About

Here is my journey with deploying Rails apps over the past 15+ years.

Back in 2007, I was using a combination of Moonshine, Puppet, and Capistrano. It worked. There was too much coupling between these tools and the Rails codebase. Puppet felt clunky to use. I found myself with a bunch of files from different tools scattered throughout the application, which didn’t feel right.

Over time, I’ve had to manually update Chef and Puppet recipes across different projects, both for work and side projects. It’s been painful. I’ve also run into issues with a lack of database backups and the need to manually set up servers. Using a GUI is frustrating as a developer.

SSL was also a big headache. It’s been a constant struggle.

When Docker came along, it felt like yet another thing I had to learn just to deploy my apps. I attended a Chef training in San Francisco back in 2014, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it at the time. I was missing the right mental model and didn’t fully understand the history behind infrastructure as code (IaC).

Working for startups and financial companies, I’ve found myself always starting from scratch when it comes to deploying Rails apps. Most of these companies hadn’t adopted IaC tools to automate server provisioning and configuration.

That’s why I created this website - to share the hard-learned lessons I’ve accumulated over my career. I want to address the real-world pain points I’ve observed and provide practical solutions through the content on this site. My goal is to save you from the struggles I’ve faced and help you streamline your Rails app deployment process.

It’s ironic that I’m building a product using IaC tools when I don’t have any experience in using it at work. But as a developer, I’m creating a product that has empathy built into it. I want to build something that understands and addresses the challenges developers face when deploying Rails apps. My goal is to create a tool that makes the process easier and resonates with the struggles that I and likely many of you, have experienced firsthand.

I’m curious to hear about your experiences with deploying Rails apps. Have you faced similar struggles? I am here to help. Let me know.

Download Business Card if you want to text, call or email me directly. You will get world class support to go live with your Rails app.