# inertia-rails-forms

A skill for building forms in Inertia.js + Rails: create, edit, delete, multi-step wizards and file uploads. Useful when wiring form submission to Rails controllers.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 486 installs · ★ 70
- Author: inertia-rails
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/inertia-rails/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/inertia-rails-forms/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-09-01
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/inertia-rails-forms

## What it does

The skill covers the full form workflow in Inertia Rails. React examples sit inline in the text, with Vue and Svelte equivalents in `references`. It walks through create, edit and delete forms, multi-step wizards, and file uploads with progress tracking.

The main tool is the `<Form>` component from `@inertiajs/react`. It collects data from `name` attributes on its own and handles CSRF tokens, redirect following, error mapping from Rails, and processing state. Simple forms need no state management at all. The `useForm` hook is reserved for wizards, dynamic fields, and cases where sibling components need the form data.

The skill is strict about what not to do. `react-hook-form`, `vee-validate` and `sveltekit-superforms` are off the table because they fight Inertia's request lifecycle. Passing `data={...}` to `<Form>` is wrong — there is no such prop. Controlled `value=` instead of `defaultValue` breaks dirty tracking, so `isDirty` stays `false`. A checkbox without `value="1"` submits `"on"`, and Rails won't cast that to boolean. Worth checking your own forms if validation has been behaving oddly.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add inertia-rails/skills --skill inertia-rails-forms -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/inertia-rails-forms/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/inertia-rails-forms/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add inertia-rails/skills --skill inertia-rails-forms -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/inertia-rails-forms/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add inertia-rails/skills --skill inertia-rails-forms -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/inertia-rails-forms/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install inertia-rails/skills inertia-rails-forms
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/inertia-rails-forms/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add inertia-rails/skills --skill inertia-rails-forms -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/inertia-rails/skills --path skills/inertia-rails-forms
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/inertia-rails-forms/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add inertia-rails/skills --skill inertia-rails-forms -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/inertia-rails/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/inertia-rails-forms/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- build a create and edit form without manual state management
- show Rails validation errors next to the right fields
- run a multi-step wizard with shared form state
- upload a file and display progress
- add and remove form fields dynamically

## Example prompts
- Build a user creation form in Inertia Rails with the `<Form>` component and error display
- I need a multi-step wizard using `useForm` with data shared across steps
- Add file upload with progress to the post edit form

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 05781af817978159.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 05781af817978159
```text
---
name: inertia-rails-forms
description: >-
  Full-stack form handling for Inertia Rails: create, edit, delete, multi-step wizard, and file upload
  forms with validation errors and progress tracking. React examples inline; Vue and Svelte equivalents
  in references. Use when building any form, handling file uploads, multi-step forms, client-side validation,
  or wiring form submission to Rails controllers. NEVER react-hook-form. Use `<Form>` for simple forms,
  useForm for dynamic/programmatic control.
---

# Inertia Rails Forms

Full-stack form handling for Inertia.js + Rails.

**Before building a form, ask:**
- **Simple create/edit?** → `<Form>` component (no state management needed)
- **Requires per-field UI elements?** → Still `<Form>`.
  React `useState` for UI state (preview URL, file size display) is independent
  of form data — `<Form>` handles the submission; `useState` handles the UI.
- **Multi-step wizard, dynamic fields (add/remove inputs), or form data
  shared with sibling components (e.g., live preview panel)?** → `useForm` hook
- **Tempted by react-hook-form?** → Don't. Inertia's `<Form>` already handles CSRF
  tokens, redirect following, error mapping from Rails, processing state, file upload
  detection, and history state. react-hook-form would duplicate or fight all of this.

**When NOT to use `<Form>` or `useForm`:**
- **Data lookups** — not a form submission. Use `router.get` with debounce + `preserveState`, or raw `fetch` for **large datasets**
- **Inline single-field edits without navigation** – `router.patch` directly, or `useForm` if you need error display on the field

**NEVER:**
- Use `react-hook-form`, `vee-validate`, or `sveltekit-superforms` — Inertia `<Form>` already handles CSRF, redirect following, error mapping, processing state, and file detection. These libraries fight Inertia's request lifecycle.
- Pass `data={...}` to `<Form>` — it has no `data` prop. Data comes from input `name` attributes automatically. `data` is a `useForm` concept.
- Use `useForm` for simple create/edit — `<Form>` handles these without state management. Reserve `useForm` for multi-step wizards, dynamic add/remove fields, or form data shared with sibling components.
- Use controlled `value=` instead of `defaultValue` on inputs — controlled inputs bypass `<Form>`'s dirty tracking, making `isDirty` always `false`.
- Omit `value="1"` on checkboxes — without it, the browser submits `"on"` and Rails won't cast to boolean correctly.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 05781af817978159

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