Pre-built prompt for connecting Ruby on Rails to Lakebase Postgres
[Ruby on Rails](https://rubyonrails.org/), also known simply as Rails, is an open-source web application framework written in Ruby. It uses a model-view-controller architecture, making it a good choice for developing database-backed web applications. This guide shows how to connect a Ruby on Rails application to a Lakebase Postgres database.
To connect to a Lakebase Postgres database from a Ruby on Rails application:
:::callout{intent="note"}
This guide was tested using Ruby v3.4.6 and Rails v8.0.3.
:::
:::::steps
:::step{title="Create a Neon Project"}
If you do not have one already, create a Neon project.
1. Navigate to the [Projects](https://console.neon.tech/app/projects) page in the Neon Console.
2. Click **New Project**.
3. Specify your project settings and click **Create Project**.
:::
:::step{title="Create a Rails Project"}
Create a Rails project using the [Rails CLI](https://guides.rubyonrails.org/command_line.html), and specify PostgreSQL as the database type:
```bash
gem install rails
rails new neon-with-rails --database=postgresql
```
You now have a Rails project in a folder named `neon-with-rails`.
:::
::::step{title="Configure a PostgreSQL Database using Rails"}
Create a `.env` file in the root of your Rails project, and add the connection string for your Neon compute. Do not specify a database name after the forward slash in the connection string. Rails will choose the correct database depending on the environment.
```bash
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://[user]:[password]@[neon_hostname]/
```
:::callout{intent="note"}
You can find the connection string for your database by clicking the **Connect** button in the Console nav. For more information, see [Connect from any application](/guides/postgres-connect-connect-from-any-app).
:::
:::callout{intent="note"}
The role you specified in the `DATABASE_URL` must have **CREATEDB** privileges. Roles created in the Neon Console, CLI, or API, including the default role created with a Neon project, are granted membership in the [neon\_superuser](/guides/manage-operate-manage-roles#the-neon_superuser-role) role, which has the `CREATEDB` privilege. Alternatively, you can create roles with SQL to grant specific privileges. See [Manage database access](/guides/manage-operate-manage-database-access).
:::
Create the development database by issuing the following commands from the root of your project directory:
```bash
# Load the DATABASE_URL into your session
source .env
# Create the development database
bin/rails db:create
```
::::
:::step{title="Create a Rails Controller to Query the Database"}
Run the following command to create a controller and view. The controller will query the database version and supply it to the view file to render a web page that displays the PostgreSQL version.
```bash
rails g controller home index
```
Replace the controller contents at `app/controllers/home_controller.rb` with:
```ruby
class HomeController < ApplicationController
def index
@version = ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute("SELECT version();").first['version']
end
end
```
Replace the contents of the view file at `app/views/home/index.html.erb` with:
```ruby
<% if @version %>
<%= @version %>
<% end %> ``` Replace the contents of `config/routes.rb` with the following code to serve your home view as the root page of the application: ```ruby Rails.application.routes.draw do get "up" => "rails/health#show", as: :rails_health_check # Defines the root path route ("/") root 'home#index' end ``` ::: :::step{title="Run the application"} Start the application using the Rails CLI from the root of the project: ```bash bin/rails server -e development ``` Visit [localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/) in your web browser. Your Neon database's Postgres version will be displayed. For example: ``` PostgreSQL 15.5 on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Debian 10.2.1-6) 10.2.1 20210110, 64-bit ``` ::: ::::: ## Schema migration with Ruby on Rails For schema migration with Ruby on Rails, see our guide: - [
Ruby on Rails Migrations Schema migration with Lakebase Postgres and Ruby on Rails](/guides/integrations-tooling-guides-rails-migrations)
## Next steps
- [Add Object Storage](/guides/object-storage-index): S3-compatible file storage that branches with your database.
- [Call an LLM with AI Gateway](/guides/ai-gateway-index): Access foundation models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and more with one credential.
## Need help?
Join our [Discord Server](https://neon.com/discord) to ask questions or see what others are doing with Neon. For paid plan support options, see [Support](/guides/postgres-introduction-support).
## Related pages
- [Connect a Django application to Neon](./neon-docs-guides-django.md)
- [Connect from Drizzle to Neon](./neon-docs-guides-drizzle.md)
- [Connect from Elixir with Ecto to Neon](./neon-docs-guides-elixir-ecto.md)
- [Connect from Kysely to Neon](./neon-docs-guides-kysely.md)
- [Connect from Laravel to Neon](./neon-docs-guides-laravel.md)
- [Connect an SQLAlchemy application to Lakebase Postgres](./neon-docs-guides-sqlalchemy.md)
- [Connect a Tortoise ORM application to Neon](./neon-docs-guides-tortoise-orm.md)
- [Connect from Better Drizzle to Neon](./neon-docs-guides-better-drizzle.md)
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