Don't let legacy code
hold you hostage.
Upgrade from Rails 4.x/5.x to the modern stack without stopping the world. I use dual-boot strategies to ensure zero downtime.
The cost of doing nothing
Legacy apps get harder to maintain every single day.
Security Vulnerabilities
Old Rails versions (4.2, 5.0, 5.1) no longer receive security patches. Your customer data is at risk.
Developer Misery
Good developers want to work with modern tools (Hotwire, Turbo, Ruby 3). Legacy code repels talent.
Performance Drag
Ruby 3.x is significantly faster than 2.x. Missing out on these free performance gains hurts your bottom line.
The Strategy: Dual Boot
The biggest fear of upgrades is "breaking everything". I mitigate this by using a Dual Boot strategy.
We configure your application to run with both the old and new Rails versions simultaneously in CI. This allows us to fix incompatibilities incrementally without ever stopping feature development.
- No long-lived "upgrade branch" hell.
- CI runs against both versions on every PR.
- Deploy to production only when 100% passing.
We use tools like `bootboot` or `next_rails` to manage dependencies for the future state while keeping the current state stable.
The Roadmap
1. Audit & Preparation
We analyze gem compatibility and test suite coverage. If tests are flaky, we fix them first.
2. Dual Boot Implementation
We set up the CI pipeline to run the next Rails version alongside the current one.
3. Fix Deprecations
We iterate through test failures and deprecation warnings, merging fixes daily.
4. The Switch
Once CI is green, we deploy to a canary instance, then roll out to production confidently.
Ready to modernize?
Stop accruing technical debt. Let's get you on a supported version.