RailsConf 2025 The Rails Features we Loved, Lost, and Laughed at by Robby Russell

Rails has always moved fast. Sometimes too fast. It gave us bold ideas, best practices that weren't, and features that felt like magic – until they didn't. Before database migrations, SQL changes were a manual mess. Before REST, routing conventions were a free-for-all. Before AJAX, entire pages refreshed just to update a single field. Some features transformed how we build apps. Others were left at the station. A few refuse to stay gone. This session takes a fast-paced, slightly irreverent ride through the features that shaped Rails, the ones we hyped up only to abandon, and the ones that just won't quit. Rails keeps moving forward, but history has a way of repeating itself. Let's see what we can learn from the features we built, broke, and buried. Some ideas never left the station. Others keep coming back for another ride. See you onboard. 🚂