Bullet Train

Bullet Train bills itself as "Rails on Rails".

It's an opinionated framework built on top of Ruby on Rails that provides a complete starting point for SaaS applications.

The goal?

To save developers months of time setting up standard features so they can focus on building their core product.

Some key things Bullet Train provides out of the box:

• User authentication (via Devise)
• Team management and invitations
• Permissions and role management
• REST API
• Webhook support
• Onboarding flows
• Reactivity via ActionCable
• Mobile responsive UI
• I18n language support

And much more

Essentially, it's everything you'd expect in a modern SaaS app, ready to go from day one.

Key Features of Bullet Train

Let's break down some of the standout features that make Bullet Train unique:

Super Scaffolding

Bullet Train takes Rails scaffolding to the next level with what they call "Super Scaffolding".

This allows you to quickly generate not just basic CRUD interfaces, but fully-featured resources with:

Production-ready views

API endpoints

Permissions

I18n support

The killer feature?

You can use Super Scaffolding to add new fields to existing resources.

This makes iterating on your data model a breeze.

Teams and Invitations

Implementing team functionality is notoriously painful to add as an afterthought.

Bullet Train bakes it in from the start.

You get a robust team system with:

Team creation

Member invitations

Role management

It's all there, ready to use or customize as needed.

Flexible Permissions

Bullet Train leverages CanCanCan for authorization.

But they take it a step further.

They've added an additional abstraction layer on top to simplify defining and enforcing custom user roles.

This makes it easy to implement even complex permission schemes.

REST API with OpenAPI

Need an API?

Bullet Train has you covered.

It includes a Grape-powered JSON:API compliant REST API out of the box.

But it doesn't stop there.

It also generates an OpenAPI (formerly Swagger) schema.

This means you can auto-generate API documentation and even client libraries.

And because the API is integrated with Super Scaffolding, your API always stays in sync with your web interface.

Outgoing Webhooks

Want to allow your users to build integrations?

Bullet Train includes a full webhook system.

Users can subscribe to events and receive notifications when things happen in your app.

There's even a built-in UI for users to debug their webhook integrations.

This is the kind of feature that can take weeks to implement properly on your own.

Tailwind CSS Theme

Bullet Train comes with a professional-grade UI theme built on Tailwind CSS.

It looks great out of the box, but is also easy to customize.

And because it's MIT licensed, you can use it as a starting point for creating your own custom themes.

Simple Reactivity

Bullet Train pioneered a dead-simple approach to server-side reactivity.

When data changes on the server, views update automatically in the UI via ActionCable.

This functionality is now maintained as part of the CableReady project.

But Bullet Train makes it trivial to implement in your own app.

Third-Party Integrations

Bullet Train includes pre-built workflows for integrating with popular third-party services.

This includes OAuth flows for:

Facebook

Twitter

Stripe

And over 100 other platforms

This makes it easy to add "Sign in with X" or "Connect your Y account" functionality.

Framework Override Workflow

Despite being distributed as Ruby gems, every aspect of Bullet Train is designed to be customizable.

Their bin/resolve workflow makes it easy to override any part of the framework in your own app.

This gives you the benefits of using a framework while maintaining full control.

Bullet Train Pro Features

While the core of Bullet Train is open-source, they also offer a Pro version with additional features:

Subscriptions and Billing

Bullet Train Pro includes a full billing engine built on top of payment provider APIs.

It supports:

Per-user pricing

Per-unit pricing

Plan limits (both hard and soft)

Action Models

This feature provides a RESTful, Rails-native way to implement:

Bulk actions

Long-running actions

Scheduled actions

Real-Time Conversations

Easily add threaded conversations throughout your app.

Users get:

In-app inbox

Email notifications

Ability to respond via email

In-App Audit Logs

Leveraging PaperTrail, Bullet Train Pro provides user-facing activity logs for resources.

This includes team-level roll-ups of activity.

Who is Bullet Train For?

Bullet Train can be a good fit for several types of developers:

1. Startups and indie hackers building SaaS products

2. Agencies developing custom Rails applications for clients

3. Enterprise developers who need to rapidly prototype new ideas

4. Open-source maintainers looking for a solid foundation to build upon

That said, it's not for everyone.

Bullet Train works best if:

You're building a SaaS product (it's overkill for simple sites)

You're comfortable with Ruby on Rails

You like opinionated frameworks

You value development speed over total control

If that sounds like you, Bullet Train could save you months of development time.

Pros and Cons of Bullet Train

Let's break down the advantages and potential drawbacks of using Bullet Train:

Pros:

1. Massive time savings on initial setup

2. Production-ready features out of the box

3. Best practices baked in (testing, CI, etc.)

4. Active development and community

5. Flexibility to override and customize

Cons:

1. Steep learning curve if you're new to Rails

2. Opinionated approach may not fit all projects

3. Potential over-engineering for simple apps

4. Dependency on third-party gems and libraries

5. Pro features require paid license

Getting Started with Bullet Train

Ready to give Bullet Train a spin?

Here's how to get started:

1. Visit the Bullet Train website: https://bullettrain.co

2. Click the "Get Started" button

3. Follow their installation instructions (they offer several options)

4. Explore the demo app to see what's included

5. Start building your own features using Super Scaffolding

Pro Tip: Bullet Train offers a free, one-click demo deployment to Heroku. This is a great way to quickly explore a full Bullet Train app.