Rails Hotwire

Hotwire is an alternative approach to building modern web applications without using much JavaScript. It consists of Turbo (Drive, Frames, Streams) and Stimulus.

Quick Reference

Component	Purpose
Turbo Drive	Fast page navigation without full reload
Turbo Frames	Decompose pages into independent contexts
Turbo Streams	Deliver page changes as HTML over WebSocket or in response to form submissions
Stimulus	JavaScript sprinkles for enhanced interactivity

Turbo Drive

Turbo Drive automatically makes all link clicks and form submissions use AJAX, replacing the page body without full reload.

<%# Turbo Drive is enabled by default in Rails 7+ %>
<%# Links and forms automatically use Turbo Drive %>

<%= link_to "Posts", posts_path %>
<%= link_to "External Site", "https://example.com", data: { turbo: false } %>

<%# Opt-out for specific elements %>
<div data-turbo="false">
  <%= link_to "Normal Link", some_path %>
</div>

<%# Programmatic navigation %>
<a href="/posts" data-turbo-action="advance">Posts</a>
<a href="/posts" data-turbo-action="replace">Posts (Replace History)</a>

Turbo Frames

Turbo Frames allow you to scope navigation and form submissions to a specific part of the page.

Basic Frame

<%# app/views/posts/index.html.erb %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag "posts_list" do %>
  <%= render @posts %>
  <%= link_to "New Post", new_post_path %>
<% end %>

<%# app/views/posts/new.html.erb %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag "posts_list" do %>
  <h2>New Post</h2>
  <%= form_with model: @post do |f| %>
    <%= f.text_field :title %>
    <%= f.submit %>
  <% end %>
<% end %>

Lazy Loading Frames

<%# Load content on demand %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag "post_#{post.id}", src: post_path(post), loading: :lazy do %>
  <div class="loading">Loading post...</div>
<% end %>

Targeting Frames

<%# Target a specific frame from outside %>
<%= link_to "Edit", edit_post_path(@post), data: { turbo_frame: "modal" } %>
<%= link_to "Break out of frame", posts_path, data: { turbo_frame: "_top" } %>

<%# Turbo Frame that breaks out by default %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag "navigation", target: "_top" do %>
  <%= link_to "Home", root_path %>
<% end %>

Turbo Streams

Turbo Streams let you update multiple parts of the page in response to actions.

Stream Actions

<%# app/views/posts/create.turbo_stream.erb %>

<%# Append to a container %>
<%= turbo_stream.append "posts" do %>
  <%= render @post %>
<% end %>

<%# Prepend to a container %>
<%= turbo_stream.prepend "posts" do %>
  <%= render @post %>
<% end %>

<%# Replace an element %>
<%= turbo_stream.replace @post do %>
  <%= render @post %>
<% end %>

<%# Update content of an element %>
<%= turbo_stream.update "post_#{@post.id}" do %>
  <%= render @post %>
<% end %>

<%# Remove an element %>
<%= turbo_stream.remove "post_#{@post.id}" %>

<%# Insert before/after %>
<%= turbo_stream.before "post_#{@post.id}" do %>
  <div class="notice">Updated!</div>
<% end %>

<%= turbo_stream.after "post_#{@post.id}" do %>
  <div class="ad">Advertisement</div>
<% end %>

Controller Setup

class PostsController < ApplicationController
  def create
    @post = Post.new(post_params)
    
    respond_to do |format|
      if @post.save
        format.turbo_stream
        format.html { redirect_to @post }
      else
        format.turbo_stream { render :form_errors, status: :unprocessable_entity }
        format.html { render :new, status: :unprocessable_entity }
      end
    end
  end
  
  def update
    respond_to do |format|
      if @post.update(post_params)
        format.turbo_stream
        format.html { redirect_to @post }
      else
        format.turbo_stream { render :form_errors, status: :unprocessable_entity }
        format.html { render :edit, status: :unprocessable_entity }
      end
    end
  end
  
  def destroy
    @post.destroy
    
    respond_to do |format|
      format.turbo_stream { render turbo_stream: turbo_stream.remove(@post) }
      format.html { redirect_to posts_path }
    end
  end
end

Broadcast Updates (Real-time)

# app/models/post.rb
class Post < ApplicationRecord
  broadcasts_to ->(post) { "posts" }, inserts_by: :prepend
  
  # Or more control
  after_create_commit -> { broadcast_prepend_to "posts" }
  after_update_commit -> { broadcast_replace_to "posts" }
  after_destroy_commit -> { broadcast_remove_to "posts" }
  
  # Broadcast to specific users/channels
  after_create_commit -> { broadcast_prepend_to [author, "posts"], target: "posts_list" }
end

<%# Subscribe to broadcasts %>
<%= turbo_stream_from "posts" %>

<div id="posts">
  <%= render @posts %>
</div>

Stimulus

Stimulus is a modest JavaScript framework for enhancing static or server-rendered HTML.

