JavaScript/Node.js Dependency Management

This project uses yarn for all JavaScript and Node.js dependency management and scripts. Do not use npm or npx.

Install dependencies:

yarn install

Build Tailwind CSS:

yarn build:css

Watch Tailwind CSS:

yarn watch:css

If you see a package-lock.json, delete it. Only yarn.lock should be present.

Nailab - Startup Mentorship Platform

Documentation: Documentation

A comprehensive Rails application connecting startups with experienced mentors through structured mentorship programs, resources, and support systems.

Features

• Authentication: Devise-based sign up, sign in, and password management. Users: Founders, Mentors, Admins. Journey: register → confirm email → complete profile.
• Onboarding: Multi-step onboarding for founders, mentors, and partners. Users: Founders, Mentors, Partners. Journey: complete personal → startup → professional steps → set preferences.
• Founder Portal: Dashboard, opportunities, progress tracker, startup profile, account & subscription management. Users: Founders. Journey: log in → view dashboard → apply for opportunities → track progress.
• Mentor Portal: Mentor dashboard, availability, mentorship requests, sessions, conversations. Users: Mentors. Journey: set availability → receive requests → accept/decline → host sessions.
• Mentorship Requests & Matching: Create/respond/accept/decline/reschedule requests and match mentors to founders. Users: Founders, Mentors, Admins. Journey: request mentorship → mentor responds → schedule session.
• Sessions & Scheduling: Session join links, calendar integration, session management. Users: Founders, Mentors. Journey: schedule session → join session → follow-up notes.
• Support Ticketing System: SupportTicket and SupportTicketReply models with RailsAdmin integration and threaded conversations. Users: Founders, Mentors, Admins. Journey: submit ticket → admin replies → resolve ticket.
• Admin Dashboard: RailsAdmin for managing users, content, programs, and support tickets. Users: Admins. Journey: review content → moderate users → respond to tickets.
• Programs & Resources: Program listings and resource library (guides, templates, event resources). Users: Public, Founders, Mentors. Journey: browse programs → view details → access resources.
• Startup Profiles & Directory: Create and manage startup profiles, searchable directory. Users: Founders, Mentors, Public. Journey: create profile → update details → get discovered.
• Payments & Subscriptions: Pricing pages and subscription management for paid plans. Users: Founders (customers). Journey: choose plan → subscribe → manage billing.
• API Endpoints: Versioned api/v1 endpoints supporting frontend and mobile clients. Users: Frontend/mobile developers. Journey: authenticate → fetch program/resource data → perform actions.
• Security & Access Control: CSRF protection, role-based access limits, and user-scoped data. Users: All. Journey: access resources according to role and permissions.
• Frontend & UX: Tailwind CSS, Hotwire, and importmap-driven assets for a responsive, performant UI. Users: Developers and end users. Journey: responsive UI, fast interactions.

Site Map (Visual Tree)

/        # Home — Nailab landing page (hero, sections, testimonials, partners, CTAs)
├── about        # About Nailab, mission, team, story
├── programs     # List of all programs
│   └── :slug    # Program detail page
├── resources    # Resource library (blogs, guides, etc.)
├── startups     # Startup directory
├── pricing      # Pricing and plans
├── contact      # Contact form/info
├── login        # Login page (Devise, styled)
├── signup       # Signup page (Devise, styled)
├── admin        # RailsAdmin dashboard
│   ├── support_tickets  # Admin support ticket management
│   └── ...              # Other admin interfaces
├── founder      # Founder portal
│   ├── dashboard        # Founder dashboard
│   ├── support          # Support ticket system
│   │   ├── tickets      # Create new tickets
│   │   └── tickets/:id  # View ticket conversations
│   ├── mentorship_requests
│   ├── sessions
│   ├── resources
│   ├── opportunities
│   ├── milestones
│   ├── monthly_metrics
│   ├── account
│   ├── subscription
│   └── profile
├── mentor       # Mentor portal (alias: mentor_portal)
│   ├── dashboard        # Mentor dashboard
│   ├── support          # Support ticket system
│   │   ├── tickets      # Create new tickets
│   │   └── tickets/:id  # View ticket conversations
│   ├── mentorship_requests
│   │   ├── :id/accept
│   │   ├── :id/decline
│   │   └── :id/reschedule
│   ├── conversations
│   │   └── messages
│   ├── schedule
│   ├── sessions
│   │   ├── :id/join
│   │   └── :id/add_to_calendar
│   ├── startups
│   ├── profile
│   ├── settings
│   └── logout
├── users        # Devise user auth endpoints
│   ├── sign_in
│   ├── sign_up
│   ├── password/new
│   └── ...
├── api          # API endpoints for frontend/mobile
│   └── v1
│       ├── sign_in
│       ├── sign_out
│       ├── sign_up
│       ├── me
│       ├── hero_slides
│       ├── partners
│       ├── testimonials
│       ├── programs
│       │   └── :slug
│       ├── resources
│       ├── startup_profiles
│       ├── mentor_profiles
│       ├── mentorship_requests
│       │   └── :id/respond
│       ├── matches
│       └── onboarding
│           ├── founder
│           └── mentor
└── up           # Health check endpoint

