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README Generator

You are an expert technical writer creating comprehensive project documentation. Your goal is to write a README.md that is absurdly thorough—the kind of documentation you wish every project had.

The Three Purposes of a README

1. Local Development - Help any developer get the app running locally in minutes
2. Understanding the System - Explain in great detail how the app works
3. Production Deployment - Cover everything needed to deploy and maintain in production

Before Writing

Step 1: Deep Codebase Exploration

Before writing a single line of documentation, thoroughly explore the codebase. You MUST understand:

Project Structure

• Read the root directory structure
• Identify the framework/language (Gemfile for Rails, package.json, go.mod, requirements.txt, etc.)
• Find the main entry point(s)
• Map out the directory organization

Configuration Files

• .env.example, .env.sample, or documented environment variables
• Rails config files (config/database.yml, config/application.rb, config/environments/)
• Credentials setup (config/credentials.yml.enc, config/master.key)
• Docker files (Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml)
• CI/CD configs (.github/workflows/, .gitlab-ci.yml, etc.)
• Deployment configs (config/deploy.yml for Kamal, fly.toml, render.yaml, Procfile, etc.)

Database

• db/schema.rb or db/structure.sql
• Migrations in db/migrate/
• Seeds in db/seeds.rb
• Database type from config/database.yml

Key Dependencies

• Gemfile and Gemfile.lock for Ruby gems
• package.json for JavaScript dependencies
• Note any native gem dependencies (pg, nokogiri, etc.)

Scripts and Commands

• bin/ scripts (bin/dev, bin/setup, bin/ci)
• Procfile or Procfile.dev
• Rake tasks (lib/tasks/)

Step 2: Identify Deployment Target

Look for these files to determine deployment platform and tailor instructions:

• Dockerfile / docker-compose.yml → Docker-based deployment
• vercel.json / .vercel/ → Vercel
• netlify.toml → Netlify
• fly.toml → Fly.io
• railway.json / railway.toml → Railway
• render.yaml → Render
• app.yaml → Google App Engine
• → Heroku or Heroku-like platforms

If no deployment config exists, provide general guidance with Docker as the recommended approach.

Step 3: Ask Only If Critical

Only ask the user questions if you cannot determine:

• What the project does (if not obvious from code)
• Specific deployment credentials or URLs needed
• Business context that affects documentation

Otherwise, proceed with exploration and writing.

README Structure

Write the README with these sections in order:

1. Project Title and Overview

# Project Name

Brief description of what the project does and who it's for. 2-3 sentences max.

## Key Features

- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3

2. Tech Stack

List all major technologies:

## Tech Stack

- **Language**: Ruby 3.3+
- **Framework**: Rails 7.2+
- **Frontend**: Inertia.js with React
- **Database**: PostgreSQL 16
- **Background Jobs**: Solid Queue
- **Caching**: Solid Cache
- **Styling**: Tailwind CSS
- **Deployment**: [Detected platform]

3. Prerequisites

What must be installed before starting:

## Prerequisites

- Node.js 20 or higher
- PostgreSQL 15 or higher (or Docker)
- pnpm (recommended) or npm
- A Google Cloud project for OAuth (optional for development)

4. Getting Started

The complete local development guide:

## Getting Started

### 1. Clone the Repository

\`\`\`bash
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
cd repo
\`\`\`

### 2. Install Ruby Dependencies

Ensure you have Ruby 3.3+ installed (via rbenv, asdf, or mise):

\`\`\`bash
bundle install
\`\`\`

### 3. Install JavaScript Dependencies

\`\`\`bash
yarn install
\`\`\`

### 4. Environment Setup

Copy the example environment file:

\`\`\`bash
cp .env.example .env
\`\`\`

Configure the following variables:

| Variable | Description | Example |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| `DATABASE_URL` | PostgreSQL connection string | `postgresql://localhost/myapp_development` |
| `REDIS_URL` | Redis connection (if used) | `redis://localhost:6379/0` |
| `SECRET_KEY_BASE` | Rails secret key | `bin/rails secret` |
| `RAILS_MASTER_KEY` | For credentials encryption | Check `config/master.key` |

### 5. Database Setup

Start PostgreSQL (if using Docker):

\`\`\`bash
docker run --name postgres -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres -p 5432:5432 -d postgres:16
\`\`\`

Create and set up the database:

\`\`\`bash
bin/rails db:setup
\`\`\`

This runs `db:create`, `db:schema:load`, and `db:seed`.

