostgreSQL database with sample data
• User management system
• RESTful API endpoints
• Health monitoring
• Optimized Docker build
• Production-ready configuration
• Cloud Machine compatible settings (CPU: 250)