My second son will be born in a few days. And Iβm doing everything I can to spend as much time with him as possible: Tomorrow is my last day of work before I take four months of parental leave.
Unpaid parental leave, that is.
Iβm self-employed and the vast majority of my income
Itβs official. railsdevs has officially placed a Rails developer for a full-time role!
Hereβs that endorphin boost from Stripe for the 10% hiring fee.
My RailsConf proposal was NOT accepted.
So I'm going to run a remote workshop instead!
Reply with a π±if you want to attend and I'll DM you details when I have more details.
Topic: Port your Rails app to iOS with Turbo Native
Abstract: π
I officially signed a book deal with Pragmatic Bookshelf! π₯³
A few months ago I announced that I was writing a book on Turbo Native for Rails developers. Some of you helped out by providing feedback to an early draft in Notion. This gave me the confidence to know that I can
"Would love a DHH-style, 2-minute demo of how to make a simple native app from scratch." -
@marckohlbrugge
Here's Turbo Native in 15 minutes - all you need is a free copy of Xcode from the App Store.
There's an app I want to build. Very specific to how my mind thinks and probably not useful for many (any?) other folks.
So I'm thinking of building the entire thing open source. A Rails app, the iOS app, and eventually Android too. All with Turbo Native.
Want to follow along?
@sstephenson
Thanks for all your effort and hard work. Especially for Turbolinks and Turbo. I literally make a living on those two libraries, and I canβt thank you enough.
On May 15 (exactly one month from today!) something big will be announced. It will make building mobile apps even easier for Rails developers.
I'm working with some very talented folks to get it over the finish line. Watch this space - you don't want to miss it!
Iβm thinking of starting a curated Hotwire / Turbo (Native) newsletter and RSS feed!
β€οΈ Like if youβd subscribe
βοΈ Reply with a related link
π Retweet & help spread the word!
With some help from
@microacquire
I've officially sold my first business to the amazing folks at
@renuo
. All the details like what worked, what didn't, what I wish I did, and more here π
I turned 36 this morning. So here are six things that I accomplished in the last year that I'm proud of:
1. Signed a book deal with
@pragprog
.
2. And finished the first three chapters.
3. Signed my biggest client yet, a 6 figure deal.
4. Spoke at Rails World about Turbo Native.
I spent the last few days working on something new. Something Iβm really excited to share. And the best part? Itβs all open source!
For the last month or so Iβve been keeping track of some important "metrics" throughout the day. Iβm tracking my exercise, how much water I drink,
I want to share a personal story about a tough decision I recently made, one that I think many of you might relate to - the ongoing balancing act of family and work.
I had the incredible opportunity to speak at both Rails Conf and Rails World this year, both on a topic close to
My solo writer retreat has begun! βοΈ
Iβm locking myself in this cabin for the weekend to write, write, write.
Itβs hard to carve out time to work on my book during the week. Client work, newsletter, life stuffβ¦
Iβm hoping to get at least two chapters done. Wish me luck! π€
Next week I'm hosting a 2-hour crash course on Turbo Native. I'll walk you through each step to build an iOS app powered by your Rails codebase.
I'll coverβ¦
How to use Turbo Native - The steps to integrate the framework into a Xcode project.
How to progressively enhance -
Yesterday DHH mentioned me in a tweet and linked to my newsletter. Since then, I've gotten 100+ new subscribers and am closing in on breaking 1000.
What an awesome day to be involved in Hotwire!
The more I think about this tweet the angrier I get.
Maybe I'm completely spoiled with Ruby on Rails. Or Allen is so deep in JavaScript where you need 100+ pieces to make something work.
Or he is gatekeeping new developers from thinking they can build anything on their own.
The idea of a "full stack developer" is an insane fantasy, given the complexity of modern software. That's why we have full-stack *teams.* Every skill needed to get an idea into our customers hands is represented *on the team* by at least 2 ppl, & everybody teaches everybody else
Excited, proud, and humbled that I'm finally giving a talk on Turbo Native. And what better place to debut⦠than Rails World!
And hot damn. This speaker list is impressive! π₯
I just got Turbo 8 broadcasts + Turbo Native working across web, iOS, and Android. And I'm very excited to slap a coat of paint on this and send a newsletter explaining how to wire it all up!
I'm not happy about it but today is a milestone for RailsDevs.
I had to suspend an account. They've failed to comply with the hiring agreement... TWICE.
They've hired two full-time devs through the platform and won't agree to pay. I'm bringing in the lawyer next.
Over the last few weeks I've converted (most of) my blog to four different static site generators, all Ruby-powered.
Anyone interested in a pros/cons list?
"It's a real shame that this is the world we find ourselves in now. One so sharply divided by politics and ideology that we can't even share the love of Ruby on Rails together at a conference without a need to settle scores."
Hey Ruby on Rails developers, what are your favorite online communities? Iβd love to be a part of more.
I currently belong to:
β’ /r/rubyonrails on Reddit
β’ GoRails Discord
β’ A local Ruby Slack group
RTs appreciated for reach π
I think it might finally be time to migrate away from
@heroku
.
The OAuth breach with GitHub still hasn't been fixed weeks later. Today my external log drain credentials were compromised. And tomorrow I have to reset my password due to a third breach.
A breakdown of developers looking for a full-time Ruby on Rails job via RailsDevs:
β’Β 130 junior to mid-level
β’Β 112 senior and up
Pretty balanced! But there's a problem βΒ very few companies will hire a junior Rails developer.
Why? π
It's my birthday today! π₯³
So I'm going to shamelessly promote my products:
π - A reverse job board for Rails developers
π² - Turn your Rails app into an iOS app
β‘οΈ - Monthly Hotwire dev newsletter
I'm excited to announce a new Turbo Native library. π₯³
TurboNavigationController is a drop-in controller for iOS apps to handle common navigation flows.