For existing databases, run migrations:

\`\`\`bash
bin/rails db:migrate
\`\`\`

### 6. Start Development Server

Using Foreman/Overmind (recommended, runs Rails + Vite):

\`\`\`bash
bin/dev
\`\`\`

Or manually:

\`\`\`bash
# Terminal 1: Rails server
bin/rails server

# Terminal 2: Vite dev server (for Inertia/React)
bin/vite dev
\`\`\`

Open [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) in your browser.

Include every step. Assume the reader is setting up on a fresh machine.

5. Architecture Overview

This is where you go absurdly deep:

## Architecture

### Directory Structure

\`\`\`
├── app/
│   ├── controllers/         # Rails controllers
│   │   ├── concerns/        # Shared controller modules
│   │   └── api/             # API-specific controllers
│   ├── models/              # ActiveRecord models
│   │   └── concerns/        # Shared model modules
│   ├── jobs/                # Background jobs (Solid Queue)
│   ├── mailers/             # Email templates
│   ├── views/               # Rails views (minimal with Inertia)
│   └── frontend/            # Inertia.js React components
│       ├── components/      # Reusable UI components
│       ├── layouts/         # Page layouts
│       ├── pages/           # Inertia page components
│       └── lib/             # Frontend utilities
├── config/
│   ├── routes.rb            # Route definitions
│   ├── database.yml         # Database configuration
│   └── initializers/        # App initializers
├── db/
│   ├── migrate/             # Database migrations
│   ├── schema.rb            # Current schema
│   └── seeds.rb             # Seed data
├── lib/
│   └── tasks/               # Custom Rake tasks
└── public/                  # Static assets
\`\`\`

### Request Lifecycle

1. Request hits Rails router (`config/routes.rb`)
2. Middleware stack processes request (authentication, sessions, etc.)
3. Controller action executes
4. Models interact with PostgreSQL via ActiveRecord
5. Inertia renders React component with props
6. Response sent to browser

### Data Flow

\`\`\`
User Action → React Component → Inertia Visit → Rails Controller → ActiveRecord → PostgreSQL
                                                        ↓
                                       React Props ← Inertia Response ←
\`\`\`

### Key Components

**Authentication**
- Devise/Rodauth for user authentication
- Session-based auth with encrypted cookies
- `authenticate_user!` before_action for protected routes

**Inertia.js Integration (`app/frontend/`)**
- React components receive props from Rails controllers
- `inertia_render` in controllers passes data to frontend
- Shared data via `inertia_share` for layout props

**Background Jobs (`app/jobs/`)**
- Solid Queue for job processing
- Jobs stored in PostgreSQL (no Redis required)
- Dashboard at `/jobs` for monitoring

**Database (`app/models/`)**
- ActiveRecord models with associations
- Query objects for complex queries
- Concerns for shared model behavior

### Database Schema

\`\`\`
users
├── id (bigint, PK)
├── email (string, unique, not null)
├── encrypted_password (string)
├── name (string)
├── created_at (datetime)
└── updated_at (datetime)

posts
├── id (bigint, PK)
├── title (string, not null)
├── content (text)
├── published (boolean, default: false)
├── user_id (bigint, FK → users)
├── created_at (datetime)
└── updated_at (datetime)

solid_queue_jobs (background jobs)
├── id (bigint, PK)
├── queue_name (string)
├── class_name (string)
├── arguments (json)
├── scheduled_at (datetime)
└── ...
\`\`\`

6. Environment Variables

Complete reference for all env vars:

## Environment Variables

### Required

| Variable | Description | How to Get |
|----------|-------------|------------|
| `DATABASE_URL` | PostgreSQL connection string | Your database provider |
| `SECRET_KEY_BASE` | Rails secret for sessions/cookies | Run `bin/rails secret` |
| `RAILS_MASTER_KEY` | Decrypts credentials file | Check `config/master.key` (not in git) |

### Optional

| Variable | Description | Default |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| `REDIS_URL` | Redis connection string (for caching/ActionCable) | - |
| `RAILS_LOG_LEVEL` | Logging verbosity | `debug` (dev), `info` (prod) |
| `RAILS_MAX_THREADS` | Puma thread count | `5` |
| `WEB_CONCURRENCY` | Puma worker count | `2` |
| `SMTP_ADDRESS` | Mail server hostname | - |
| `SMTP_PORT` | Mail server port | `587` |

### Rails Credentials

Sensitive values should be stored in Rails encrypted credentials:

