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GAURAV VARMA

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Rails 7.1 generates Docker config by default for new apps

Rails 7.1 now ships with default Docker configuration for every new app, making containerization and deployment to production easier, faster, and consistent across environments.

What’s included?

When you run:

1rails new myapp

Rails will generate:

  • Dockerfile
  • .dockerignore
  • bin/docker-entrypoint

These files serve as a production-ready Docker setup to help you ship your Rails app with confidence.

⚠️ Note: These files are optimized for deployment, not local development.

Run your app with Docker

Here’s how you can containerize and run your new app using the generated config:

1docker build -t blog-app .
2docker volume create app-storage
3docker run --rm -it -v app-storage:/rails/storage -p 3000:3000 --env RAILS_MASTER_KEY=<your-master-key> blog-app

Want to start a Rails console?

1docker run --rm -it -v app-storage:/rails/storage --env RAILS_MASTER_KEY=<your-master-key> blog-app console

Building Multi-platform Images

Deploying to Apple Silicon, Intel, or ARM? Rails makes it easy to prepare your app for any architecture:

1docker login -u <your-docker-username>
2docker buildx create --use
3docker buildx build --push --platform=linux/amd64,linux/arm64 -t <your-user/image-name> .

Bonus: Docked CLI for local dev

If you want to bootstrap a Rails app without worrying about system dependencies, try docked. It uses a pre-built Docker image for a smooth Rails experience:

1docker volume create ruby-bundle-cache
2alias docked='docker run --rm -it -v ${PWD}:/rails -v ruby-bundle-cache:/bundle -p 3000:3000 ghcr.io/rails/cli'
3
4docked rails new blog-app
5cd blog-app
6docked rails generate scaffold post title:string body:text
7docked rails db:migrate
8docked rails server

No local Ruby or Node setup needed — just Docker.

Links

Summary

Rails 7.1 adds first-class Docker support for new apps. You get ready-to-use Dockerfiles, production-ready entrypoints, and a cleaner path to building and deploying containerized Rails apps. Whether you're targeting Fly.io, Render, Railway, or your own VPS, you're ready to ship on day one.