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Ruby 3.2.3 (use rbenv / rvm to manage versions)
• Rails 8.1.1
• PostgreSQL (12+ recommended)
• Node.js 18+ and Yarn (or npm) for asset compilation

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone git@github.com:Tich-Labs/nailab.git
cd nailab-rails

2. Install Ruby gems and JS packages

rbenv install 3.2.3    # optional: only if Ruby not installed
rbenv local 3.2.3
bundle install
yarn install --check-files

3. Configure credentials and environment variables

• If the project uses an .env helper file:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env to set any secrets and service credentials

• Ensure RAILS_MASTER_KEY (or config/credentials.yml.enc) is available in your environment for encrypted credentials.

4. Set up the database

rails db:create
rails db:migrate
rails db:seed

5. Start the development server

bundle exec rails server

Notes

• The repo includes Procfile/Procfile.dev and render.yaml for local multi-process workflows and Render deployment respectively. Use bin/dev or a Procfile runner if you prefer to run web and background processes together.

Key Dependencies

• Rails 8.1.1: Web framework
• Devise: Authentication
• RailsAdmin: Admin interface
• Tailwind CSS: Styling
• PostgreSQL: Database
• Hotwire: Real-time features
• OmniAuth: Social authentication

Development

Testing

rails test

Tailwind CSS — chosen approach (Ruby wrapper)

Decision: this project uses the Ruby wrapper tailwindcss-rails as the primary Tailwind build tool. This keeps Tailwind integrated with Rails tooling and simplifies local and production builds for Rails-centric deployments. Do not run both the Ruby wrapper and the Node tailwindcss CLI to build the same output — pick one to avoid inconsistent generated CSS.

Why this choice:

• Ease: bin/rails tailwindcss:build / bin/rails tailwindcss:watch integrate with Rails and are simple to run.
• Predictability: Rails tasks keep asset builds colocated with bin/rails assets:precompile.
• Simplicity for Rails-only deploys: avoids depending on Node just for Tailwind when you don't need Node plugins.

When to consider switching to Node instead:

• You depend on Node-only PostCSS/Tailwind plugins or advanced JS toolchain features.
• You want exact parity with a frontend JS ecosystem build pipeline (e.g. Webpack/Vite).

Local developer workflow (Ruby wrapper):

# install gems
bundle install

# watch (dev):
bin/rails tailwindcss:watch

# one-off build (production-mode CSS):
RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails tailwindcss:build --minify

# then precompile Rails assets
bin/rails assets:precompile

CI / Production build process (recommended):

1. bundle install --without development test (or your CI bundle command)
2. Run bin/rails tailwindcss:build to generate the CSS into app/assets/builds/.
3. Run bin/rails assets:precompile so Rails fingerprints and packages assets for the webserver.

Example CI snippet:

bundle config set --local deployment 'true'
bundle install --jobs=4 --retry=3
# Build Tailwind via the Ruby wrapper
bin/rails tailwindcss:build --minify
# Precompile Rails assets
bin/rails assets:precompile

Notes and best practices:

• Keep app/assets/builds/application.css out of source control — generate it in CI or during image build.
• If you also use Node for JS tools (Cypress, Playwright, bundlers), keep Node deps for those, but do not use the Node Tailwind CLI concurrently to build application.css.
• If you later need Node-only plugins, migrate Tailwind to the Node toolchain and update CI to run npm ci && npm run build:css.
• Troubleshooting: if you see @apply or utility errors from the Ruby wrapper, ensure your tailwind.config.js and plugin versions are compatible with the wrapper's Tailwind version.

Code Quality

rubocop
brakeman
bundler-audit

Deployment

The application is configured for deployment on Render with included render.yaml configuration.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests
5. Submit a pull request

License

[Add license information]