Let's Learn Ruby a resource list

Hi! This road map has helped me as a second-career developer who didn’t do a bootcamp. I hope it helps you too.

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Table of contents

Basics
Foundations
- SQL and databases
- Git
Front end
- CSS
- JavaScript
- Usability
- Web standards
- Hotwire
Advanced Ruby and Rails
- Advanced Rails
Beyond web development
Ruby media
Rails codebases to study
- Small codebases
- Larger codebases

🔗 Basics

🔗 Front-end basics

Learn some HTML, CSS, and JS

The Odin Project - Foundations path or MDN - Learn web development or web.dev - Learn web development.
Build a blog from scratch

GitHub Pages is an accessible way to do this. (Choose the option “Project site”, then “Start from scratch”.).

🔗 Ruby basics

🔗 Basics

The Odin Project - Ruby
GoRails - Ruby for Beginners

If you prefer videos.
Try Ruby

And BigBinary Academy, if you like an interactive approach.

🔗 Guided practice

Exercism - Ruby
Advent of Code

With other people’s Ruby solutions to compare yours to. One way to do this is my Advent of Ruby gem.

🔗 OOP (object-oriented programming)

🔗 Build stuff with Ruby

A CLI (command-line interface) app

I made one that gives statistics on a reading log.
A game

A text-based game is the most straightforward option, but there are Ruby game engines for graphical games.
A static site with [Bridgetown](https://github.com/bridgetownrb/bridgetown), which is simpler than building a web app with Rails

Maybe rebuild your blog? Be sure to join the Bridgetown Discord server.

🔗 Rails basics

🔗 Basics

Getting started with Rails

An interactive quick start.
typecraft - Rails New

And/or GoRails - Build a Blog with Rails 7 if you like videos.
The Odin Project - Rails

🔗 Testing

thoughtbot - Testing Rails

Or the summary blog post. (In the book, ignore controller specs because they have been superseded by request specs.).
💲 Effective Testing with RSpec 3

🔗 Miscellaneous

Beginners Guide to Ruby on Rails Performance
Style guides

For Ruby, Rails, and RSpec.

🔗 Getting hired

🔗 Get real-world experience to put on your resume

Contribute to open-source projects

I’ve written a short guide on how to get started.
Ruby Central - Scholars and Guides Program

🔗 Mentorship

First Ruby Friend

Where aspiring and first-year developers are connected with a mentor.
r/rails

Examples: 1, 2.

🔗 The job search

🔗 Foundations

🔗 SQL and databases

🔗 Git

Oh My Git!

Or Learn Git Branching.
Oh Shit, Git!?!

Or for more detail, Git Flight Rules.
Git Katas
The Git Parable

🔗 Front end

🔗 CSS

CSS Nouveau

🔗 JavaScript

🔗 Basics

🔗 Web components

MDN - Web Components

🔗 TypeScript

🔗 New web APIs

🔗 Usability

🔗 Web standards

🔗 Hotwire

🔗 News

Hotwire Weekly

🔗 Reference

Hotwire.io

(more extensive than the official docs).
turbo-rails "Usage" README section
thoughtbot - Hotwire examples
Betterstimulus
Stimulus-Use
Stimulus Components

🔗 Advanced Ruby and Rails

🔗 Advanced Rails

🔗 Rails internals

💲 Noah Gibbs - Rebuilding Rails

🔗 Architecture

💲 Layered Design for Ruby on Rails Applications

🔗 Background jobs

🔗 Beyond web development

🔗 Ruby that is not web development

💲 DragonRuby Game Toolkit

For game development. See their Discord and community site. Other Ruby game libraries: Gosu, Raylib Ruby, MiniGL, Ruby 2D, Taylor, TIC-80.
Gamefic

For building text-based games and interactive fiction. See Getting Started and examples.
SC2AI

For StarCraft II botting.
Sonic Pi

For live music coding.
Ronin

For security development.
Scripting and text processing

Ruby One-Liners Guide, Ruby Regexp, 💲Text Processing with Ruby.

🔗 Mentoring

Exercism

🔗 Computer science

Learn Computer Science

My other list.

🔗 Ruby media

r/ruby

And r/rails.
Ruby (Discord)
Ruby.social (Mastodon)
Bluesky starter packs for Ruby developers
Ruby on Rails Link (Slack)
Lobsters

It’s not Ruby-specific, but it’s a way to widen your horizons and the discussions are of high quality. It’s like Hacker News but smaller and more focused on programming.