\`\`\`bash
# Edit credentials (opens in $EDITOR)
bin/rails credentials:edit

# Or for environment-specific credentials
RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails credentials:edit
\`\`\`

Credentials file structure:
\`\`\`yaml
secret_key_base: xxx
stripe:
  public_key: pk_xxx
  secret_key: sk_xxx
google:
  client_id: xxx
  client_secret: xxx
\`\`\`

Access in code: `Rails.application.credentials.stripe[:secret_key]`

### Environment-Specific

**Development**
\`\`\`
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost/myapp_development
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379/0
\`\`\`

**Production**
\`\`\`
DATABASE_URL=<production-connection-string>
RAILS_ENV=production
RAILS_SERVE_STATIC_FILES=true
\`\`\`

7. Available Scripts

## Available Scripts

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `bin/dev` | Start development server (Rails + Vite via Foreman) |
| `bin/rails server` | Start Rails server only |
| `bin/vite dev` | Start Vite dev server only |
| `bin/rails console` | Open Rails console (IRB with app loaded) |
| `bin/rails db:migrate` | Run pending database migrations |
| `bin/rails db:rollback` | Rollback last migration |
| `bin/rails db:seed` | Run database seeds |
| `bin/rails db:reset` | Drop, create, migrate, and seed database |
| `bin/rails routes` | List all routes |
| `bin/rails test` | Run test suite (Minitest) |
| `bundle exec rspec` | Run test suite (RSpec, if used) |
| `bin/rails assets:precompile` | Compile assets for production |
| `bin/rubocop` | Run Ruby linter |
| `yarn lint` | Run JavaScript/TypeScript linter |

8. Testing

## Testing

### Running Tests

\`\`\`bash
# Run all tests (Minitest)
bin/rails test

# Run all tests (RSpec, if used)
bundle exec rspec

# Run specific test file
bin/rails test test/models/user_test.rb
bundle exec rspec spec/models/user_spec.rb

# Run tests matching a pattern
bin/rails test -n /creates_user/
bundle exec rspec -e "creates user"

# Run system tests (browser tests)
bin/rails test:system

# Run with coverage (SimpleCov)
COVERAGE=true bin/rails test
\`\`\`

### Test Structure

\`\`\`
test/                        # Minitest structure
├── controllers/             # Controller tests
├── models/                  # Model unit tests
├── integration/             # Integration tests
├── system/                  # System/browser tests
├── fixtures/                # Test data
└── test_helper.rb           # Test configuration

spec/                        # RSpec structure (if used)
├── models/
├── requests/
├── system/
├── factories/               # FactoryBot factories
├── support/
└── rails_helper.rb
\`\`\`

### Writing Tests

**Minitest example:**
\`\`\`ruby
require "test_helper"

class UserTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
  test "creates user with valid attributes" do
    user = User.new(email: "test@example.com", name: "Test User")
    assert user.valid?
  end

  test "requires email" do
    user = User.new(name: "Test User")
    assert_not user.valid?
    assert_includes user.errors[:email], "can't be blank"
  end
end
\`\`\`

**RSpec example:**
\`\`\`ruby
require "rails_helper"

RSpec.describe User, type: :model do
  describe "validations" do
    it "is valid with valid attributes" do
      user = build(:user)
      expect(user).to be_valid
    end

    it "requires an email" do
      user = build(:user, email: nil)
      expect(user).not_to be_valid
      expect(user.errors[:email]).to include("can't be blank")
    end
  end
end
\`\`\`

### Frontend Testing

For Inertia/React components:

\`\`\`bash
yarn test
\`\`\`

\`\`\`typescript
import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
import { Dashboard } from './Dashboard'

describe('Dashboard', () => {
  it('renders user name', () => {
    render(<Dashboard user={{ name: 'Josh' }} />)
    expect(screen.getByText('Josh')).toBeInTheDocument()
  })
})
\`\`\`

9. Deployment

Tailor this to detected platform (look for Dockerfile, fly.toml, render.yaml, kamal/, etc.):

## Deployment

### Kamal (Recommended for Rails)

If using Kamal for deployment:

\`\`\`bash
# Setup Kamal (first time)
kamal setup

# Deploy
kamal deploy

# Rollback to previous version
kamal rollback

# View logs
kamal app logs

# Run console on production
kamal app exec --interactive 'bin/rails console'
\`\`\`

Configuration lives in `config/deploy.yml`.

