Rails Code Audit Simplified with This One New Ruby Gem
rails_code_auditor - a new Ruby gem that unifies security, dependency, style, and test coverage checks into one streamlined audit, delivering clear reports with a single command.
Raisa Kanagaraj
Technical Content Writer
Building solid Rails apps means more than just writing new features. It also means keeping a close eye on security, dependency health, and code quality as projects evolve.
For many teams, manual code reviews and ad hoc script use aren’t enough to give confidence in the shape of a codebase. RailsFactory’s own Sivamanikandan recently tackled this pain point head-on, releasing a new gem: rails_code_auditor.
So, what makes this tool tick, and why does it matter?
The Problem: Auditing Rails Apps Isn’t Easy
If you’ve ever been tasked with running security checks, code analyzers, and test coverage tools across a Rails codebase, you know it’s a tangle of steps. There are great tools out there - Brakeman, RuboCop, rails_best_practices, and more. But remembering to run or use every tool, assembling reports, and explaining the results (especially for less technical audiences) can be a taxing chore.
Coverage reports might live in coverage/, RuboCop outputs somewhere else, and third-party license scans add their own data dumps.
The result?
Incomplete, non-actionable feedback cycles that drag on productivity.
Even when done diligently, sharing a comprehensive audit with a project manager or stakeholder means wrangling with static files, converting them to PDFs, or cobbling together summaries.
The rails_code_auditor Gem: All-in-One Rails Code Assessment
rails_code_auditor enters as an answer to these ongoing workflow issues. It’s a Ruby gem that lets you run a thorough codebase checkup including security, style, duplication, vulnerability scans, and license checks,with just a single command. In other words, it’s a quick health check for your Rails app, with minimal friction.
Core Features Under the Hood
Here’s what you get by integrating rails_code_auditor into your workflow:
Security Scans with Brakeman: Find common security lapses automatically, flagging vulnerabilities before bad actors can exploit them.
Dependency Audit by Bundler Audit: Scan your gem dependencies for known vulnerabilities, guarding against risky packages.
Style Uniformity with RuboCop: Ensure codebase consistency with a comprehensive lint audit.
Rails Best Practices Insights: Incorporates rails_best_practices for conventional wisdom checks.
Smell and Complexity Checks: Uses tools like Reek and Flog to surface code smells and highlight tangled, hard-to-maintain code.
Duplication Finder (Flay): Surfacing unnecessary code repetition that creeps into most large projects.
Test Coverage Reporting: Leverages SimpleCov to quickly show how much of your code is truly covered by automated tests.
License Safety: Scans your installed gems for unforeseen licensing headaches using License Finder.
Visual Quality Review: RubyCritic pulls it all together in sharp visualizations.
Performance Suggestions: Integration with Fasterer spots slow-downs that might otherwise go unnoticed.
All of this happens automatically, no need to weave together separate scripts or dashboards.
Reports Anyone Can Understand
A standout portion of the rails_code_auditor experience is the way it assembles the results. Every run pushes clear HTML reports into a report/ directory. If you need something more portable, the gem uses PDF generation tools (like Prawn and Puppeteer) to bundle the findings into a shareable, presentation-ready format.
Charts and visuals help cut through the noise, making it easy for anyone - developers, managers, or non-technical leads to see at a glance where things are strong and where improvements are needed.
Real Code Insights with LLM (Optional)
True to solving modern dev pains, the gem offers the option to layer in assessments from local AI large language models (LLaMA 3, via Ollama). When enabled, rails_code_auditor can scan audit summaries, highlighting problem areas and even suggesting practical improvements for structure or test coverage.
This is opt-in, and everything runs locally, so teams stay in control of their code and data.
Simple Integration, Fast Feedback
Adding rails_code_auditor to a Rails project is about as easy as it gets:
Add to your Gemfile:
gem 'rails_code_auditor'
Install with:
bundle install
Run the full audit:
bundle exec rails_code_auditor
For AI-enhanced suggestions, install Ollama, make sure you have the LLaMA 3 model available, and run:
bundle exec rails_code_auditor --use-llm
Generated reports then land neatly in the report/ directory, including both detailed HTML dashboards and consolidated PDFs.
Why rails_code_auditor Changes the Game
At its heart, rails_code_auditor aims to turn a fragmented, error-prone process into a single reliable workflow. For developers, it means less time context switching and more time building. For developers and project managers, it means clearer visibility into the health of a codebase with no need to chase multiple teams or platforms for updates.
See at a glance: What’s strong, what needs work, and what to prioritize next.
Keep teams honest: Benchmarks stay visible, and recurring audits are easy to automate (for example, as part of your CI pipelines).
No surprises: Spot risky licenses or vulnerable dependencies before they become urgent issues.
With GitHub Actions and ongoing plans for custom integrations, rails_code_auditor is built with real-world developer rhythms in mind.
Who’s Behind the Gem?
Sivamanikandan, of RailsFactory, developed rails_code_auditor out of day-to-day need and a long-running commitment to open-source improvement in the Rails community. His plugins—including the earlier MailTicketSyncPro and Cloud Attachment Pro for Redmine, are practical, field-tested solutions grounded in the realities of growing teams and codebases.
You can explore the plugin here: Redmine Cloud Attachment Pro
Like other tools from RailsFactory, rails_code_auditor keeps to the principle that useful software should be easy to adopt and encourage healthy workflows.
Looking Ahead: Open for the Community
rails_code_auditor is available on GitHub, and actively welcomes feedback, contributions, and feature requests. Potential enhancements like improved web-based dashboards, more robust AI integration, and extra language/model support are already on the roadmap.
For teams looking to streamline codebase checks or plug in actionable code health metrics, this gem is a step forward both in efficiency and peace of mind.
Ready to make code audits routine? Try out rails_code_auditor today or connect with RailsFactory for guidance and best practices on auditing Rails codebases at scale.
