I got tired of looking up `rails new` flags, so I built a wizard for it

Every time I start a new Rails project, the same thing happens. I open the terminal, type rails new, and then... pause. What was the flag for PostgreSQL? Is it --skip-test or --skip-tests? Do I want Propshaft or Sprockets? What about Solid Queue — is that a flag now?

So I open rails new --help, scroll through a wall of options, and piece together a command I'll forget by next week.

After doing this too many times, I built create-rails-app — an interactive CLI wizard that walks you through every rails new option one at a time.

What it does

Instead of memorizing flags, you answer simple questions:

[01/31] API only application? (no)  ›  Yes / No
[03/31] Database (postgresql)       ›  sqlite3 / postgresql / mysql / trilogy ...
[04/31] JavaScript approach (importmap) › importmap / bun / esbuild / webpack ...

Each question shows your last-used choice as the default, so repeat projects take seconds.

At the end, you see the full rails new command — review it, then run it or go back and tweak your choices.

A few things I find useful

It remembers your choices. Next time you run it, your previous selections are pre-filled. Change one or two things and go.

Presets. Save a named configuration and reuse it:

create-rails-app myapp --preset api

I have presets for "api", "fullstack", and "minimal" — covers 90% of my projects.

Smart skip rules. Disable Active Record? It won't ask about databases. Choose API mode? It skips CSS and JavaScript framework questions. The wizard stays short and relevant.

Back navigation. Changed your mind three questions in? Ctrl+B goes back. No need to start over.

Version-aware. It detects your installed Rails version (supports 7.2, 8.0, and 8.1) and only shows options that apply.

Install

gem install create-rails-app

That's it. Run create-rails-app and follow the prompts.

Why not just use a template?

Rails templates are great for adding code after project creation. But they don't help with the rails new flags themselves — the database, JS bundler, asset pipeline, which frameworks to skip. That's the part I kept forgetting, and that's what this tool handles.

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If you start new Rails projects more than once a year and find yourself googling the same flags, give it a try. Feedback and contributions welcome on GitHub.