From 01fd503a92131a04f62a41f9da262590e5ba9e61 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: jbranchaud <jbranchaud@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2025 22:27:47 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Add Run Rails Console With Remote Dokku App as a Rails TIL

---
 README.md                                     |  3 +-
 ...run-rails-console-with-remote-dokku-app.md | 49 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 51 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 rails/run-rails-console-with-remote-dokku-app.md

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cacb5e8..4bae849 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ pairing with smart people at Hashrocket.
 
 For a steady stream of TILs, [sign up for my newsletter](https://visualmode.kit.com/newsletter).
 
-_1707 TILs and counting..._
+_1708 TILs and counting..._
 
 See some of the other learning resources I work on:
 
@@ -1166,6 +1166,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Rounding Numbers With Precision](rails/rounding-numbers-with-precision.md)
 - [Run A Rake Task Programmatically](rails/run-a-rake-task-programmatically.md)
 - [Run Commands With Specific Rails Version](rails/run-commands-with-specific-rails-version.md)
+- [Run Rails Console With Remote Dokku App](rails/run-rails-console-with-remote-dokku-app.md)
 - [Run Some Code Whenever Rails Console Starts](rails/run-some-code-whenever-rails-console-starts.md)
 - [Scaffold Auth Functionality With Rails 8 Generator](rails/scaffold-auth-functionality-with-rails-8-generator.md)
 - [Schedule Sidekiq Jobs Out Into The Future](rails/schedule-sidekiq-jobs-out-into-the-future.md)
diff --git a/rails/run-rails-console-with-remote-dokku-app.md b/rails/run-rails-console-with-remote-dokku-app.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d46f60f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rails/run-rails-console-with-remote-dokku-app.md
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# Run Rails Console With Remote Dokku App
+
+Whenever I want to `rails console` into the _staging_ server of an app I'm
+working on, I first have to `ssh` into server and then I have to come up with
+the [`dokku`](https://dokku.com/) command to run `rails console` against the app
+on that server.
+
+```bash
+local> ssh app-staging # app-staging is an SSH alias
+staging> dokku run my-app rails console
+```
+
+I figured out how to reduce the friction of this by collapsing it into a single
+command that I can run locally. I can remotely run the `dokku` command with
+`ssh` using an interactive session (`-t`).
+
+```bash
+local> ssh -t app-staging dokku run my-app rails console
+```
+
+That will open up a `rails console` session directly in the current shell
+session via a remote SSH connection. The `-t` flag is important because that
+makes the session interactive so that I can interact with the REPL.
+
+I've even packaged this up into a bin script (`bin/staging-console`) with a
+couple checks to enhance the DX. I won't put the whole thing here, but the gist
+of it is:
+
+```bash
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -e
+
+if [ -z "$DOKKU_STAGING_SSH_ALIAS" ]; then
+  echo "Error: DOKKU_STAGING_SSH_ALIAS environment variable is not set."
+  echo ""
+  # echo more help details here ...
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Check if SSH alias exists
+# ...
+
+# Check if we can reach the server
+# ...
+
+# Run the console
+ssh -t "$DOKKU_STAGING_SSH_ALIAS" dokku run my-app rails console "$@"
+```