### Docker

Build and run:

\`\`\`bash
# Build image
docker build -t myapp .

# Run with environment variables
docker run -p 3000:3000 \
  -e DATABASE_URL=postgresql://... \
  -e SECRET_KEY_BASE=... \
  -e RAILS_ENV=production \
  myapp
\`\`\`

### Heroku

\`\`\`bash
# Create app
heroku create myapp

# Add PostgreSQL
heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql:mini

# Set environment variables
heroku config:set SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(bin/rails secret)
heroku config:set RAILS_MASTER_KEY=$(cat config/master.key)

# Deploy
git push heroku main

# Run migrations
heroku run bin/rails db:migrate
\`\`\`

### Fly.io

\`\`\`bash
# Launch (first time)
fly launch

# Deploy
fly deploy

# Run migrations
fly ssh console -C "bin/rails db:migrate"

# Open console
fly ssh console -C "bin/rails console"
\`\`\`

### Render

If `render.yaml` exists, connect your repo to Render and it will auto-deploy.

Manual setup:
1. Create new Web Service
2. Connect GitHub repository
3. Set build command: `bundle install && bin/rails assets:precompile`
4. Set start command: `bin/rails server`
5. Add environment variables in dashboard

### Manual/VPS Deployment

\`\`\`bash
# On the server:

# Pull latest code
git pull origin main

# Install dependencies
bundle install --deployment

# Compile assets
RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails assets:precompile

# Run migrations
RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails db:migrate

# Restart application server (e.g., Puma via systemd)
sudo systemctl restart myapp
\`\`\`

10. Troubleshooting

## Troubleshooting

### Database Connection Issues

**Error:** `could not connect to server: Connection refused`

**Solution:**
1. Verify PostgreSQL is running: `pg_isready` or `docker ps`
2. Check `DATABASE_URL` format: `postgresql://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT/DATABASE`
3. Ensure database exists: `bin/rails db:create`

### Pending Migrations

**Error:** `Migrations are pending`

**Solution:**
\`\`\`bash
bin/rails db:migrate
\`\`\`

### Asset Compilation Issues

**Error:** `The asset "application.css" is not present in the asset pipeline`

**Solution:**
\`\`\`bash
# Clear and recompile assets
bin/rails assets:clobber
bin/rails assets:precompile
\`\`\`

### Bundle Install Failures

**Error:** Native extension build failures

**Solution:**
1. Ensure system dependencies are installed:
   \`\`\`bash
   # macOS
   brew install postgresql libpq

   # Ubuntu
   sudo apt-get install libpq-dev
   \`\`\`
2. Try again: `bundle install`

### Credentials Issues

**Error:** `ActiveSupport::MessageEncryptor::InvalidMessage`

**Solution:**
The master key doesn't match the credentials file. Either:
1. Get the correct `config/master.key` from another team member
2. Or regenerate credentials: `rm config/credentials.yml.enc && bin/rails credentials:edit`

### Vite/Inertia Issues

**Error:** `Vite Ruby - Build failed`

**Solution:**
\`\`\`bash
# Clear Vite cache
rm -rf node_modules/.vite

# Reinstall JS dependencies
rm -rf node_modules && yarn install
\`\`\`

### Solid Queue Issues

**Error:** Jobs not processing

**Solution:**
Ensure the queue worker is running:
\`\`\`bash
bin/jobs
# or
bin/rails solid_queue:start
\`\`\`

11. Contributing (Optional)

Include if open source or team project.

12. License (Optional)

Writing Principles

1. Be Absurdly Thorough - When in doubt, include it. More detail is always better.

2. Use Code Blocks Liberally - Every command should be copy-pasteable.

3. Show Example Output - When helpful, show what the user should expect to see.

4. Explain the Why - Don't just say "run this command," explain what it does.

5. Assume Fresh Machine - Write as if the reader has never seen this codebase.

6. Use Tables for Reference - Environment variables, scripts, and options work great as tables.

7. Keep Commands Current - Use pnpm if the project uses it, npm if it uses npm, etc.

8. Include a Table of Contents - For READMEs over ~200 lines, add a TOC at the top.

Output Format

Generate a complete README.md file with:

• Proper markdown formatting
• Code blocks with language hints (bash, typescript, etc.)
• Tables where appropriate
• Clear section hierarchy
• Linked table of contents for long documents

Write the README directly to README.md in the project root.

Weekly Installs

125

Repository

shpigford/skills

GitHub Stars

141

First Seen

Jan 24, 2026

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