Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails development: backends we take over, extend and keep current
A working Rails backend is usually worth keeping. We take over Rails codebases other teams left, pin down what the apps rely on with tests, extend them, and move them to supported Rails versions without a rewrite. We run one in production today, behind a two-sided inspection marketplace and its Flutter app.
What we do with Rails
Takeovers
A Rails backend another team or vendor built. We read it, pin its API with contract tests, and decide with you what to keep. On Qovo we kept the backend and rewrote the app on top of it.
Extending a live backend
New features on a Rails app that is already in production: payments, background jobs, AI steps, GDPR requests, notifications for operations.
Upgrades
Rails and Ruby versions moved to supported releases in steps, with the app deployable between them. Rails 8.0 security fixes end on November 7, 2026.
Backend for mobile apps
The API a Flutter app depends on, including server-side switches for minimum version, forced update and maintenance mode.
The Rails backend we run
Live, and ours to release. The case page shows the app on top of it.
What that backend has, taken from its codebase
- RSpec contract tests pin every inherited endpoint the app relies on, so the app and the backend cannot drift.
- Background work in Sidekiq on Redis; data in PostgreSQL.
- Split payouts to inspectors through Stripe Connect, with wallet and bonus credits.
- AI in the product: voice-to-form filling and damage extraction from photos and notes.
- GDPR, geo-IP, translation and operations notifications added to the inherited code.
- The app sends its version and platform; the server can force an update or switch on maintenance mode.
How work starts
1. A free call
Tell us what the backend does, what is stuck and what has to ship next. Nobody reviews code on the call.
2. A fixed-price code audit
We read the code, the tests, the jobs and the deploy setup, and deliver a written report in 5 working days: what works, what breaks, which Rails and Ruby versions it is on, and a priced plan.
3. The work
A fixed-scope sprint: a version upgrade, a feature, or getting the backend and its app to production.
4. Care
After that, a monthly arrangement for security releases, version upgrades, monitoring and small features.
Questions about Rails development
Can you take over a Rails app another team wrote?
Yes. On Qovo, the first version came from Builder.ai, which went insolvent in 2025. We kept and extended its Rails backend, pinned its API with RSpec contract tests, and wrote a new Flutter app on top of it.
Should we rewrite our Rails app?
Usually not. If the backend works, it is cheaper and safer to test it, extend it and upgrade it in place. The audit tells you whether yours is the exception.
We are on Rails 8.0 or older. What is the deadline?
Rails 8.0 bug fixes ended on May 7, 2026 and its security fixes end on November 7, 2026. Our Rails 8.0 end-of-life guide has the dates and the upgrade steps to 8.1.
Do you also build the mobile app?
Yes. The Rails backend we run serves a Flutter app we wrote and release to the App Store and Google Play.
Next step
30 minutes with an engineer, not a sales rep. You leave knowing what we'd fix first — or that you don't need us.
The first call is free. A code audit of an existing Rails app is a fixed price from $750, credited against the work if you continue within 30 days.