Performance monitoring and debugging for Rails applications

Built as a Rails Engine, Rails Pulse seamlessly integrates with your existing application to capture, analyze, and visualize performance metrics without impacting your production workload.

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Rails Pulse Dashboard showing performance metrics

Comprehensive Performance Monitoring

Rails Pulse provides deep insights into your Rails application's health with an interactive dashboard, SQL query tracking, and route-specific metrics—all without complex configuration.

Interactive Dashboard

Monitor your application with response time charts, request analytics, and week-over-week trend analysis. Beautiful responsive interface with dark/light mode support gives you actionable insights at a glance.

Dashboard with response time charts and analytics

SQL Query Performance

Track SQL query performance with slow query identification and configurable thresholds. Quickly identify database bottlenecks and optimize your most expensive queries.

Route-Specific Metrics

Get granular insights with route-specific metrics and configurable performance thresholds. See exactly which endpoints need optimization.

Zero Configuration

Start collecting performance data immediately after installation with sensible defaults. No complex setup required.

Multiple Databases

Full support for SQLite, PostgreSQL, and MySQL. Store monitoring data in your main database or use a separate dedicated database for complete isolation.

Smart Data Cleanup

Automatic data archiving prevents database bloat while preserving essential insights. Configure time-based and count-based retention policies.

Built for Developers

Rails Pulse is designed with developer experience in mind. Everything you need to monitor, debug, and optimize your Rails application.

Minimal Performance Overhead

Smart caching and efficient instrumentation ensure Rails Pulse doesn't slow down your application while collecting metrics.

Flexible Authentication

Secure your monitoring dashboard with built-in authentication support. Works seamlessly with Devise or any authentication system.

Beautiful Interface

Modern, responsive design built with CSS Zero, Stimulus, and Turbo. Dark/light mode support and CSP-compliant by default.

Quick Installation

Add Rails Pulse to your application in minutes. Simply add the gem, run the installer, and you're ready to start monitoring.

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Rails Pulse interface showing request details

Get Started in Minutes

Add Rails Pulse to your Gemfile, run the installer, and mount the engine. That's it! Start monitoring your application's performance immediately with zero configuration.

# Gemfile
gem 'rails_pulse'

# Install
$ bundle install
$ rails generate rails_pulse:install
$ rails db:migrate

# config/routes.rb
Rails.application.routes.draw do
  mount RailsPulse::Engine => "/rails_pulse"
end

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about Rails Pulse

What Rails versions are supported?

Rails Pulse supports Rails 7.2+ and Ruby 3.3+. It's built as a Rails Engine and follows Rails best practices, ensuring compatibility with the latest Rails versions.

Does Rails Pulse impact my application's performance?

Rails Pulse is designed with minimal performance overhead in mind. It uses smart caching, efficient instrumentation, and Rails' built-in ActiveSupport::Notifications to collect metrics without slowing down your application. You can enable or disable it per environment.

Can I use a separate database for Rails Pulse?

Yes! Rails Pulse supports two database configurations:

Single Database (default) - Stores data in your main application database. Simple setup with zero additional configuration.
Separate Database - Use a dedicated database for complete isolation. Supports SQLite, PostgreSQL, and MySQL. Perfect for scaling monitoring independently or using different database engines.

Install with --database=separate flag to use a separate database.

How do I secure the Rails Pulse dashboard?

Rails Pulse includes flexible authentication support. You can configure authentication in the initializer to work with Devise, custom authentication systems, or any authentication method. Simply define your authentication logic in the configuration.

How does data cleanup work?

Rails Pulse offers automatic data archiving with two strategies:

Time-based cleanup - Automatically delete records older than a configured period (default: 2 weeks)
Count-based cleanup - Enforce maximum record limits per table to prevent excessive storage use

Schedule the RailsPulse::CleanupJob to run daily, or run cleanup manually with rails rails_pulse:cleanup.

Is Rails Pulse free?

Yes! Rails Pulse is completely free and open source under the MIT License. No subscription fees, no usage limits, and no external dependencies. All performance data stays in your database.

How is Rails Pulse different from APM services?

Rails Pulse offers several advantages:

No external dependencies - Everything runs in your Rails application
Zero monthly costs - No subscription fees or usage-based pricing
Data privacy - All metrics stay in your database
Full customization - Complete control over thresholds and interface
Rails-native - Built specifically for Rails with deep framework integration

Perfect for development, staging, and cost-conscious production monitoring.