Skip to main content

Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

Rails Active Admin

how to setup active admin in rails step by step

Published
•1 min read•View as Markdown

ActiveAdmin is a popular administration framework for Ruby on Rails applications. It allows developers to quickly and easily build beautiful and powerful admin interfaces with minimal code.

Here’s a quick overview:


✅ Key Features:

  • Auto-generates admin interfaces for Rails models.

  • Customizable dashboards.

  • Filters, search, and CSV export.

  • Authentication & authorization support.

  • Batch actions (e.g., bulk delete).

  • Supports form customizations and associations.

  • Built-in theming (based on ActiveAdmin styles).


✅ Installation Guide:

  1. Add to Gemfile:
rubyCopyEditgem 'activeadmin'
  1. Bundle Install:
bashCopyEditbundle install
  1. Install ActiveAdmin:
bashCopyEditrails generate active_admin:install

This creates:

  • AdminUser model for authentication.

  • ActiveAdmin configuration files.

  • Routes for /admin.

  1. Run Migrations:
bashCopyEditrails db:migrate
  1. Start Rails Server:
bashCopyEditrails server
  1. Access Admin Panel:
    Visit: http://localhost:3000/admin
    Log in with the credentials created during install.

✅ Register a Model in ActiveAdmin:

bashCopyEditrails generate active_admin:resource Post

This generates:

rubyCopyEdit# app/admin/posts.rb
ActiveAdmin.register Post do
end

✅ Example Customization:

rubyCopyEditActiveAdmin.register Post do
  permit_params :title, :body, :published

  index do
    selectable_column
    id_column
    column :title
    column :published
    actions
  end

  filter :title
  filter :published

  form do |f|
    f.inputs do
      f.input :title
      f.input :body
      f.input :published
    end
    f.actions
  end
end