Basic Controller

// app/javascript/controllers/clipboard_controller.js
import { Controller } from "@hotwired/stimulus"

export default class extends Controller {
  static targets = ["source"]
  static values = { 
    message: String,
    count: { type: Number, default: 0 }
  }
  
  copy() {
    navigator.clipboard.writeText(this.sourceTarget.value)
    this.countValue++
    alert(`Copied! (${this.countValue} times)`)
  }
}

<div data-controller="clipboard">
  <input data-clipboard-target="source" type="text" value="Copy me!">
  <button data-action="click->clipboard#copy">Copy to Clipboard</button>
</div>

Common Patterns

// Toggle visibility
import { Controller } from "@hotwired/stimulus"

export default class extends Controller {
  static targets = ["content"]
  
  toggle() {
    this.contentTarget.classList.toggle("hidden")
  }
}

<div data-controller="toggle">
  <button data-action="click->toggle#toggle">Toggle</button>
  <div data-toggle-target="content" class="hidden">
    Hidden content
  </div>
</div>

// Form autosave
import { Controller } from "@hotwired/stimulus"

export default class extends Controller {
  static targets = ["form", "status"]
  
  async save() {
    this.statusTarget.textContent = "Saving..."
    
    const formData = new FormData(this.formTarget)
    const response = await fetch(this.formTarget.action, {
      method: this.formTarget.method,
      body: formData,
      headers: {
        "X-CSRF-Token": document.querySelector("[name='csrf-token']").content
      }
    })
    
    if (response.ok) {
      this.statusTarget.textContent = "Saved!"
    } else {
      this.statusTarget.textContent = "Error saving"
    }
  }
}

<div data-controller="autosave">
  <%= form_with model: @post, data: { autosave_target: "form", action: "change->autosave#save" } do |f| %>
    <%= f.text_area :content %>
  <% end %>
  <span data-autosave-target="status"></span>
</div>

Best Practices

1. Use Turbo Frames for independent page sections
2. Use Turbo Streams for real-time updates and multi-part updates
3. Keep Stimulus controllers small and focused on one behavior
4. Use Stimulus values instead of reading from the DOM
5. Graceful degradation - ensure functionality works without JavaScript when possible
6. Use broadcasts for real-time features (chat, notifications, etc.)
7. Test Turbo interactions with system tests
8. Use data-turbo-confirm for destructive actions
9. Optimize by lazy-loading frames and using caching

Common Patterns

Modal with Turbo Frame

<%# Layout %>
<div id="modal" class="modal">
  <%= turbo_frame_tag "modal_content" %>
</div>

<%# Link that opens modal %>
<%= link_to "New Post", new_post_path, data: { turbo_frame: "modal_content" } %>

<%# app/views/posts/new.html.erb %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag "modal_content" do %>
  <h2>New Post</h2>
  <%= render "form", post: @post %>
<% end %>

Inline Editing

<%# Show mode %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag "post_#{@post.id}" do %>
  <h2><%= @post.title %></h2>
  <%= link_to "Edit", edit_post_path(@post) %>
<% end %>

<%# Edit mode %>
<%# app/views/posts/edit.html.erb %>
<%= turbo_frame_tag "post_#{@post.id}" do %>
  <%= form_with model: @post do |f| %>
    <%= f.text_field :title %>
    <%= f.submit "Save" %>
  <% end %>
<% end %>

Pagination with Turbo Frames

<%= turbo_frame_tag "posts" do %>
  <%= render @posts %>
  <%= link_to "Load More", posts_path(page: @next_page) %>
<% end %>

Troubleshooting

• Frame not updating: Check that frame IDs match
• Form not working: Ensure you're using form_with not form_for
• Turbo Drive issues: Use data-turbo="false" to opt-out
• Broadcasts not working: Check ActionCable is configured
• Stimulus controller not connecting: Check console for errors, verify data-controller name

References

• Turbo Handbook
• Stimulus Handbook
• Hotwire Homepage
• Turbo Rails Gem