🚀 Deploying a Ruby on Rails Application Like a Pro (Step-by-Step Guide) 🌍🔥

From Localhost to Live Server with Domains, Routing, Production Setup & Optimization

Deploying a Ruby on Rails application is one of the most powerful milestones for any developer.
It’s the moment your project goes from:

💻 “Works on my machine” → 🌍 Available to the whole world

In this guide, you’ll learn:

✅ Every deployment step
✅ Production vs Development separation
✅ Domain + Routing basics
✅ Best optimization techniques
✅ Real examples + pro-level practices

Let’s begin! 🚀

🏗️ 1. What Does Deployment Mean in Rails?

Deployment means:

• Moving your Rails app from your laptop
• To a live server (AWS, DigitalOcean, Render, etc.)
• Configuring it for production users

A deployed Rails app includes:

🌐 Web Server (Nginx)
⚙️ App Server (Puma)
🗄️ Database (PostgreSQL/MySQL)
🔐 Environment Variables
📦 Assets + Optimization

🧑‍💻 2. Prepare Your Rails App for Production

Before deploying, your Rails app must be production-ready.

✅ Use PostgreSQL (Recommended)

Rails apps in production almost always use PostgreSQL.

Update Gemfile:

gem "pg"

Run:

bundle install

Update database config:

production:
  adapter: postgresql
  encoding: unicode
  database: myapp_production

✅ Set Rails Environment Correctly

Rails has environments:

• development (local)
• test
• production (live)

Rails automatically uses:

RAILS_ENV=production

in deployment.

🌍 3. Choose a Deployment Server

Popular options:

We’ll explain deployment using AWS EC2 + Nginx + Puma (most professional setup).

☁️ 4. Setup Server (AWS EC2)

✅ Launch an EC2 Instance

Steps:

1. Go to AWS Console
2. Launch Instance
3. Select Ubuntu 22.04
4. Enable port:

• 22 (SSH)
• 80 (HTTP)
• 443 (HTTPS)

Download .pem key.

🔐 Connect to Server via SSH

ssh -i mykey.pem ubuntu@your-server-ip

Now you are inside your cloud server 🎉

⚙️ 5. Install Required Dependencies

Update server packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install essentials:

sudo apt install git curl build-essential -y

✅ Install Ruby

Use rbenv:

sudo apt install rbenv -y
rbenv install 3.2.2
rbenv global 3.2.2

Check:

ruby -v

✅ Install Rails

gem install rails
rails -v

✅ Install Node.js + Yarn (Assets)

Rails needs JS runtime:

sudo apt install nodejs yarn -y

🗄️ 6. Setup Database (PostgreSQL)

Install PostgreSQL:

sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y

Create DB user:

sudo -u postgres createuser myappuser -s
sudo -u postgres psql

Set password:

ALTER USER myappuser WITH PASSWORD 'password';

Exit:

\q

📦 7. Upload Rails Application Code

Clone from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/myapp.git
cd myapp

Install gems:

bundle install

🔐 8. Configure Environment Variables (Secrets)

Never hardcode secrets like:

• API keys
• DB passwords
• Rails master key

Use:

EDITOR=nano rails credentials:edit

Or export variables:

export RAILS_MASTER_KEY=yourkey
export DATABASE_URL=postgres://...

⚙️ 9. Run Production Setup Commands

✅ Precompile Assets

Rails compiles CSS/JS for production:

RAILS_ENV=production rails assets:precompile

✅ Migrate Database

RAILS_ENV=production rails db:migrate

✅ Seed Data (Optional)

RAILS_ENV=production rails db:seed

🚀 10. Setup Puma App Server

Rails uses Puma in production.

Start Puma:

bundle exec puma -e production

But in real deployments, Puma runs as a service.

Create:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/puma.service

Example:

[Unit]
Description=Puma Rails Server
After=network.target

[Service]
User=ubuntu
WorkingDirectory=/home/ubuntu/myapp
ExecStart=/home/ubuntu/.rbenv/shims/bundle exec puma -e production
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable:

sudo systemctl start puma
sudo systemctl enable puma

🌐 11. Setup Nginx Reverse Proxy

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx -y

Configure:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp

Example config:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /home/ubuntu/myapp/public;
    
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }
}

Enable site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Now your Rails app is live 🚀

🌍 12. Domain + Routing Explained

✅ How Domain Works

When a user visits:

www.example.com

DNS maps domain → server IP.

Steps:

1. Buy domain from GoDaddy/Namecheap
2. Add DNS Record:

Within minutes, domain points to your Rails server.

✅ Routing in Rails

Rails routing decides:

URL → Controller Action

Example:

get "/about", to: "pages#about"

User visits:

example.com/about

Rails runs:

PagesController#about

⚡ 13. Optimization Techniques for Production

Deploying is not enough. Optimize it! 🚀

✅ Enable Caching

In production.rb:

config.action_controller.perform_caching = true

✅ Use Background Jobs

Use Sidekiq for heavy tasks:

gem "sidekiq"

Example:

EmailJob.perform_later(user.id)

✅ Use CDN for Assets

Serve images & JS faster via Cloudflare/AWS CloudFront.

✅ Database Indexing

Add indexes:

add_index :users, :email

Speeds up queries massively ⚡

✅ Use SSL (HTTPS)

Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx

Now your app is secure 🔒

🧪 14. Separating Development vs Production Properly

Rails automatically separates environments:

Use:

rails s

for dev

Use:

RAILS_ENV=production rails s

for prod

🎯 Final Deployment Checklist ✅

✔ App runs locally
✔ PostgreSQL configured
✔ Secrets stored safely
✔ Assets precompiled
✔ Puma service running
✔ Nginx routing works
✔ Domain connected
✔ HTTPS enabled
✔ Production optimized

🌟 Conclusion: Rails Deployment Mastery

Deploying Rails is a superpower 💎
Once you master it, you can launch:

🚀 SaaS Products
🌍 Startups
📦 APIs
🛒 E-commerce apps
📱 Mobile backends

Rails is built for production success!