Migrate Railway app: Rails

Move Rails compute from Railway app to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: the app built, started and answered on its public HTTPS URL with encrypted configuration delivered. Source procedure: Export variables from the Railway service (Variables tab or railway variables) into an env file kept out of the repository.

Not migrated automatically: Railway cron schedules, volumes and private networking are not migrated; persistent data belongs in a managed database, a bucket or an Ample volume.

Prerequisites

• Authorized access to the Railway app source and its export tooling
• An inventory of every component in scope and out of scope
• A validated backup or copy before any cutover
• An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read

Resource Requirements

• Compute: Apps run in isolated x86_64 Firecracker microVMs that auto-pause when idle and wake on request; sizes are the priced VM sizes.
• Postgres: Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.

Workflow Steps

1. Inventory the source: List what Railway app provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Railway cron schedules, volumes and private networking are not migrated; persistent data belongs in a managed database, a bucket or an Ample volume.
2. Source step 1: Export variables from the Railway service (Variables tab or railway variables) into an env file kept out of the repository.
3. Source step 2: Translate railway.json/Nixpacks settings into the repository's build and start commands; Ample detects Node and Python builds itself.
4. Source step 3: Note Railway-only features in use: cron schedules, volumes, private networking, templates.
5. Deploy on Ample in parallel: bundle install into vendor/bundle from Gemfile.lock (development and test groups skipped), then Puma via rails server reading PORT on the ruby-3.4 template with RAILS_ENV=production. Pass the exported variables with --env; keep the source running.
6. Validate before cutover: Run the app's own checks and, for data, compare counts and checksums; the example checks are the pattern self-tests (/p/configuration-secrets, /p/relational-records).
7. Cut over: Add the custom domain with ample domain add, update DNS from the Railway target, keep the Railway service until verified, then remove it.
8. Rollback: Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

Limitations

• Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
• No full source-product parity is claimed: Railway cron schedules, volumes and private networking are not migrated; persistent data belongs in a managed database, a bucket or an Ample volume.

Success Checks

• Destination app responds on its public URL
• Configuration-secrets check from the destination example
• Data or object counts and checksums match the source

Examples

• Rails pattern fixture (destination): Verified destination basis: Rails compute.

Cost Estimate

• Currency: USD
• Monthly Amount: 10.0
• Components:
  • App server: s-1vcpu-1gb, Quantity: 1.0, Monthly Amount: 5.0
  • Managed PostgreSQL database: s-1vcpu-1gb, Quantity: 1.0, Monthly Amount: 5.0

Evidence Summary

• Destination side verified: the Rails pattern fixture deployed on Ample with all checks passed and verified with the pattern fixture.

Last Verified

• Date: 2026-09-20T21:55:28Z