🔃Updating Lightning Rails

How to Update Your LightningRails Project

This guide shows you how to safely update your existing LightningRails project to get the latest features, bug fixes, and improvements.

📋 Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

• ✅ A clean git working directory (commit or stash your changes)

• ✅ A backup of your project (or be on a feature branch)

• ✅ 5-10 minutes of time

• ✅ Basic familiarity with git commands

🚨 For Projects Before v1.5.0 (Before July 2025)

If your LightningRails project was created before v1.5.0, you won't have the update script yet. Don't worry - we'll get you set up!

Option 1: Download the Script (Recommended)

From your project's root directory

# Make generators directory
mkdir generators

# One-time setup per user
gh auth login

# Fetch the update file and add it to your folder
gh api repos/LightningRails/lightning-rails/contents/generators/update_project.sh \
  --jq '.content' | base64 -d > generators/update_project.sh

# Commit this change
ga . && gc -m "Added generator folder"

# You're ready to go!
bash generators/update_project.sh

🚀 How to Use the Update Script

Step 1: Choose to Apply Updates

When prompted, choose option 1 to apply all updates.

Step 3: Resolve Conflicts (If Any)

If you get merge conflicts, here's the general rule of thumb:

📁 For View Files (your customizations):

• Keep YOUR CURRENT changes in app/views/ files

• These contain your branding and custom content

⚙️ For Config Files (framework updates):

• Keep Most INCOMING changes in config/ files

• These contain important framework updates

🔍 Always check case by case - don't blindly accept all changes from either side.

Step 4: Complete the Update

After resolving conflicts, commit the merge

git commit -m "Update: Merge latest LightningRails improvements"

Install any new dependencies

bundle install

Run any new migrations

rails db:migrate

Test your application

dev

🆘 Quick Troubleshooting

If something breaks after updating:

Return to your backup

git checkout backup-before-update-[timestamp]

If you're unsure about a conflict:

• When in doubt, keep your current changes for anything customer-facing

• Keep incoming changes for technical/framework files

💡 Pro Tips

• Update regularly - smaller, frequent updates are easier than big ones

• Test immediately - catch issues early

• Update during low-traffic times - be safe with production updates

That's it! The script handles the complex parts - you just need to make smart decisions about which changes to keep.

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Remember: Your customizations in views are precious - protect them. Framework updates in config files are usually safe to accept.

Happy updating!