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David Heinemeier Hansson

What David Heinemeier Hansson thinks about Ruby on Rails

@dhh · 154 positions · 10 changes of mind

Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals, and creator of Omarchy.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

David Heinemeier Hansson did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

5 dated positions, 2024 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what David Heinemeier Hansson has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingRails is having a renaissance because it is one of the most token-efficient ways to build a web app, which suits agents, for as long as that lasts.

    Their wordsI think in some ways Ruby Rails is having a little bit of a renaissance now that it is one of the most token efficient ways of building web apps. It's ideally suited for the agent workflows we're dealing with now. We'll see how long that lasts.

    ↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com 1st of 20 in this recording

    Ruby

    Interesting
  2. 9 months earlier

  3. Our readingCalling static typing the only way to build reliable systems is idiotic in the face of the evidence, starting with Shopify serving a million requests a second on Rails.

    Their wordsThey're still stuck in, essentially, I like static typing. Therefore, static typing is the only way to create reliable correct systems, which is just such a mind blowing, to be blunt, idiotic thing to say in the face of evidence, mountains of evidence to the contrary.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com 6th of 36 in this recording

    Interesting

  5. Our readingTwitter leaving Rails was the best advertisement Rails ever had: nothing happened at Twitter for ten years afterwards.

    Their wordsThey end up then I think writing it in some other language, which by the way I think is the best advertisement ever for Ruby on Rails, because nothing fucking happened for 10 years after they switched over, right?

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com 7th of 36 in this recording

    Interesting

  7. Our reading · no longer heldThe Rails doctrine's 'progress over stability' is the one point that dated: churn is not progress, and stability turned out to be worth more.

    Recalls holdingI used to think it required more churn to get progress to stay on the leading edge of new stuff. And I wrote this before I experienced the indignity of the 2010s in the JavaScript community.

    SaidAnd if I was gonna write the doctrine today, I'd write that differently. I wouldn't say progress over stability.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com 18th of 36 in this recording

    JavaScript

    Interesting
  8. 13 months earlier

  9. Our reading · no longer heldRuby on Rails took off because its creator evangelized it by arguing its superiority against the competing alternatives.

    Recalls holdingAnd for a long time, I thought that's what had worked. That this was why Ruby on Rails took off, became one of the most popular full-stack web frameworks of all time, inspired countless clones, and created hundreds of billions in enterprise value for companies built on it. But I was wrong. It wasn't the crusade that did it.

    SaidAnd for a long time, I thought that's what had worked. That this was why Ruby on Rails took off, became one of the most popular full-stack web frameworks of all time, inspired countless clones, and created hundreds of billions in enterprise value for companies built on it. But I was wrong. It wasn't the crusade that did it.

    ↗Why I retired from the tech crusadesworld.hey.com

    Interesting