rails has 9,027,858 recorded pulls on Docker Hub.
It ranks #140 of 1,263 tracked Docker Hub listings by pulls.
PluginStats has 3 daily observations since Oct 16, 2026; the latest is from Oct 18, 2026.
About rails
DEPRECATED
This image is officially deprecated in favor of the standard ruby image, and will receive no further updates after 2016-12-31 (Dec 31, 2016). Please adjust your usage accordingly.
For most usages of this image, it was already not bringing in rails from this image, but actually from your project's Gemfile, so the only "value" being added here was the pre-installing of nodejs, mysql-client, postgresql-client, and sqlite3 for various uses of the rails framework.
For example, a Dockerfile similar to the following would be a good starting point for a Rails project using PostgreSQL:
Supported tags and respective Dockerfile links
• 5.0.1, 5.0, 5, latest (*Dockerfile*) • onbuild (*onbuild/Dockerfile*)
Quick reference
• Where to get help: the Docker Community Forums, the Docker Community Slack, or Stack Overflow • Where to file issues: https://github.com/docker-library/rails/issues • Maintained by: the Docker Community • Published image artifact details: repo-info repo's repos/rails/ directory (history) (image metadata, transfer size, etc) • Image updates: official-images PRs with label library/rails official-images repo's library/rails file (history) • Source of this description: docs repo's rails/ directory (history) • Supported Docker versions: the latest release (down to 1.6 on a best-effort basis)
What is Ruby on Rails?
Ruby on Rails or, simply, Rails is an open source web application framework which runs on the Ruby programming language. It is a full-stack framework. This means that "out of the box", Rails can create pages and applications that gather information from a web server, talk to or query a database, and render templates. As a result, Rails features a routing system that is independent of the web server.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_on_Rails
How to use this image
Create a Dockerfile in your Rails app project
Put this file in the root of your app, next to the Gemfile.
This image includes multiple ONBUILD triggers which should cover most applications. The build will COPY . /usr/src/app, RUN bundle install, EXPOSE 3000, and set the default command to rails server.
You can then build and run the Docker image:
You can test it by visiting http://container-ip:3000 in a browser or, if you need access outside the host, on port 8080:
You can then go to http://localhost:8080 or http://host-ip:8080 in a browser.
Generate a Gemfile.lock
The onbuild tag expects a Gemfile.lock in your app directory. This `docker run will help you generate one. Run it in the root of your app, next to the Gemfile`:
Bootstrap a new Rails application
If you want to generate the scaffolding for a new Rails project, you can do the following:
This will create a sub-directory named webapp inside your current directory.
Image Variants
The rails images come in many flavors, each designed for a specific use case.
rails:
This is the defacto image. If you are unsure about what your needs are, you probably want to use this one. It is designed to be used both as a throw away container (mount your source code and start the container to start your app), as well as the base to build other images off of.
rails:onbuild
This image makes building derivative images easier. For most use cases, creating a Dockerfile in the base of your project directory with the line FROM rails:onbuild will be enough to create a stand-alone image for your project.
While the onbuild variant is really useful for "getting off the ground running" (zero to Dockerized in a short period of time), it's not recommended for long-term usage within a project due to the lack of control over *when* the ONBUILD triggers fire (see also docker/docker#5714, docker/docker#8240, docker/docker#11917).
Once you've got a handle on how your project functions within Docker, you'll probably want to adjust your Dockerfile to inherit from a non-onbuild variant and copy the commands from the onbuild variant Dockerfile (moving the ONBUILD lines to the end and removing the ONBUILD keywords) into your own file so that you have tighter control over them and more transparency for yourself and others looking at your Dockerfile as to what it does. This also makes it easier to add additional requirements as time goes on (such as installing more packages before performing the previously-ONBUILD steps).
License
View license information for the software contained in this image.
Description from the Docker Hub listing.
Where rails sits in the listing
Each band is one page of 20. Pulls on a log scale. Placement is projected from pulls, so it can differ from the marketplace's own sort order. Hover a dot to see the listing.
Charts
Images: 30d · 1y · all time · 1600×900 dark
Adoption over time
7/30/90-day growth
Filled points are observed values; hollow points come from Internet Archive snapshots of the listing page. Dashed segments span periods with no observations — values between points are not interpolated.
Recent observations
Full history (3)Similar Docker Hub plugins
Data source
Cumulative pull counts and stars come from the public Docker Hub API. Pulls count image downloads (including automated CI pulls), not installs or users.
Listing: https://hub.docker.com/_/rails. First seen Oct 16, 2026; last successful collection Oct 18, 2026. See the methodology.