# Distributing a Rails app **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [January 21, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/distributing-a-rails-app/52965 "2006-01-21T18:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/John_Kodis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/distributing-a-rails-app/52965/1 "2006-01-21T18:44:33Z")
I’ve developed a Rails application that I’d like to make generally available, but I’m not sure how to go about this, or even what tools are most appropriate. Is this something that the Rails framework provides, or is it a job for Rake? for Rubygems? for Tar2rubyscript or Rubyscript2exe? A pointer to a “Distributing your Rails Application” would be ideal. – John Kodis. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/John_Kodis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/distributing-a-rails-app/52965/2 "2006-01-21T19:06:02Z")
maybe just a zip file, so it can be unpacked on any platform without problems. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/John_Kodis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/distributing-a-rails-app/52965/3 "2006-01-21T20:59:48Z")
This is for an open source application, so I’m more interested in making the source code available than in hiding it. Sorry for the confusion. One of the problems with a simple zip of the project directory is that this would also pick up some cruft that I’d rather not include – the server logs, backups of source files, and who knows what all else, especially since I’m not sure how much of the code that Rails supplies is required and how much can be left behind. It sounds as though I should write a Make or Rake file that specifies the files required for the application, much as would be done with the .files entry in a Gem::Specification. If that’s the current best practice, that’s good to know, and I appreciate the information. I’m just surprised that it’s less automated than I’d expect, given the level of automation that’s so evident through the rest of the Rails development process. – John Kodis. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/John_Kodis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/distributing-a-rails-app/52965/4 "2006-01-21T19:45:45Z")
On 21 Jan 2006, at 17:42, John Kodis wrote: > I’ve developed a Rails application that I’d like to make generally > available, but I’m not sure how to go about this, or even what tools > are most appropriate. Is this something that the Rails framework > provides, or is it a job for Rake? for Rubygems? for Tar2rubyscript or > Rubyscript2exe? Are you just distributing an open source application, or is this a commercial application where you don’t want customers to have access to source code? If it’s the former, just tar.gz or .zip it up and distribute. If it’s the latter, you have a fair few hoops to jump through, and I’m not convinced you can 100% protect yourself from somebody looking at your code. > A pointer to a “Distributing your Rails Application” would be ideal. Google suggests: [http://www.erikveen.dds.nl/](http://www.erikveen.dds.nl/) distributingrubyapplications/rails.html Looks perfect for what you want. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/John_Kodis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/distributing-a-rails-app/52965/5 "2006-01-21T22:05:42Z")
John- ``` A lot of the open source rails apps out there just give an svn url ``` as the place to get the app. Just make your app available over svn and allow anonymous checkout. Cheers- -Ezra On Jan 21, 2006, at 11:57 AM, John Kodis wrote: > It sounds as though I should write a Make or Rake file that specifies > On Sat, Jan 21, 2006 at 06:43:15PM +0000, Paul R. wrote: > > > commercial application where you don’t want customers to have access > > distributingrubyapplications/rails.html -Ezra Z. WebMaster Yakima Herald-Republic Newspaper removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid 509-577-7732 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@John\_Kodis](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/John_Kodis)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/distributing-a-rails-app/52965/6 "2006-01-21T21:06:10Z")
Are you using source control? If so you could (should, probably) set it up so that local cruft, ie log files, isn’t stored in the repository. And you wouldn’t really need to version backups, since your repository _is_ the backup (backing up the repository itself, though, is a great idea). Once your repository is organized and clean, you could just do a new checkout and zip that up. * * * John McGrath > **[John McGrath: solutions architect focused on startups, sustainability, media.](https://www.fryolator.com/)** > > I work primarily with early stage startups, with an emphasis on companies involved in sustainability. I've mentored and presented at TechStars Sustainability and Greentown Labs, and created the Code Green series of AWS sustainability workshops.