Turbo Native apps require too much boilerplate for common flows. Code I've written 100 times. This aims to fix that.
And approved! π
My client just got their Turbo Native app approved for sale in the App Store. It took a few back-and-forths with the review team but we finally made it.
Here are some App Store Review guidelines that we addressed during development and review:
4.2: Minimum
Validation contexts are my new favorite tool in my Rails toolbox. Being able to "skip" validations during a backfill is making this upgrade a lot smoother.
Today we're introducing theΒ official Rails Job Board, a platform for Rails developers to find their next role (and companies to find their next Rails developer).Β Get started and find your next career match here:
What an absolute blast
#RailsWorld
was.
I got to meet long-time Twitter friends IRL.
I even met two of my heroes! Folks that paved the way for the work I do every day.
And to top it all off I gave a talk on Turbo Native.
I couldn't ask for more. β€οΈ
Iβm working with a client that uses
@basecamp
exclusively. No Slack, no email, Linear. Thereβs an occasional Loom or Zoom but they are rare.
I love it. Not having the pressure of βreal timeβ chat is so freeing. I can work when I want to work without any expectations.
When I started RailsDevs I made a promise to the community: to do everything in public.
I promised to share the ups. Like MRR bumps, placed developers, new features... and the downs.
Today I have a down to share.
In the past 2 weeks 3 customers have churned, bringing MRR down
Today I'm releasing one of my most requested tutorials ever: How to add SwiftUI views to Turbo Native apps.
This 20ish minute video walks through all the steps you need to render a native screen in your app. The source code available on GitHub, too.
Remember
@dhh
's famous video from 2005, How to build a blog in 15 minutes with Rails?
Here's my take: Turbo Native in 15 minutes. I walk you through a freshly downloaded copy of Xcode to a working iOS app. No Swift experience necessary.
"Would love a DHH-style, 2-minute demo of how to make a simple native app from scratch." -
@marckohlbrugge
Here's Turbo Native in 15 minutes - all you need is a free copy of Xcode from the App Store.
Iβm leaving Twitter for a bit. π
This site has become increasingly triggering to me.Β And it is taking a toll on my mental health.
Iβm not returning until opening the app will make me feel better. Not worse.
Here's how to keep up with me until then:
Adrienne and I were able to sneak away for 24 hours this weekend. Went on a hike, got lunch out, and have a cabin for the night.
Very grateful to my family for watching the little one! β€οΈ
I spent the last 2 hours talking to every booth at
#RailsConf2022
.
Goal: find companies who are hiring Rails developers and pitch them on railsdevs. Ideally get a card or email address.
Result: 13 successful contacts!
Who's excited for 4,000+ words on Turbo Native?
I just published my longest single article ever - a complete guide to getting started building iOS and Android apps with Turbo Native.
And the best part? You don't need any Swift or Kotlin experience.
@allenholub
I strongly disagree. I can build modern software as ONE "full stack developer".
My stack:
β’Β Ruby on Rails
β’Β Hotwire
β’ Tailwind CSS + Tailwind UI
β’Β Heroku
The killer feature of the M2 isn't speed. It's battery life.
I can go multiple work days on a charge. 5-7 hour days writing iOS apps with a Rails server running in the background.
And the 14" form factor (coming from my 16" i9) is clutch. A perfect coffeeshop workstation!
TIL about filter_map, introduced in Ruby 2.7. It combines map with compact to remove nils from a filter.
I'm experimenting with it to build a conditional OR clause when querying for multiple, optional columns.
Another Turbo Native app submitted to the App Store!
The Rails app has 150+ controllers and 250+ models. It took 10 weeks to go from mobile web site to App Store submission. The power of Turbo Native is unreal.
Very excited about the Rails 7.1 authentication I'm working on for my Turbo Native book.
This single screenshot handles everything I need for signing in and out. Perfect for the demo Rails codebase to accompany the native apps!
I just closed my first RailsDevs customer from a cold email! π
And by "cold" I mean...
1. I researched their company
2. I found their job posting
3. I sent them a personalized email
4. I linked to 10+ developers who could be a good fit
Not scalable (yet) but it shows promise!
OK, hereβs the idea. A reverse job board just for Rails devs.
Instead of a list of jobs, itβs a list of developers looking for work.
Iβll be building in public and most likely open sourcing the whole thing. Come follow along!
You know how Rails' button_to generates a form?
TIL you can add hidden fields directly to html_options "params". And you can set the button's CSS class!
[copy-paste code in image description]
I've never considered myself a recruiter.
But in the last few months I've connected a bunch of Rails developers new gigs. Full-time, part-time, contract, freelance... you name it!
Reply with a π emoji and I'll DM you 3 ways I can help you find your next Ruby on Rails dev.
I'm super excited (and nervous!) to officially launch Mugshot Bot on
@ProductHunt
today. And I would love if you could check it out!
Automate your blog's link previews with one line of HTML.
Really, REALLY liking where this new referral code ended up.
I was messing with "referrer" and "referee" and it was way too confusing to understand. Now the things that matter are exposed - the alias is key!
Thanks for the help on this one
@PatrickMcSweeny
.
It seems like maybe, just maybe, Rails teams are hiring again? π€
Multiple folks added their business to RailsDevs this week and two of them subscribed!
With a network of 1,000+ Rails developers looking for work, RailsDevs is starting to feel like the obvious choice again. πͺ
Exactly one year and one day ago I migrated my blog from Jekyll to Bridgetown. Today I migrated back.
It took me ~20 hours of work. But it will save me a ton of future headaches because things will just work.
Write-up coming soon βΒ what do you want to know?