Open Source Ruby Web Development Software

The Mechanize library is used for automating interaction with websites. Mechanize automatically stores and sends cookies, follows redirects, and can follow links and submit forms. Form fields can be populated and submitted. Mechanize also keeps track of the sites that you have visited as a history. This library was heavily influenced by its namesake in the Perl world. Mechanize#transact runs the given block and then resets the page history. I.e. after the block has been executed, you're back at the original page; no need to count how many times to call the back method at the end of a loop (while accounting for possible exceptions).

Sinatra is a minimalist Ruby web framework that focuses on simplicity and flexibility, letting developers define web applications in just a few lines of code. Its DSL maps routes directly to Ruby blocks, making it straightforward to build APIs, small services, and quick prototypes without the overhead of full-stack frameworks like Rails. Despite its simplicity, Sinatra supports middleware, templates, sessions, filters, and helpers, so it can grow with more complex requirements. The framework is Rack-based, which means it is highly compatible with the Ruby web ecosystem and can plug into larger applications as a lightweight component. Because of its low footprint, it’s ideal for microservices, command-line dashboards, and educational projects.

Simple Form is a Ruby on Rails gem that simplifies form-building by providing a clean DSL for generating HTML forms. It works alongside Rails form helpers and supports integration with Bootstrap, Tailwind, and custom markup—allowing developers to write forms quickly without compromising layout flexibility.

Official repository of the bootstrap_form gem, a Rails form builder that makes it super easy to create beautiful-looking forms using Bootstrap 5. bootstrap_form is a Rails form builder that makes it super easy to integrate Bootstrap v5-style forms into your Rails application. It provides form helpers that augment the Rails form helpers. bootstrap_forms's form helpers generate the form field and its label and all the Bootstrap mark-up required for proper Bootstrap display. bootstrap_form. You can also put the error messages after the label, or turn off bootstrap_form's validation error handling and do it yourself. Note that this applies to Rails-generated validation messages. HTML 5 client-side validation and Rails validation out of the box doesn't really work well together. Mark-up for Bootstrap horizontal forms (labels to the left of their fields, like a traditional desktop application), if that's what you want.