This article is based on the talk I gave at Tropical on Rails 2026 in São Paulo. If you were there, this is the written version. If you weren't — welcome. This is the whole thing.

Introduction:

Rails generators are one of the most underrated tools in the framework. Every Rails developer has used them. Few have designed them. And almost nobody treats them as what they actually are: an API. This article makes the case that generators deserve the same design attention we give to REST APIs — and shows what that looks like in practice, using real code from jet_ui , a Rails gem I built at JetRockets and launched at Tropical on Rails 2026.

The Wrong Frame

The typical mental model for generators looks like this:

Input a name → Get some files → Move on with your life

Enter fullscreen mode

Exit fullscreen mode

It's a reasonable model. Generators are code generation tools — you give them a name, they give you files, you keep building. Nobody questions this because it works. rails g model User creates a model.…