For Technical Founders
Sharp Knives, Not a Black Box
You're technical. You want control. You don't want vendor lock-in. Here's exactly what you're getting and why we built it this way.
The Omakase Philosophy
Like your favorite sushi chef choosing the perfect ingredients, we've assembled the stack so you don't have to.
But here's the key: You're getting professional-grade tools that you control. This isn't a proprietary platform. It's standard Rails with production intricacies already configured. You can extend it, deploy it anywhere, and modify it for your needs. You're not locked in.
What You Get
- β’ Full source code access (per-project license)
- β’ Production-ready Rails with all intricacies configured
- β’ Self-hosted deployment
- β’ Extend and modify for your project
- β’ No platform fees or limits
What You Don't Get
- β’ Vendor lock-in
- β’ Proprietary frameworks
- β’ Black box abstractions
- β’ Usage-based pricing
- β’ Multi-project license
- β’ Right to redistribute or resell
We give you the sharpest knives. What you build with them is up to you.
About licensing: Each Omaship purchase licenses the code for one project. You get full source access, can modify freely for your project, and deploy anywhereβbut the license is specific to that project.
Not allowed: Forking, redistribution, or using the code for multiple projects. This is Omaship code, licensed per-project. Need another project? That requires another license.
Inspired by the Rails Omakase philosophy
The Stack
Framework & Runtime
Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus), Propshaft assets, solid trifecta
Database & Storage
No Redis needed. Simple, fast, and reliable. Easy to migrate to PostgreSQL when you scale.
Frontend
Deployment & CI/CD
Your servers, your control. No platform lock-in.
Automated tests, linting, security scans, deployments
Security & Quality
Architectural Decisions
Why SQLite?
SQLite is massively underrated for web applications. With Rails 8's optimizations and the Solid trifecta, you can scale to millions of requests without PostgreSQL complexity.
Performance advantage: Thanks to modern SSD storage, you can make thousands of SQLite queries in the time it takes to make one network call to PostgreSQL.
Local disk I/O is orders of magnitude faster than network latency. This changes the game for read-heavy workloads.
Benefits: Zero configuration, incredible performance, simple backups, easy development. When you need to scale beyond SQLite, migration to PostgreSQL is straightforward.
Why Kamal over Heroku/Fly/Render?
Platform-as-a-Service is convenient but expensive and limiting. Kamal gives you Heroku-like deployment to any server (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, your own hardware) with Docker.
Result: 10x cost savings, full control, and no vendor lock-in. Your app, your servers, your rules.
Why Hotwire over React/Vue?
Most SaaS apps don't need a heavy JavaScript framework. Hotwire delivers SPA-like experiences with server-rendered HTML and minimal JavaScript. Faster development, better performance, simpler architecture.
When you need React: We don't block you. Add React to specific pages when you need rich interactivity. Best of both worlds.
Why Rails Engines for Infrastructure?
Infrastructure as a Rails Engine (omaship_base) means you get updates without manual work, but you maintain full control. Don't like a generator template? Override it. Need custom behavior? Extend it.
You have full control over your project. The engine is just a delivery mechanism. Modify it, extend it, or stop using it. No platform lock-in.
What's Included
Repository Setup
- β’ GitHub repository creation
- β’ Branch protection rules
- β’ Security settings (Dependabot, scanning)
- β’ Issue/PR templates
- β’ Labels and rulesets
CI/CD Pipeline
- β’ Automated testing on every PR
- β’ RuboCop linting
- β’ Brakeman security scanning
- β’ bundler-audit vulnerability checks
- β’ Automated deployments to staging/production
Deployment Config
- β’ Kamal deployment scripts
- β’ Multi-environment setup (production, staging)
- β’ SSL/TLS via Let's Encrypt
- β’ Zero-downtime deployments
- β’ Database backup automation
Authentication & Users
- β’ Email/password authentication
- β’ Session management
- β’ Password reset flow
- β’ Email change confirmation
- β’ bcrypt secure passwords
Admin Panel
- β’ User management
- β’ Access control (waitlist/invite system)
- β’ Activity monitoring
- β’ System health dashboard
Development Tools
- β’ Docker development environment
- β’ bin/dev for local development
- β’ Comprehensive test suite
- β’ Debugging tools configured
- β’ Letter opener for email testing
Extend & Customize
This is standard Railsβbut with all the production intricacies already configured. We've done the hard work of figuring out security settings, CI/CD pipelines, deployment configurations, and quality checks. You have complete freedom to extend and customize:
Add any gem
Need Sidekiq? Stripe? Whatever you want. It's your Gemfile.
Change the database
Want PostgreSQL? Update database.yml. Standard Rails.
Deploy anywhere
Kamal works with any server. AWS, Hetzner, your closet.
Override generators
Don't like our templates? Override them in your repo.
Add your frameworks
Need React for a specific page? Go for it.
Full customization
Modify templates, override behavior, make it yours.
You're not buying a platform. You're buying professional setup with production intricacies already solved, plus ongoing maintenance. The code is licensed to your project.
How Updates Work
We continuously improve the omaship_base engine with security patches, Rails upgrades, and new features. Here's how you benefit:
We publish engine updates
New version of omaship_base with improvements, security patches, or new features.
You update at your pace
Run bundle update omaship_base when you're ready. You control the timing.
Re-run generators if needed
For template updates: rails generate omaship:install --force
Review, test, deploy
Git diff shows changes. Your CI runs tests. Deploy when confident.
No forced updates. No breaking changes without warning. You stay current without losing control.
Ready to Start?
Join technical founders who value control, performance, and professional tooling. No black boxes. No vendor lock-in. Just sharp knives.
We'll send a confirmation email to verify your address. No credit card required.