CF

Revisiting Rails

4h 9m 15s
English
Paid
Updated September 2026

Revisiting Rails is a 33-lesson 4 hours 9 minutes self-paced course by Big Machine. The instructor spent years running bigmachine.

Course facts

Lessons
33
Duration
4 hours 9 minutes
Level
All levels
Language
English
Updated
2026-09-11
Instructor
Big Machine
Price
Premium

The instructor spent years running bigmachine.io on a rotating cast of JavaScript frameworks — until March 2024, when the whole site was torn down and rebuilt from scratch on Ruby on Rails.

This course is the record of that rewrite: 33 lessons walking through the reasoning and the actual process of moving a real, already-running site over to Rails, for anyone weighing the same move away from a JS-framework-heavy stack.

Who teaches Revisiting Rails? Big Machine

Big Machine thumbnail

Big Machine is the personal teaching platform of Rob Conery, a US developer best known for co-founding Tekpub (an early online dev-video platform later acquired by Pluralsight), authoring The Imposter's Handbook, and a long string of pragmatic developer books on PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails, and the broader full-stack ecosystem.

His CourseFlix listing carries five Big Machine courses: The Imposter's Roadmap, The Imposter's Frontend Accelerator, PostgreSQL Fundamentals, Revisiting Rails, and AI for Developers With Deadlines. Material is paid and aimed at working developers — particularly those who came into software from non-traditional backgrounds and want to fill the foundational gaps without starting from scratch.

What lessons are included in Revisiting Rails?

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#1: Introduction
All Course Lessons (33)
#Lesson TitleDurationAccess
1
Introduction Demo
05:55
2
Baby Steps: Homepage
05:08
3
How Tailwind CSS Works with Rails
06:15
4
Tests and Tools
04:11
5
Our First Scaffold
09:29
6
Setting Up Spina
10:55
7
The Spina Layout
03:18
8
Defining Parts of a Page
11:25
9
Creating a Sales Page: The Repeater
08:06
10
Creating a Sales Page: The Layout
04:40
11
Importing Data With Migrations
24:25
12
Making Your Own Embed
06:15
13
In The Real World
06:33
14
Installing Devise
11:31
15
Using Passwordless Login
09:52
16
Logging Out and Registering On the Fly
07:17
17
Adding Social Login With OmniAuth
11:24
18
Integrating Devise and Spina
06:46
19
Flexing Make
05:30
20
Using Scaffold With Existing Data
08:31
21
Scaffolding Everything
06:37
22
Many to Many Associations
04:34
23
Editing Many to Many Records
04:49
24
More Complex Many to Many
03:02
25
A Look at Rails Tests
05:48
26
Filtering Routes
04:54
27
Some Tips and Tools
05:19
28
Deployment Considerations
05:21
29
Setting Up A Dokku App and Database
10:47
30
Preflight Check
09:52
31
The First Deployment
08:22
32
Setting Up S3 CDN
08:06
33
Wrapping Up
04:18
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Frequently asked questions

What are the prerequisites for enrolling in this course?
The course assumes familiarity with web development concepts and some experience with programming languages. Knowledge of JavaScript frameworks is beneficial, as the course contrasts them with Ruby on Rails. Prior experience with Ruby on Rails is not necessary, but understanding basic concepts in web application development will help.
What projects will I build during this course?
Throughout the course, you will work on projects such as creating a homepage using Tailwind CSS, setting up a sales page with Spina, implementing passwordless and social logins using Devise and OmniAuth, and deploying a web application using Dokku and S3 CDN. These projects are designed to provide practical experience in building web applications with Ruby on Rails.
Who is the target audience for this course?
This course is targeted at web developers who have experience with JavaScript frameworks and are interested in transitioning to or exploring Ruby on Rails. It is also suitable for developers who want to learn about integrating tools like Tailwind CSS, Spina, and Devise into Rails applications and those interested in modern deployment practices.
How does this course compare in depth to other Ruby on Rails courses?
The course offers a practical approach by focusing on real-world application development and deployment. Unlike introductory courses, it covers advanced topics like integrating various tools, setting up authentication with Devise and OmniAuth, and deployment using Dokku. It provides a comprehensive overview of building and deploying a Rails application from scratch.
What specific tools or platforms are covered in this course?
The course covers a range of tools and platforms including Tailwind CSS for styling, Spina for content management, Devise for authentication, OmniAuth for social login, and Dokku for deploying applications. It also includes lessons on using S3 CDN for content delivery and integrating existing data with Rails scaffolding.
What topics are not covered in this course?
The course does not cover introductory Ruby programming or basic web development concepts, as it assumes prior knowledge. It also does not delve into other JavaScript frameworks or non-Rails backend technologies, focusing solely on the Rails ecosystem and associated tools.
What is the expected time commitment for completing this course?
With 33 lessons, the course requires a significant time commitment, though the exact runtime is unspecified. Students should expect to allocate time for both the video lessons and hands-on projects, which will vary based on prior experience and familiarity with the tools and frameworks discussed.