Why is my newly pushed Fly.io Rails7.0.8 app not finding my image & js assets?

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04-10-2024

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Why Your Fly.io Rails 7.0.8 App Can't Find Your Assets: A Troubleshooting Guide

Problem: You've deployed your Rails 7.0.8 application to Fly.io, but when you navigate to your site, you're greeted with broken images and missing JavaScript functionality. Your assets seem to be lost in the digital ether.

Rephrased: Your Rails app on Fly.io is acting like it can't find the images and JavaScript files it needs to work properly.

Let's dive into why this happens and how to fix it.

The Scenario:

Your Rails 7.0.8 application, carefully crafted with all the bells and whistles, is ready for the world. You've followed the Fly.io deployment instructions diligently, but upon visiting your site, the images are missing, and the JavaScript features don't work. Your CSS might even be affected.

The Code:

# In your Gemfile:
gem 'webpacker', '~> 5.4' # or your chosen asset pipeline
gem 'fly-ruby', '~> 0.8'

# In your config/environments/production.rb:
Rails.application.configure do
  config.assets.precompile += %w(
    *.js
    *.css
    *.jpg
    *.png
  )
  config.assets.compile = true
end

Why is this happening?

The most common culprit is the way Fly.io handles asset compilation in production. In contrast to traditional web server setups, Fly.io runs your app in a stateless environment. This means the compiled assets, which are usually located in the public/assets directory, might not be available to your application on Fly.io.

Here's a breakdown of the potential issues:

• Missing Precompilation: Fly.io requires you to precompile your assets during deployment. This step creates the necessary static assets that the app can serve. Make sure you've added rails assets:precompile to your fly.toml file in your deploy section.
• Incorrect Fly.io Configuration: Double-check your fly.toml file to ensure the asset path is correctly configured. The public_dir setting in the http_services section should point to the correct directory where your assets are located (usually public).
• Incorrect Asset Paths in Your Code: Verify that your application's HTML and CSS files are referencing the correct asset paths. In production, these paths are typically generated by your asset pipeline.

Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Precompile Your Assets: Ensure your fly.toml file contains the following command in the deploy section:

   [deploy]
   ...
   [deploy.commands]
   pre_build = ["rails assets:precompile"] 
   ... 
   

2. Check Your Fly.io Configuration:

   • Open your fly.toml file and confirm that the public_dir setting in the http_services section points to public.
   • Ensure the file has the correct path for your fly.toml file.

3. Review Your Asset Paths: Carefully inspect your HTML templates, CSS, and JavaScript code. Double-check that the paths to your assets are correctly referenced, taking into account the production environment.

Additional Tips:

• Utilize a Dedicated Asset Pipeline: If you're not already using Webpacker or Sprockets, consider implementing them for better asset management and precompilation.
• Consider a CDN: A Content Delivery Network (CDN) can help improve asset delivery performance by caching your static files across geographically dispersed servers.
• Test Locally: Before deploying, always precompile your assets locally to ensure they are correctly generated and to identify any potential issues early on.

By following these steps and understanding the intricacies of Fly.io's stateless environment, you can ensure your Rails 7.0.8 application finds its assets and presents a seamless experience to your users.

References:

• Fly.io Documentation
• Rails Asset Pipeline
• Webpacker Documentation
• Sprockets Documentation