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A tiny Rails console banner that show app stats every time you run rails c

Aug 25, 2025

Quick win for everyday Rails work: print a small, colorized stats banner every time you open rails console — users, companies, profiles, attachments, etc. It’s zero‑maintenance and runs only in the console.

TL;DR / Roadmap

  1. Pick one approach:
    • Option A — Initializer (console‑only): config/initializers/console_banner.rb
    • Option B — Console hook (bulletproof): config/console_banner.rb + a small addition in config/application.rb
  2. Run rails c and enjoy the banner.
  3. If you use Spring, run bin/spring stop once (or DISABLE_SPRING=1 rails c) if you don’t see it the first time.
  4. Optional: colorize, add DB/Redis checks, or timing per query.

Why this exists

When I open the console, I want context fast: how many users are in the DB? which environment am I in? what database am I connected to? A tiny banner answers those in ~1ms of code you’ll forget about.

Option A — Initializer that runs only in the console

Create config/initializers/console_banner.rb:

# config/initializers/console_banner.rb
# Prints a banner when you start `rails console` (and only then).

if defined?(Rails::Console)
  Rails.application.config.after_initialize do
    begin
      # Ensure DB is reachable
      ActiveRecord::Base.connection

      models = {
        "Users"          => User,
        "Companies"      => (defined?(Company) ? Company : nil),
        "Profiles"       => (defined?(Profile) ? Profile : nil),
        "Resumes"        => (defined?(Resume) ? Resume : nil),
        "Attachments"    => (defined?(ActiveStorage::Attachment) ? ActiveStorage::Attachment : nil),
        "AccessRequests" => (defined?(AccessRequest) ? AccessRequest : nil)
      }.compact

      width = models.keys.map(&:length).max
      puts "\n\e[1m--- Application Stats ---\e[0m"
      models.each do |label, klass|
        count = begin
          klass.count
        rescue StandardError
          "N/A"
        end
        color = (count.is_a?(Integer) && count.zero?) ? 31 : 32 # red if 0, green otherwise
        printf "Total %-#{width}s: \e[#{color}m%s\e[0m\n", label, count
      end

      db_name = ActiveRecord::Base.connection_db_config.database rescue "unknown"
      puts "Environment: #{Rails.env} | DB: #{db_name}"
      puts "---------------------------\n\n"
    rescue StandardError => e
      warn "[console banner] skipped: #{e.class}: #{e.message}"
    end
  end
end

Pros: minimal code, works in most setups. Cons: very rare boot orders may skip it; see Option B if that happens.

Option B — Console hook (bulletproof)

1) Create config/console_banner.rb:

# config/console_banner.rb
module ConsoleBanner
  def self.print!
    ActiveRecord::Base.connection

    models = {
      "Users"          => User,
      "Companies"      => (defined?(Company) ? Company : nil),
      "Profiles"       => (defined?(Profile) ? Profile : nil),
      "Resumes"        => (defined?(Resume) ? Resume : nil),
      "Attachments"    => (defined?(ActiveStorage::Attachment) ? ActiveStorage::Attachment : nil),
      "AccessRequests" => (defined?(AccessRequest) ? AccessRequest : nil)
    }.compact

    width = models.keys.map(&:length).max
    puts "\n\e[1m--- Application Stats ---\e[0m"
    models.each do |label, klass|
      count = klass.count rescue "N/A"
      color = (count.is_a?(Integer) && count.zero?) ? 31 : 32
      printf "Total %-#{width}s: \e[#{color}m%s\e[0m\n", label, count
    end

    db_name = ActiveRecord::Base.connection_db_config.database rescue "unknown"
    puts "Environment: #{Rails.env} | DB: #{db_name}"
    puts "---------------------------\n\n"
  rescue StandardError => e
    warn "[console banner] skipped: #{e.class}: #{e.message}"
  end
end

ConsoleBanner.print!

2) Register it in config/application.rb (inside class Application < Rails::Application):

# config/application.rb
module YourApp
  class Application < Rails::Application
    # ... other config

    console do
      require Rails.root.join("config/console_banner")
    end
  end
end

Pros: guaranteed to run only in console and always load. Cons: two small files instead of one.

Example: What it looks like

rails c

--- Application Stats ---
  User Count (19.0ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM `users` /*application='WigiworkBack'*/
Total Users         : 53
  Company Count (3.2ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM `companies` /*application='WigiworkBack'*/
Total Companies     : 2
  Profile Count (0.3ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM `profiles` /*application='WigiworkBack'*/
Total Profiles      : 52
  Resume Count (0.2ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM `resumes` /*application='WigiworkBack'*/
Total Resumes       : 37
  ActiveStorage::Attachment Count (0.3ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM `active_storage_attachments` /*application='WigiworkBack'*/
Total Attachments   : 0
  AccessRequest Count (0.2ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM `access_requests` /*application='WigiworkBack'*/
Total AccessRequests: 4
Environment: development | DB: wigiwork_development
---------------------------

Loading development environment (Rails 8.0.2)
3.4.4 :001 >

Note: The SQL lines appear if you have SQL logging enabled (default in development). The “green/red” colorization shown in the code depends on whether the count is zero.

Troubleshooting

  • Nothing prints?
    • Stop Spring: bin/spring stop, then rails c.
    • Try Option B so the code is wired via the console hook.
  • Errors about constant not defined?
    • Wrap optional models with defined?(Model) ? Model : nil (already done above).
  • Production console
    • This also runs in production console; that’s usually fine. If you want it dev‑only, guard with if Rails.env.development?.

Optional enhancements

  • Timing per query: wrap klass.count in a small timer and print duration.
  • Health checks: ping Redis or Sidekiq before printing.
  • More models: add whatever gives you signal (e.g., MessageThread, JobTitle, etc.).

How you’ll use it (nothing fancy)

bin/rails console
# or just
rails c

Steps checklist

  • Choose Option A (initializer) or Option B (console hook).
  • Create the files at the exact paths above.
  • (If using Spring) run bin/spring stop once.
  • rails c → confirm the banner displays.
  • Extend with timers / health checks as needed.