Customization & Theming
Make it yours in minutes
RailsFast is designed to be customized. Everything from colors to copy to components can be tailored to your brand without fighting the framework.
The Config File
Everything starts in config/railsfast/railsfast.yml:
application_name: "Your App Name"
domain: "yourapp.com"
brand_color: "#ff5c2e"
default_page_title: "Your App"
support_email: "[email protected]"
Change these values and your entire app updates — navbar, footer, emails, meta tags, everything.
Accent Color
The brand_color in your config becomes the CSS --accent variable. Every component uses it:
- Buttons and CTAs
- Links and hover states
- Toggle switches and form elements
- Pricing cards and badges
Change one value, and your entire app feels like yours.
Tailwind CSS 4
RailsFast uses Tailwind CSS 4 with the new CSS-first configuration. Your styles live in app/assets/stylesheets/application.css:
@import "tailwindcss";
@theme {
--color-accent: var(--accent);
}
Components
RailsFast ships with a library of pre-built components:
Marketing Components
- Hero sections — Multiple variants (centered, split, video)
- Feature grids — Icons, alternating, bento boxes
- Pricing tables — Monthly/yearly toggle, feature comparison
- Testimonials — Carousel, grid, wall of love
- CTAs — Centered, split, card-style
- FAQ — Accordion with smooth animations
Dashboard Components
- Sidebar navigation — Collapsible with icons
- Header — User dropdown, notifications
- Settings pages — Profile, billing, preferences
Creating Your Own
Drop a partial in app/views/components/ and render it:
<%%= render "components/my_custom_widget", title: "Hello" %>
RailsFast components live in app/views/components/railsfast/ so they never conflict with yours.
CMS Content
This page itself is powered by the CMS. Create a markdown file in app/content/pages/ with frontmatter:
---
title: My Page
layout: cornerstone
footer_section: learn
---
And it automatically appears in your site navigation and footer. Blog posts go in app/content/pages/blog/.
Email Templates
Transactional emails use Goodmail for beautiful, responsive templates. Customize the look in your mailer views — they automatically pick up your brand color and app name.
Try It
This entire demo site is a customized RailsFast app. The orange accent, the "RailsFast Demo" branding, the blog posts — all configured through railsfast.yml and markdown files. Get RailsFast and make it yours.