Installation

For full installation reference (configuration options, base classes, what pu:core:install creates), see Reference › App. This page covers the quickest path.

New application

rails new myapp -a propshaft -j esbuild -c tailwind \
  -m https://radioactive-labs.github.io/plutonium-core/templates/plutonium.rb

This sets up Rails with Propshaft, esbuild, TailwindCSS, and Plutonium — plus Rodauth auth, asset pipeline, and initial migrations.

After the template completes:

cd myapp
rails db:migrate
bin/dev

Visit http://localhost:3000.

Existing application

Use base.rb, not plutonium.rb

The plutonium.rb template re-runs full app bootstrap (dotenv, annotate, solid_*, asset config) and creates generic "initial commit" commits that clobber history. For any pre-existing app, always use base.rb.

Option 1: Template

bin/rails app:template \
  LOCATION=https://radioactive-labs.github.io/plutonium-core/templates/base.rb

Option 2: Manual

# Gemfile
gem "plutonium"

bundle install
rails generate pu:core:install

Optional: authentication

rails generate pu:rodauth:install
rails generate pu:rodauth:account user
rails db:migrate

For account options and customization, see Reference › Auth and Guides › Authentication.

Optional: assets toolchain

rails generate pu:core:assets

Installs npm packages, creates tailwind.config.js extending Plutonium's config, imports Plutonium CSS, registers Stimulus controllers. Required if you want to customize the theme — see Reference › UI › Assets and Guides › Theming.

Verify

rails runner "puts Plutonium::VERSION"

Configuration

# config/initializers/plutonium.rb
Plutonium.configure do |config|
  config.load_defaults 1.0

  # config.shell = :classic            # legacy chrome (only for upgrades)

  # Custom assets (after running pu:core:assets)
  # config.assets.stylesheet = "application"
  # config.assets.script     = "application"
  # config.assets.logo       = "custom_logo.png"
  # config.assets.favicon    = "custom_favicon.ico"
end

Full configuration options: Reference › App.

bin/dev for development

Plutonium ships a Procfile that runs Rails and the CSS watcher together:

bin/dev

Next steps

• Tutorial — build a complete blog application step-by-step
• Adding resources — create your first resource
• Creating packages — organize code into feature and portal packages