rails

name	rails
description	Use when working with the Rails CLI — commands, generators, database tasks, test subcommands, rake tasks, flags, and argument completion. Triggers on: "rails", "Ruby on Rails", "bin/rails", "rails new", "rails generate", "rails server", "rails console", "rails dbconsole", "rails runner", "rails test", "rails routes", "rails destroy", "rails db", "rails credentials", "rails middleware", "rails notes", "rails dev:cache", "rails restart", "rails secret", "rails stats", "rails about", "rails boot", "rails initializers", "rails plugin", "rails tmp", "rails version", "rails devcontainer", "rails encrypted", "rails zeitwerk", "rails yarn", "rails scaffold", "rails model", "rails migration", "rails controller", "rails resource", "rails job", "rails mailer", "rails channel", "railsrc", ".railsrc", "config/database.yml".
user-invocable	true

Rails CLI In-Depth Reference

Complete reference for the Rails CLI surface — commands, generators, database tasks, rake tasks, flags, positional arguments, and shell completion targets. Built for creating a carapace completer.

Data Flow

bin/rails COMMAND [args] [options]
  ├── rails new          → AppGenerator (Thor)
  ├── rails generate     → GenerateCommand → Generator subclasses
  ├── rails server       → ServerCommand (Rack/Puma)
  ├── rails console      → ConsoleCommand (IRB)
  ├── rails dbconsole    → DbconsoleCommand (psql/mysql/sqlite3)
  ├── rails runner       → RunnerCommand (eval code)
  ├── rails test         → TestCommand → Minitest
  ├── rails routes       → RoutesCommand (router inspection)
  ├── rails db:          → Rake tasks (Active Record)
  ├── rails credentials  → CredentialsCommand (encrypted YAML)
  ├── rails encrypted    → EncryptedCommand (generic encrypted files)
  ├── rails notes        → NotesCommand (annotation grep)
  ├── rails query        → QueryCommand (Active Record REPL)
  └── rails <task>       → Rake fallback (Thor delegate)

Sub-Resources

Load the reference that matches your task. When in doubt, load multiple references.

Keywords	Reference
rails new, AppGenerator, --database, --javascript, --css, --api, --minimal, --skip-*, --template, --rc, .railsrc, --dev, --edge, --main, --devcontainer, PluginGenerator	references/rails-new.md
rails generate, rails destroy, generator subcommands, model, scaffold, resource, controller, migration, job, mailer, channel, mailbox, task, helper, jbuilder, system_test, integration_test, generator, application_record, benchmark, scaffold_controller, --skip-routes, --parent, --timestamps, --api, --queue, --assets, --actions, field:type:index, --pretend, --force, --skip, orm hook, template_engine hook, test_framework hook	references/generators.md
rails server, rails console, rails runner, rails dbconsole, rails routes, middleware, initializers, about, stats, boot, dev:cache, restart, secret, version, encrypted, credentials, notes, query, devcontainer, --port, --binding, --sandbox, --environment, --database, --unused, --expanded, --controller, --grep, --enroll, --disenroll	references/cli-commands.md
rails db:*, database rake tasks, migrate, schema, seed, rollback, create, drop, setup, reset, prepare, version, encryption, truncate, charset, collation, fixtures, test:db, multi-db, db:system:change, --to, VERSION, STEP, SCOPE, FIXTURES, FIXTURES_DIR	references/database.md
rails test, test:system, test:all, test:functionals, test:units, test:generators, test:models, test:helpers, test:channels, test:controllers, test:mailers, test:integration, test:jobs, test:mailboxes, test:db, --name, --verbose, --seed, --warnings, --environment	references/testing.md
rails log:clear, tmp:, time:zones, yarn:install, zeitwerk:check, action_mailbox:, action_text:install, active_storage:*, app:template, railties:install:migrations, javascript:install	references/rake-tasks.md
config/application.rb, config/environment.rb, config/boot.rb, config.ru, config/database.yml, config/environments/.rb, config/initializers/, config/routes.rb, config.load_defaults, config.time_zone, config.eager_load, config.cache_classes, config.enable_reloading, config.log_level, config.cache_store, config.session_store, config.autoload_paths, config.consider_all_requests_local, config.force_ssl, config.hosts, config.active_record., config.action_controller., config.action_mailer., config.active_storage., config.action_dispatch., config.assets.*, config.generators, config.x, before_configuration, before_initialize, after_initialize, to_prepare, before_eager_load, initialization queue, boot sequence, Rails::Application

Quick Guide

• How do I complete rails new flags? → references/rails-new.md
• How do I complete rails generate <thing>? → references/generators.md
• What flags does rails server accept? → references/cli-commands.md
• What are all the db:* subcommands? → references/database.md
• How do I complete test paths and subcommands? → references/testing.md
• What --environment values are valid? → The string environment — value can be any string, typically development, test, production, or staging. Not enum-limited.
• How does --database work in rails new? → references/rails-new.md
• What field types does generate model accept? → references/generators.md
• How does multi-db completion work for db:* tasks? → references/database.md
• What are the rails credentials:* subcommands? → references/cli-commands.md
• How does db:system:change --to= work? → references/database.md
• What are the aliases for rails commands? → references/cli-commands.md
• How do I complete rails encrypted:edit/show? → references/cli-commands.md
• What does config.load_defaults do? → references/configuration.md
• How does the Rails boot sequence work? → references/configuration.md
• What are the config/environments/*.rb settings? →

Cross-Project References

• For Ruby language fundamentals (classes, blocks, gems, Bundler), consult Ruby's official documentation — Rails is a Ruby framework and its configuration DSLs are Ruby-based.
• For Bundler (bundle, Gemfile, BUNDLE_GEMFILE), consult Bundler's official documentation — this skill covers only how Rails uses Bundler in config/boot.rb.
• For Puma server internals (puma.rb, threads, workers, RAILS_MAX_THREADS), consult Puma's official documentation — this skill documents only the Rails-side conventions in config/puma.rb.
• For carapace completion integration (the rails completer in carapace-bin, specs, actions, macros), see the carapace skill.
• For Thor (the CLI framework Rails uses for generators and commands), consult Thor's official documentation.