Hotwired ATS: Modern, full-stack Rails 7 development

Hotwired ATS is now free for everyone. If you want to support my work, you can still "buy" it here on Gumroad. Access the book online at book.hotwiringrails.com.

Hotwired ATS is a step-by-step tutorial for Ruby on Rails developers interested in learning more about the modern Rails 7 stack: Turbo, Stimulus, CableReady, and StimulusReflex.

In this book we will build a simple applicant tracking system (ATS) with job postings, job applications, two-way email communication, in-app notifications, and multi-user accounts.

From rails new to the final code change, we will walk through each step together, creating an application using the latest in Ruby on Rails techniques.

Some of the things we will build together include:

• Searching and filtering lists with Turbo Frames
• Dragging and dropping items with Stimulus and again with StimulusReflex
• Slideover forms with CableReady and again with Turbo Frames and Turbo Streams
• Interactive charts with StimulusReflex
• Real-time broadcasting with Turbo Streams and with CableReady
• Inbound and outbound email processing with ActionMailbox

We will also use esbuild to bundle our JavaScript, Tailwind to style our application, Devise for user authentication, SortableJS to drag elements in the UI, and ApexCharts to render animated charts.

FAQs:

Who is this book for? Do I need to be a Rails expert?

The audience for this book is junior-level and up Rails developers. If you are comfortable building small Rails applications on your own and understand the basics of Rails models, views, and controllers, you will get value from this book.

If you are an experienced Rails developer and you have not had a chance to use Hotwire, CableReady, or StimulusReflex, this book will be useful for you too.

If you are already well-versed in Rails development with the Hotwire stack, this book will expose you to alternative techniques with CableReady and StimulusReflex that you may find valuable if you find yourself frustrated by some of the limitations of Turbo Streams.

If you are already comfortable building complex web applications with some combination of Turbo, Stimulus, CableReady, and StimulusReflex, this book may not add much value for you.

What's the writing style like? Will I understand it?

The book is written in the same style as the tutorials I publish on my blog, at colby.so. If you enjoy the step-by-step explanation of the code that you find in my posts there, you will feel right at home in the book.

For brand new developers and developers who have never used Ruby on Rails before may want to consider other, beginner-focused Rails resources before investing in this book. While everything is explained as we go, I assume a base level of understanding of core Rails concepts that may make the pace of the book overwhelming.

The book's content is dense, and the pace is often quite fast — for readers of all levels, the best approach is to take your time and pause when you are beginning to feel information overload.

Chapter List:

1. Application setup
2. Users and accounts with Devise
3. Job Postings
4. Creating and moving applicants
5. Filtering and sorting with Turbo Frames
6. Viewing and contacting applicants
7. Building a notification system
8. Public-facing application pages
9. User management
10. Interactive charts with StimulusReflex
11. Applicant comments and user mentions