The Hotwire Revolution
Hotwire lets you build the kind of responsive, real-time user experiences that used to require JavaScript frameworks like React or Vue — using server-rendered HTML over the wire. It's the default frontend approach in Rails 7+ and it's remarkably powerful.
Turbo Drive: Instant Navigation
Turbo Drive automatically converts all link clicks and form submissions into AJAX requests, replacing just the body without a full page reload. You get SPA-like speed with zero JavaScript.
Turbo Frames: Partial Page Updates
Turbo Frames let you update specific sections of a page independently — only the frame content is replaced when navigating.
Turbo Streams: Real-Time Updates
Turbo Streams provide real-time page updates over WebSocket using broadcast_append_to, broadcast_replace_to, etc.
Stimulus: Sprinkles of JavaScript
For the rare cases where you need client-side behavior, Stimulus provides a clean, minimal approach with controllers, targets, and actions.
When to Use Hotwire vs. React/Vue
Hotwire excels for content-heavy applications, admin panels, dashboards, and e-commerce sites. Choose React or Vue when you need complex client-side state management, offline support, or heavy drag-and-drop interfaces.
Want to build a modern Rails application with Hotwire? Get your estimate.
