Plutonium Installation

Fresh install in a new Rails app:

1. Generate the Rails app with rails new myapp -a propshaft -j esbuild -c tailwind -m https://radioactive-labs.github.io/plutonium-core/templates/plutonium.rb (greenfield) OR bin/rails app:template LOCATION=.../base.rb (existing app).
2. Run bundle install if you added the gem manually.
3. Run rails generate pu:core:install to create base controllers, policies, definitions, and config.
4. Run rails generate pu:rodauth:install + rails generate pu:rodauth:account user for auth.
5. Run rails generate pu:pkg:portal admin --auth=user to create a portal.
6. Run rails generate pu:res:scaffold Post title:string 'content:text?' --dest=main_app for a first resource.
7. Run rails db:migrate.
8. Run rails generate pu:res:conn Post --dest=admin_portal to connect the resource.
9. Mount the portal in config/routes.rb: mount AdminPortal::Engine, at: "/admin".
10. Start the server and visit /admin.

New Rails App (Recommended)

Use the Rails template for a fully configured setup:

rails new myapp -a propshaft -j esbuild -c tailwind \
  -m https://radioactive-labs.github.io/plutonium-core/templates/plutonium.rb

This sets up Rails with Propshaft, esbuild, TailwindCSS, and Plutonium in one command.

Existing Rails App

⚠️ Use base.rb, not plutonium.rb. The plutonium.rb template is for rails new only — it re-runs the full app bootstrap (dotenv, annotate, solid_*, assets) and creates generic "initial commit" commits that clobber history. For any pre-existing app, always use base.rb.

Option 1: Rails Template

bin/rails app:template \
  LOCATION=https://radioactive-labs.github.io/plutonium-core/templates/base.rb

Option 2: Manual Installation

# Add to Gemfile
gem "plutonium"

# Install
bundle install
rails generate pu:core:install

What Gets Generated

After pu:core:install:

app/
├── controllers/
│   ├── plutonium_controller.rb    # Base controller
│   └── resource_controller.rb     # Resource CRUD base
├── definitions/
│   └── resource_definition.rb     # Definition base class
├── interactions/
│   └── resource_interaction.rb    # Interaction base class
├── models/
│   └── resource_record.rb         # Abstract model base
├── policies/
│   └── resource_policy.rb         # Policy base class
└── views/
    └── layouts/
        └── resource.html.erb      # Base layout

config/
├── initializers/
│   └── plutonium.rb               # Configuration
└── packages.rb                    # Package loader

packages/
└── .keep

Base Classes

ResourceController

class ResourceController < PlutoniumController
  include Plutonium::Resource::Controller
  # Provides: index, show, new, create, edit, update, destroy
  # Plus: interactive actions, authorization, query handling
end

ResourcePolicy

class ResourcePolicy < Plutonium::Resource::Policy
  def create?
    true  # Override with your logic
  end

  def read?
    true
  end
end

ResourceDefinition

class ResourceDefinition < Plutonium::Resource::Definition
  # Add app-wide definition defaults here
end

ResourceRecord

class ResourceRecord < ApplicationRecord
  self.abstract_class = true
  # Models inherit from this for Plutonium features
end

Authentication Setup

Install Rodauth

rails generate pu:rodauth:install

Create Account Types

# Basic user account
rails generate pu:rodauth:account user

# Admin with 2FA, lockout, audit logging
rails generate pu:rodauth:admin admin

# SaaS user with entity/organization (multi-tenant)
rails generate pu:saas:setup --user Customer --entity Organization

Account Options

Connect Auth to Controllers

# app/controllers/resource_controller.rb
class ResourceController < PlutoniumController
  include Plutonium::Resource::Controller
  include Plutonium::Auth::Rodauth(:user)  # Add this
end

Creating Your First Resource

rails generate pu:res:scaffold Post user:belongs_to title:string content:text
rails db:migrate

Creating a Portal

rails generate pu:pkg:portal admin

Select authentication when prompted:

• Rodauth account - Use existing auth
• Public access - No authentication
• Bring your own - Custom implementation

Mount the Portal

# config/routes.rb
Rails.application.routes.draw do
  mount AdminPortal::Engine, at: "/admin"
end

Connect Resources to Portal

rails generate pu:res:conn Post --dest=admin_portal

Configuration

# config/initializers/plutonium.rb
Plutonium.configure do |config|
  config.load_defaults 1.0

  # Custom assets (optional)
  # config.assets.stylesheet = "custom_stylesheet"
  # config.assets.script = "custom_script"
  # config.assets.logo = "custom_logo.png"
end

Package System

Packages are loaded from config/packages.rb:

Dir.glob(File.expand_path("../packages/**/lib/engine.rb", __dir__)) { |package| load package }

Create packages in packages/ directory:

• Feature packages - Business logic (rails g pu:pkg:package blogging)
• Portal packages - Web interfaces (rails g pu:pkg:portal admin)

Post-Installation Checklist

1. Install core

   rails generate pu:core:install
   

2. Setup authentication (if needed)

   rails generate pu:rodauth:install
   rails generate pu:rodauth:account user
   

3. Create a portal

   rails generate pu:pkg:portal admin
   

4. Create resources

   rails generate pu:res:scaffold Post title:string content:text
   

5. Connect resources to portal

   rails generate pu:res:conn Post --dest=admin_portal
   

6. Run migrations

   rails db:migrate
   

7. Mount portal (add to config/routes.rb)

   mount AdminPortal::Engine, at: "/admin"
   

8. Start server

   rails server
   

Converting Existing Models

For models that already exist in your app:

1. Include the module:

   class Post < ApplicationRecord
     include Plutonium::Resource::Record
   end
   

2. Generate supporting files (skips model/migration):

   rails g pu:res:scaffold Post
   

3. Connect to portal:

   rails g pu:res:conn Post --dest=admin_portal
   

Generator Reference

Related Skills

• plutonium - Resource architecture overview
• plutonium-auth - Authentication setup and configuration
• plutonium-package - Feature and portal packages
• plutonium-portal - Portal configuration
• plutonium-views - Custom pages, layouts, and Phlex components
• plutonium-assets - TailwindCSS and custom styling
• plutonium-create-resource - Resource scaffold options
• plutonium-portal - Portal connection