🔗 Blogs, newsletters, podcasts

Awesome Ruby Blogs

🔗 "Let's build" screencasts

🔗 Topical screencasts

🔗 Live streams

ChaelCodes

: Meet Another Day and other open-source development.
❓

pushcx

: Lobsters development.
TenderlovesCoolStuff

🔗 Rails codebases to study

🔗 Small codebases

github.com/nshki/naisho

<2k lines. Send personal data deletion request emails to hundreds of data brokers at once.
github.com/carsoncole/workypad

2k lines. App for managing job prospecting.
once.com/writebook

3k lines. App for publishing books to the web.
github.com/garyharan/fresh

Plus github.com/garyharan/FreshAppIOS and github.com/garyharan/FreshAppAndroid. 4k lines. Dating app using Hotwire Native.
github.com/ChaelCodes/MeetAnotherDay

4k lines. Helps you find and meet up with your friends at conferences.
github.com/SpinaCMS/Spina

6k lines. CMS (Content Management System).
github.com/eigenfocus/eigenfocus

5k lines. Self-hosted project/time management app.
github.com/basecamp/once-campfire

6k lines. Self-hosted chat application similar to Slack.
github.com/codetriage/codetriage

6k lines. Issue tracker for open-source projects.
github.com/demingfactor/calagator

9k lines. Community calendar platform.
github.com/rubyevents/rubyevents

11k lines. Index of Ruby events and videos.
github.com/lookbook-hq/lookbook

11k lines. UI development environment for Rails apps.
github.com/thoughtbot/upcase

14k lines. Learning platform for developers.
github.com/joemasilotti/railsdevs.com

14k lines. The reverse job board for Ruby on Rails developers.
github.com/galahq/gala

15k lines. Collaborative learning platform.
github.com/CircuitVerse/CircuitVerse

15k lines. Digital logic circuit simulator. Has a Vue.js front end.
github.com/docusealco/docuseal

15k lines. Open source DocuSign alternative.
github.com/rubyforgood/homeward-tails

15k lines. Connects adopters/fosters with pets.
github.com/TheOdinProject/theodinproject

16k lines. Main website for The Odin Project web development learning platform.
github.com/AllYourBot/hostedgpt

16k lines. Self-hosted ChatGPT alternative.
github.com/RailsEventStore/ecommerce

17k lines. Example app showing DDD (Domain-Driven Design), CQRS, and Event Sourcing.
github.com/lobsters/lobsters

18k lines. Hacker News clone.
github.com/maybe-finance/maybe

19k lines. Personal finance app.
github.com/rauversion/rauversion

20k lines. Music platform.
github.com/ifmeorg/ifme

21k lines. Mental health communication web app to share experiences with loved ones.
github.com/openSUSE/osem

24k lines. Event management tool tailored to Free and Open Source Software conferences.
github.com/chicago-tool-library/circulate

26k lines. A lending library management system.
github.com/feedbin/feedbin

31k lines. RSS reader.
github.com/AlchemyCMS/alchemy_cms

37k lines. CMS (Content Management System).
github.com/huginn/huginn

37k lines. Web task automation.
github.com/rubyforgood/casa

44k lines. Volunteer management system for the nonprofit CASA.
github.com/rubyforgood/human-essentials

47k lines. An inventory management system for essentials supply banks.

🔗 Larger codebases

github.com/rubygems/rubygems.org

56k lines. Where Ruby gems are hosted.
github.com/WikiEducationFoundation/WikiEduDashboard

59k lines. Wikipedia course dashboard system. Has a React front end.
github.com/chatwoot/chatwoot

74k lines. Customer engagement suite. Has a Vue.js front end.
github.com/solidusio/solidus

98k lines. E-commerce platform.
github.com/alphagov/whitehall

110k lines. Publishes government content on gov.uk.
github.com/mastodon/mastodon

117k lines. Like Twitter but self-hosted and federated.
github.com/redmine/redmine

118k lines. Project management app.
github.com/forem/forem

126k lines. Powers the blogging site dev.to. Uses Preact on the front end.
github.com/openfoodfoundation/openfoodnetwork

129k lines. An online marketplace for local food.
github.com/decidim/decidim

294k lines. The participatory democracy framework.
github.com/zammad/zammad

299k lines. Helpdesk/customer support system.
github.com/antiwork/gumroad

323k lines. E-commerce platform.
github.com/opf/openproject

479k lines. Project management software.
github.com/discourse/discourse

514k lines. Discussion forum platform. Has an Ember.js front end.
github.com/instructure/canvas-lms

891k lines. A popular LMS (learning management system).
gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab

3 million lines. Like GitHub but with CI/CD and DevOps features built in. Uses Vue.js on the front end. Has docs on architecture.