Inertia Rails Setup

This skill helps you set up Inertia.js in a Ruby on Rails application with your choice of frontend framework.

Recommended: Official Starter Kits

For new projects, the fastest way to get started is cloning an official starter kit. These include authentication, shadcn/ui components, TypeScript, and optional SSR support out of the box.

React Starter Kit (Recommended)

bash

git clone https://github.com/inertia-rails/react-starter-kit myapp
cd myapp
bin/setup

Includes:

React 19 + TypeScript
shadcn/ui component library (20+ components)
User authentication (login, register, password reset)
Settings pages (profile, password, email, sessions, appearance)
Multiple layouts (sidebar, header, auth variants)
Dark mode support
Kamal deployment config
Optional SSR support
Flash messages with Sonner toasts

Vue Starter Kit

bash

git clone https://github.com/inertia-rails/vue-starter-kit myapp
cd myapp
bin/setup

Svelte Starter Kit

bash

git clone https://github.com/inertia-rails/svelte-starter-kit myapp
cd myapp
bin/setup

Customizing the Starter Kit

After cloning:

Rename the app:

bash

# Update config/application.rb
module YourAppName
  class Application < Rails::Application

Update database config:

bash

# Edit config/database.yml with your settings

Remove example pages you don't need:

bash

# Delete from app/frontend/pages/ and corresponding controllers

Add your own pages:

bash

bin/rails generate controller Products index show
# Create app/frontend/pages/products/index.tsx

Customize the layout:

Edit
```
app/frontend/layouts/app-layout.tsx
```
for main app
Edit
```
app/frontend/components/nav-main.tsx
```
for navigation

Alternative: Generator Setup

If you prefer starting from scratch or adding Inertia to an existing Rails app:

Quick Setup

bash

# Create new Rails app (if needed)
rails new myapp --skip-javascript

# Add inertia_rails gem
bundle add inertia_rails

# Run the generator
bin/rails generate inertia:install

The generator will prompt you to select:

Frontend framework (React, Vue, or Svelte)
TypeScript support
Tailwind CSS integration

Manual Setup Steps

1. Add the Gem

ruby

# Gemfile
gem 'inertia_rails'

bash

bundle install

2. Install Vite Rails (if not present)

bash

bundle add vite_rails
bundle exec vite install

3. Configure the Root Layout

Create or update

app/views/layouts/application.html.erb

erb

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1">
    <%= csp_meta_tag %>
    <%= inertia_ssr_head %>
    <%= vite_client_tag %>
    <%= vite_javascript_tag 'application' %>
  </head>
  <body>
    <%= yield %>
  </body>
</html>

4. Install Frontend Dependencies

For React:

bash

npm install @inertiajs/react react react-dom

For Vue 3:

bash

npm install @inertiajs/vue3 vue

For Svelte:

bash

npm install @inertiajs/svelte svelte

5. Configure the Frontend Entry Point

Create

app/frontend/entrypoints/application.js

React:

javascript

import { createInertiaApp } from '@inertiajs/react'
import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client'

createInertiaApp({
  resolve: (name) => {
    const pages = import.meta.glob('../pages/**/*.jsx', { eager: true })
    return pages[`../pages/${name}.jsx`]
  },
  setup({ el, App, props }) {
    createRoot(el).render(<App {...props} />)
  },
})

Vue 3:

javascript

import { createApp, h } from 'vue'
import { createInertiaApp } from '@inertiajs/vue3'

createInertiaApp({
  resolve: (name) => {
    const pages = import.meta.glob('../pages/**/*.vue', { eager: true })
    return pages[`../pages/${name}.vue`]
  },
  setup({ el, App, props, plugin }) {
    createApp({ render: () => h(App, props) })
      .use(plugin)
      .mount(el)
  },
})

Svelte:

javascript

import { createInertiaApp } from '@inertiajs/svelte'

createInertiaApp({
  resolve: (name) => {
    const pages = import.meta.glob('../pages/**/*.svelte', { eager: true })
    return pages[`../pages/${name}.svelte`]
  },
  setup({ el, App }) {
    new App({ target: el })
  },
})

6. Create the Pages Directory

bash

mkdir -p app/frontend/pages

7. Configure the Initializer

Create

config/initializers/inertia_rails.rb

ruby

# frozen_string_literal: true

InertiaRails.configure do |config|
  # Asset versioning - triggers full reload when assets change
  config.version = -> { ViteRuby.digest }

  # Flash keys exposed to frontend
  config.flash_keys = %i[notice alert]

  # Deep merge shared data with page props
  # config.deep_merge_shared_data = true

  # Encrypt history for sensitive data (requires HTTPS)
  # config.encrypt_history = Rails.env.production?
end

8. Set Up Shared Data

app/controllers/application_controller.rb

ruby

class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
  inertia_share do
    {
      flash: {
        notice: flash.notice,
        alert: flash.alert
      },
      auth: {
        user: current_user&.as_json(only: [:id, :name, :email])
      }
    }
  end
end

9. Create Your First Page

Controller:

ruby

# app/controllers/home_controller.rb
class HomeController < ApplicationController
  def index
    render inertia: { message: 'Welcome to Inertia Rails!' }
  end
end

Route:

ruby

# config/routes.rb
Rails.application.routes.draw do
  root 'home#index'
end

Page Component (React):

jsx

// app/frontend/pages/home/index.jsx
export default function Home({ message }) {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>{message}</h1>
    </div>
  )
}

Page Component (Vue):

vue

<!-- app/frontend/pages/home/index.vue -->
<script setup>
defineProps(['message'])
</script>

<template>
  <div>
    <h1>{{ message }}</h1>
  </div>
</template>

10. Start the Development Servers

bash

# Terminal 1: Rails server
bin/rails server

# Terminal 2: Vite dev server
bin/vite dev

Configuration Options Reference

Option	Default	Description
`version`	`nil`	Asset version for cache busting
`layout`	`'application'`	Default layout template
`flash_keys`	`[:notice, :alert]`	Flash keys to share
`deep_merge_shared_data`	`false`	Deep merge props
`encrypt_history`	`false`	Encrypt browser history
`ssr_enabled`	`false`	Enable SSR
`ssr_url`	`'http://localhost:13714'`	SSR server URL
`default_render`	`false`	Auto-render Inertia
`root_dom_id`	`'app'`	Root element ID

Environment Variables

All config options can be set via

INERTIA_

prefixed env vars:

bash

INERTIA_SSR_ENABLED=true
INERTIA_ENCRYPT_HISTORY=true

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module '@inertiajs/react'"

Run

npm install

to install dependencies.

Blank page with no errors

Check browser console for JavaScript errors. Ensure Vite dev server is running.

Props not updating

Ensure you're using

render inertia:

not

render json:

CSRF token errors

Inertia handles CSRF automatically via Axios. Ensure

protect_from_forgery

is enabled.

inertia-rails-setup

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Inertia Rails Setup

Recommended: Official Starter Kits

React Starter Kit (Recommended)

Vue Starter Kit

Svelte Starter Kit

Customizing the Starter Kit

Alternative: Generator Setup

Quick Setup

Manual Setup Steps

1. Add the Gem

2. Install Vite Rails (if not present)

3. Configure the Root Layout

4. Install Frontend Dependencies

5. Configure the Frontend Entry Point

6. Create the Pages Directory

7. Configure the Initializer

8. Set Up Shared Data

9. Create Your First Page

10. Start the Development Servers

Configuration Options Reference

Environment Variables

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module '@inertiajs/react'"

Blank page with no errors

Props not updating

CSRF token errors