What is the best way to install bootstrap with rails app?
1.
rails new bootstrappy
2.
cd bootstrappy
3.
yarn add bootstrap jquery popper.js
4.
in environment.js
config/webpack/environment.js
add the following:
const webpack = require("webpack")
environment.plugins.append("Provide", new webpack.ProvidePlugin({
$: 'jquery',
jQuery: 'jquery',
Popper: ['popper.js', 'default']
}))
5.
in application.js
location: app/javascript/packs/application.js
add:
import "bootstrap"
import "../stylesheets/application"
document.addEventListener("turbolinks:load", () => {
$('[data-toggle="tooltip"]').tooltip()
$('[data-toggle="popover"]').popover()
})
6.
create stylesheets folder in app/javascript
mkdir app/javascript/stylesheets
in stylesheets folder create file: application.scss
7.
in app/javascript/stylesheets/application.scss add :
@import "~bootstrap/scss/bootstrap";
8.
update: app/views/layouts/application.html.erb
add:
<%= stylesheet_pack_tag 'application', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>
application.html.erb looks like this:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Bootstrappy</title>
<%= csrf_meta_tags %>
<%= csp_meta_tag %>
<%= stylesheet_link_tag 'application', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>
<%= stylesheet_pack_tag 'application', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>
<%= javascript_pack_tag 'application', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>
</head>
<body>
<%= yield %>
</body>
</html>
9. test it out:
add navbar, tooltips, popover to:
app/views/layouts/application.html.erb
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Bootstrappy</title>
<%= csrf_meta_tags %>
<%= csp_meta_tag %>
<%= stylesheet_link_tag 'application', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track':
'reload' %>
<%= stylesheet_pack_tag 'application', media: 'all', 'data-turbolinks-track':
'reload' %>
<%= javascript_pack_tag 'application', 'data-turbolinks-track': 'reload' %>
</head>
<body>
<!-- add navbar -->
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light bg-light">
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Navbar</a>
<button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-
target="#navbarSupportedContent" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent" aria-
expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
<span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
</button>
<div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarSupportedContent">
<ul class="navbar-nav mr-auto">
<li class="nav-item active">
<a class="nav-link" href="#">Home <span class="sr-only">(current)</span></a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item dropdown">
<a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" id="navbarDropdown"
role="button"
data-toggle=" dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
Dropdown
</a>
<div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbarDropdown">
<a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
<div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
</div>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link disabled" href="#" tabindex="-1" aria-
disabled="true">Disabled</a>
</li>
</ul>
<form class="form-inline my-2 my-lg-0">
<input class="form-control mr-sm-2" type="search" placeholder="Search" aria-
label="Search">
<button class="btn btn-outline-success my-2 my-sm-0"
type="submit">Search</button>
</form>
</div>
</nav>
<!-- add tooltips -->
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-toggle="tooltip" data-
placement="top" title="Tooltip on top">
Tooltip on top
</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-toggle="tooltip" data-
placement="right" title="Tooltip on right">
Tooltip on right
</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-toggle="tooltip" data-
placement="bottom" title="Tooltip on bottom">
Tooltip on bottom
</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-toggle="tooltip" data-
placement="left" title="Tooltip on left">
Tooltip on left
</button>
<!-- add popover -->
<button type="button" class="btn btn-lg btn-danger" data-toggle="popover"
title="Popover title" data-content="And here's some amazing content. It's very
engaging. Right?">Click to toggle popover</button>
<%= yield %>
</body>
</html>
10.
rails g controller main index
11.
update app/config/routes.rb
like this:
Rails.application.routes.draw do
root to: 'main#index'
end
12.
run start rails server
13. follow this link:
http://localhost:3000/ and enjoy!
Why install the bootstrap gem?
Since rails uses the asset pipeline to minify and compress stylesheets, javascripts, and images, using a sass version of bootstrap is the preferred way of including bootstrap over simply including bootstrap in your application layout view. In addition, if you simply included bootstrap in a header file, that included file would have to be a compiled version of bootstrap (it would simply be a css file). However, since we'll include the sass version of bootstrap in your app, you'll have access to bootstrap's sass variables, mixins, and other sass-related awesomeness. You couldn't get that functionality by including a compiled asset in your application layout view. By importing sass in your application.scss file, rails will compile your bootstrap and assets on the fly and will allow you a lot more flexibility in the design of your apps.
Adding Bootstrap to your rails app
According to the bootstrap-sass gem, you need to add
'gem 'bootstrap-sass'
to your Gemfile and then run
bundle install
Next, you'll want to import the bootstrap stylesheets in your application css manifest file. However, by default, the manifest file is named:
app/assets/stylesheets/application.css
but you should rename it to use a .scss extension (or .sass extension) like so:
app/assets/stylesheets/application.scss
Now, remove everything in your application.scss file and add the following two lines:
@import "bootstrap-sprockets";
@import "bootstrap";
You'll need to manually handle the imports of your scss files from now on.
Next, to make bootstrap's javascript helpers available, you'll need to add this line:
//= require bootstrap-sprockets
to your
app/assets/javascripts/application.js
You'll want to add that line is such a way that your application.js file looks like this:
// This is a manifest file that'll be compiled into application.js, which will include all the files
// listed below.
//
// Any JavaScript/Coffee file within this directory, lib/assets/javascripts, vendor/assets/javascripts,
// or any plugin's vendor/assets/javascripts directory can be referenced here using a relative path.
//
// It's not advisable to add code directly here, but if you do, it'll appear at the bottom of the
// compiled file. JavaScript code in this file should be added after the last require_* statement.
//
// Read Sprockets README (https://github.com/rails/sprockets#sprockets-directives) for details
// about supported directives.
//
//= require jquery
//= require jquery_ujs
//= require bootstrap-sprockets
//= require turbolinks
//= require_tree .
In Bootstrap 4 now you can simply add your @import 'bootstrap'; to your application.scss. You should rename your application.css to application.scss if you have not already.
@import 'bootstrap';
After you have added the gem to your Gem file
...
# Bootstrap
gem 'bootstrap', '~> 4.1.1'
# Use SCSS for stylesheets
gem 'sass-rails', '~> 5.0'
...
Advantages of using the Sass version is
- You can change the default bootstrap variables to your own custom variables
- And you can write your own function and mixing without the need to recompile and worry about updates/fix from Bootstrap.