You don't need to know Ruby. You don't need to know Rails. You just need a laptop and 120 minutes — we'll take care of the rest.

In this workshop, you'll build a real web application from scratch using Rails 8 and Gemini as your AI pair programmer. Instead of memorizing syntax or reading documentation, you'll vibe-code your way through it: describe what you want in plain English, let the AI write the code, understand what it did, and iterate. It's the fastest way to learn a new framework — and the most fun.

We start with a clean Rails 8 app — posts, comments, image uploads, real-time updates — and from there, you'll extend it with your own ideas. Want to add a feature? Ask Gemini. Want to understand how the models connect? Ask Gemini to draw you an architecture diagram. Want to deploy it to the cloud? There's a one-command path to Google Cloud Run already baked in.

What you'll walk away with:

A working Rails 8 app running on your laptop that you built (with AI help!)
Hands-on experience with Gemini CLI and AI-assisted development — the skill that's changing how we code
An understanding of how a modern Rails 8 app works: models, views, real-time updates, image uploads
A production-ready app you can take home, customize, and deploy to Google Cloud whenever you're ready
What you need:

A laptop — macOS or Linux work out of the box. Windows? No problem! Come with WSL2 or a Linux VM installed and you're all set — we'll be there to help you with setup before the workshop starts
A free Google AI Studio API key (we'll walk you through getting one!)
Zero Ruby experience required — that's the whole point. We'll guide you step by step, and Gemini fills in the gaps
Whether you're a Python developer curious about Ruby, a student building your first web app, or a seasoned dev who wants to see what AI-assisted development actually looks like in practice — pull up a chair. The barrier to entry is your laptop and your curiosity, nothing more.

Built with ❤️ by a Googler based in Zürich and a Ruby consultant born and raised in Modena — who believe the best way to learn a new technology is to ship something real, with a little AI magic.

This is the second edition of our DevFest Modena workshop. In 2025 we ran a session on building an AI chat app with Rails and Gemini — this year we've shifted the focus to AI-assisted development: teaching attendees to vibe-code a Rails 8 app using Gemini CLI, with a production-ready GCP blueprint as the foundation. The project is open source across three GitHub repos with full EN/IT documentation.

Riccardo is a Google Developer Advocate (Cloud/SRE) based in Zürich and Emiliano is an independent software architect born and raised in Modena — a genuine local voice at DevFest Modena. Together they bridge the Google Cloud ecosystem with the Ruby community through modena.rb.

Lessons learned from 2025: Windows users struggled with local setup (Ruby, Docker, dependencies). This year we explicitly recommend macOS/Linux and provide WSL2 setup instructions for Windows users. We also offer a 15-minute pre-workshop setup clinic.

Requirements:

Projector + screen, power outlets for attendees
Wi-Fi with internet access (attendees will clone a GitHub repo and pull Docker images)
Ideal room size: 20–40 people
Attendee setup: We provide a pre-event checklist (Docker, Git, Ruby via rbenv) and a check_gcp_setup.sh diagnostic script. The app runs fully locally with SQLite — no cloud account needed for the core workshop.