Talks submitted should be max 30 minutes long, and there is space for 24 talks in the agenda, including 4 invited keynote spots. 

What kind of talks are we looking for? 

Today Rails is stronger, faster, more stable and more secure than ever thanks to Rails 8 and its default frameworks. 

This year we are looking for talks that highlight the power and competitive advantage of Rails through real-world case studies, deep technical dives, best practices, or problem-solving discussions, as well as stories of how Rails enables solo developers and small and mid-sized companies to build and scale with ease.

We will especially be on the lookout for original talks that fall into a few specific themes:

• Rails 8 in the wild: Lessons learned from migrating to Rails 8, using its new default features in production, and real-world experiences with the latest release.
• Rails as the One Person Framework: How Rails empowers solo developers to build and launch competitive businesses.
• Startups and mid-sized stories: Business case studies on how Rails is used in startups, mid-sized companies, and small teams, showing how it enables fast, efficient development without large engineering departments.
• Focus on the frontend: Talks on Hotwire, Turbo, and other Rails-native solutions, as well as insights on integrating other non-default modern frontend frameworks with Rails.
• Advanced technical topics: Deep dives into database performance, scaling strategies, Rails internals, etc.
• The competitive advantage of Rails, whether that is the ease of building with the leanest of teams, its stability over time, or simply the joy and fun of working with it.
• The Business of Rails: While the focus of Rails World is technical talks, we have a limited amount of space for talks that fall outside of the scope of code, for instance talks exploring how to build and sustain a successful business with Rails, from running a SaaS or consulting firm to freelancing and maintaining open-source projects. Discussions could cover profitability, growth strategies, marketing, or long-term sustainability in the Rails ecosystem.

Your talk might also align Rails with emerging or important current trends in our industry right now, such as AI, LLMs, security, PWAs, observability, monitoring, accessibility, or the move from microservices back to monoliths, to name a few.

We encourage you to submit proposals that challenge the status quo, showcase forward-thinking ideas, and push the boundaries of what’s possible with Rails. 

Selection process

A committee will review all proposals and make a final selection based on the technical content of the proposal, and its potential to inspire attendees with forward-thinking ideas and insights. We will strive to inform all applicants before ticket sales launch.

Please note: preference will go to:

• Highly technical talks with key takeaways
• Talks that have not been given before Rails World 2025

Selection criteria

At Rails World, we believe that diverse voices and perspectives are critical to driving innovation and advancing the tech industry as a whole, and so our ideal lineup would showcase a diverse range of speakers.

With that said, we want to be transparent about our selection process. We recognize that, despite our best efforts, our strict commitment to selecting talks based on the content of the sessions might limit the diversity of our speaker lineup. To mitigate this issue, we will strive to share this CFP with as broad an audience as possible, and we encourage all presenters, regardless of their background or experience, to submit proposals that showcase their technical expertise and their ability to push the boundaries of what's possible with Ruby on Rails. 

"We need disagreement. We need dialects. We need diversity of thought and people. It’s in this melting pot of ideas we’ll get the best commons for all to share. Lots of people chipping in their two cents, in code or considered argument." - Rails doctrine

Thank you for helping us spread the word about this CFP as far as possible.

Speaker benefits

We want the experience of speaking at Rails World to be one of the best and most inviting in the industry. If you are chosen as a speaker, here is what is included:

• Free admission to the conference, naturally.
• Accommodation: The Rails Foundation will cover 3 nights hotel accommodation for each speaker in the speaker hotel (Sept 3-6). It is not required that you stay in this hotel, but the offer only extends to the hotel of our choosing. It is not transferable to another hotel.
• Speaker dinner: Speakers will be invited to a private dinner hosted by Rails Foundation Core & Contributing members on Sept 26.
• A speaker gift

Code of Conduct

Rails, the Rails Foundation, and Rails World organizers are committed to fostering a welcoming community. We abide by, and expect all community members both online and in person to abide by the Rails Code of Conduct.

We reserve the right to remove or refuse entry to any attendee, speaker or sponsor from the event for violating the Code of Conduct, without refund or compensation.

3 nights accommodation in the Speaker hotel, Speaker dinner invite, Speaker gift