| name | 37signals-style |
| description | Rails coding patterns derived from analysis of 37signals' Fizzy codebase. Use when writing Rails code in 37signals/Basecamp style or when asked to follow 37signals patterns. Covers controllers, models, views, Hotwire, testing, database, security, and team philosophy. |
37signals Style Guide
Patterns derived from analysis of 37signals' Fizzy codebase. Representative, not authoritative — these reflect observed conventions, not an official 37signals document.
Topic Map
Core Rails Patterns
references/controllers.md — Thin controllers, concerns, authentication, authorization
references/models.md — Fat models, scopes, query objects, concerns
references/views.md — Presenters, partials, view helpers, template conventions
references/routing.md — RESTful design, nested resources, custom routes
references/database.md — Schema design, indexes, migrations, query optimization
Frontend & Hotwire
references/hotwire.md — Turbo Drive, Turbo Frames, Turbo Streams patterns
references/stimulus.md — Stimulus controller conventions, value API, targets
references/css.md — CSS organization, naming conventions, component patterns
references/action-text.md — Rich text integration patterns
references/actioncable.md — WebSocket channel patterns
Application Features
references/authentication.md — Session management, password reset, remember me
references/background-jobs.md — Solid Queue/ActiveJob patterns, retry strategies
references/caching.md — Fragment caching, counter caches, cache keys
references/email.md — Mailer conventions, transactional email patterns
references/notifications.md — In-app notifications, notification objects
references/filtering.md — Search and filter patterns, query objects
references/workflows.md — Multi-step processes, state machines
references/webhooks.md — Inbound/outbound webhook handling
Infrastructure
references/active-storage.md — File upload conventions, image variants
references/configuration.md — Environment config, credentials, feature flags
references/observability.md — Logging, error tracking, instrumentation
references/performance.md — N+1 prevention, caching strategies, query optimization
references/security-checklist.md — OWASP checklist, Brakeman, safe patterns
references/multi-tenancy.md — Account scoping, current attributes
references/mobile.md — Mobile-specific patterns, PWA considerations
references/ai-llm.md — LLM/AI integration patterns
Testing
references/testing.md — 37signals testing approach, fixtures, minitest conventions
Philosophy & Team
references/development-philosophy.md — Basecamp Way, calm technology, YAGNI
references/what-they-avoid.md — Patterns 37signals deliberately avoids
references/dhh.md — DHH's Rails principles and design opinions
references/jorge-manrubia.md — Jorge Manrubia's contributions and patterns
references/jason-zimdars.md — Jason Zimdars' design and UX conventions
references/accessibility.md — Accessibility patterns and ARIA usage
references/watching.md — Activity feeds, event tracking patterns
references/rails-engineering-standards-and-practices.md — Engineering standards