Rails 8.0 shipped November 7, 2024 and requires Ruby 3.2.0+. Headline features: a built-in authentication generator, Solid Queue/Cache/Cable (database-backed, no Redis), Kamal 2 + Thruster deployment, Propshaft, and production-ready SQLite. Rails 8.1 (October 2025) is the current release; Rails 8.0 now gets security fixes only, through November 2026.

Rails 8.0 and 8.1 both require Ruby 3.2.0 or newer. The rails gem enforces this through its gemspec, so gem install rails fails on Ruby 3.1 or older. In practice, you’ll want a newer Ruby than the minimum: the current Ruby 3.4 series gets you YJIT improvements and the longest runway of Ruby security patches. As of August 2026, Rails 8.0 is in its final stretch: it receives security fixes only, and those stop on November 7, 2026. Both 7.1 and 7.2 are already off the supported list entirely.

Rails 8 assembles authentication pieces into a generator. One command scaffolds a complete session-based authentication system, including database-backed sessions and password resets. The generator creates models, controllers, mailers, and views. Because the generated code lives in your app, you can read and modify every line of it. There’s no engine hiding the session logic, which makes the generator a strong default for teams that previously reached for Devise out of habit.

Rails 8 cuts the number of services a typical production app needs. Job queues, caching, and pub/sub messaging traditionally meant running Redis next to your relational database. Rails 8 replaces that with three database-backed adapters, installed by default in every new app: Solid Queue, Solid Cache, and Solid Cable. Solid Queue is the new default Active Job backend, using FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED for efficient job dispatch. It runs 20 million jobs a day at HEY. Solid Cache backs Rails.cache with disk storage, and Solid Cable is the default Action Cable adapter in production.