Blog

Thoughts on software engineering, Ruby on Rails, and building better web applications.

January 23, 2026 (2 weeks ago)

Hotwire Turbo Scroll Preservation: Why Your Back Button Forgets Where You Were

Your Rails app scroll position breaks on back button because of one CSS rule. Learn why Turbo only tracks body scroll, and how to fix your layout so users land exactly where they left off.

January 22, 2025 (1 years ago)

Building Buttery-Smooth Reorderable Lists with Hotwire and Stimulus

Justin Marsh · 16 min · Engineering

Build drag-and-drop reorderable lists that feel native using only Hotwire, Stimulus, and vanilla JavaScript. No React, no external libraries—just 60fps interactions with optimistic UI.

January 15, 2025 (1 years ago)

The Complete Guide to Ordering Lists in Rails: From Simple to Spotify-Scale

Justin Marsh · 14 min · Engineering

Every approach to ordering lists in Rails—from acts_as_list to the array-based pattern Spotify uses. Learn which one fits your use case and avoid the performance traps.