Ruby Native turns the Rails app you already have into real apps in the App Store and Google Play. You keep your controllers, your views, and whatever frontend you like: Turbo, React, plain Rails, or HTMX. A YAML file and a handful of ERB helpers add the native pieces on top: a tab bar, push notifications, an app icon, a launch screen, and a store listing.

It's built on Hotwire Native, the open-source library that has powered Basecamp and HEY in production since 2017.

• 10 minutes From bundle add to seeing your app on your phone.
• 1 codebase Your Rails app powers web, iOS, and Android.
• 0 lines of native code Just write Ruby and YAML.

Try the demo app on your iPhone to get a feal for Ruby Native: rubynative.com/try.

Add the gem and run the generator:

$ bundle add ruby_native
$ bin/rails generate ruby_native:install

Configure your app in config/ruby_native.yml:

appearance:
  tint_color: "#4F46E5"
  background_color: "#FFFFFF"
tabs:
  - title: Home
    path: /
    icon: house
  - title: Profile
    path: /profile
    icon: person

Drop native features into your layout as ERB tags:

<%= native_tabs_tag %>

Preview it on a real device without deploying anything:

bundle exec ruby_native preview

That starts a tunnel and prints a QR code. Scan it with the Ruby Native app and your Rails app shows up in a native shell on your phone.

demos: Example Rails apps across Turbo, React, and plain Rails

Ruby Native is built by Joe Masilotti, author of Hotwire Native for Rails Developers and a developer who has shipped 30+ apps on the underlying technology.