Does Ruby on Rails Work With Strapi?
Rails and Strapi work together seamlessly as a decoupled architecture, with Rails serving as your frontend/API consumer and Strapi as your headless CMS backend.
Quick Facts
How Ruby on Rails Works With Strapi
Rails and Strapi are fundamentally compatible because they operate independently—Strapi exposes a REST and GraphQL API, and Rails consumes it like any other HTTP service. You'll use Rails for your application logic, views, and business processes while Strapi handles content management. Rails makes HTTP requests to Strapi's API endpoints to fetch, create, or update content, typically using the `httparty` or `faraday` gems for cleaner code. This separation means you get Rails' MVC benefits for your application structure while maintaining content independence. The developer experience is straightforward: define models in Rails that mirror your Strapi content types, create service classes to handle API calls, and cache responses appropriately to minimize latency. Authentication requires coordinating Strapi JWT tokens with Rails sessions, which is manageable but requires careful implementation. The main architectural consideration is deciding whether to keep Strapi content-only or use Rails' database for application-specific data—most teams find this hybrid approach optimal.
Best Use Cases
Rails Service to Fetch Content from Strapi
bundle add httpartyclass StrapiService
include HTTParty
base_uri ENV['STRAPI_URL'] || 'http://localhost:1337'
def self.get_posts
response = get('/api/posts?populate=*')
response.parsed_response['data'] || []
end
def self.get_post(id)
response = get("/api/posts/#{id}?populate=*")
response.parsed_response['data']
end
def self.create_post(attributes)
headers = {
'Authorization' => "Bearer #{ENV['STRAPI_API_TOKEN']}",
'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
}
post('/api/posts', body: { data: attributes }.to_json, headers: headers)
end
end
# Usage in Rails controller
class PostsController < ApplicationController
def index
@posts = Rails.cache.fetch('strapi_posts', expires_in: 1.hour) do
StrapiService.get_posts
end
end
endKnown Issues & Gotchas
Strapi API latency affects Rails response times if not cached properly
Fix: Implement caching with Redis or Rails' cache store; use background jobs to prefetch content with Sidekiq
JWT token expiration in Strapi requires handling token refresh in Rails middleware
Fix: Create a Strapi service class that handles token refresh automatically; store tokens securely in environment variables
Content type changes in Strapi require Rails model updates; no automatic synchronization
Fix: Use schema comments in Rails and documentation; consider introspecting Strapi's GraphQL schema for validation
Cross-origin requests between Rails and Strapi need CORS configuration
Fix: Configure Strapi CORS middleware to allow Rails origin; use server-to-server requests (preferred for backend calls)
Alternatives
- •Next.js + Strapi: Modern React framework with Strapi for a fully JavaScript stack
- •Django + Wagtail: Python-based approach with an integrated Django CMS alternative
- •Laravel + Statamic: PHP full-stack framework with built-in headless CMS capabilities
Resources
Related Compatibility Guides
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