An Alternative to the Monolith
In the world of the Ruby programming language, one name has dominated for over a decade: Rails. It’s a powerful, all-in-one framework that allows developers to build complex web applications quickly. But its “monolithic” nature, where everything is tightly
bundled, has long inspired a search for alternatives. Enter Hanami, originally known as Lotus, created by Luca Guidi. His vision was different. He wanted to build a framework that was modular, explicit, and composed of smaller, independent components. Instead of a single, opinionated behemoth, Hanami would be a collection of well-crafted tools that developers could opt into. The initial version, Hanami 1, gained a dedicated following. It was clean, fast, and offered a refreshing approach for developers who felt constrained by the conventions of Rails. The project had momentum and a clear philosophical purpose: to bring architectural discipline and clarity back to Ruby web development.
The Six-Year Marathon to Version 2.0
The success of Hanami 1 laid the groundwork for a far more ambitious goal: Hanami 2.0. This wasn't just an update; it was a complete rewrite. Guidi envisioned a next-generation framework that would fully realize his vision of a decoupled and scalable architecture. The plan was bold, aiming to perfect every component, from the router to the database layer, before releasing the final product. But this pursuit of perfection became a trap. What began as a focused project soon spiraled into a monumental undertaking. The years began to tick by: 2017, 2018, 2019. The small, nimble project had become a source of immense pressure. In a 2023 talk at the RubyKaigi conference, Guidi described this period as a six-year development marathon. He was working largely in isolation, trying to solve a mountain of complex technical problems while the community eagerly awaited a release that seemed perpetually just around the corner. The initial excitement had curdled into a slow, grinding process with no end in sight.
The Breaking Point
By 2020, Guidi was on the verge of burnout. The project, once a source of passion, had become a crushing weight. He felt he had overpromised and was failing to deliver. The vast scope of the 2.0 rewrite meant that for every problem he solved, two more seemed to appear. The promise of a perfectly interconnected set of components meant that nothing could be released until everything was finished. It was a classic case of a creator being overwhelmed by the scale of their own creation. As Guidi confessed, he was close to abandoning the project entirely. The codebase was a sprawling, half-finished monument to an ideal that felt increasingly unattainable. The silence from the project’s official channels was palpable, and many in the Ruby community wondered if Hanami had become vaporware—an ambitious idea that would never materialize. For its creator, the question was no longer about code; it was about whether he had the will to continue.
A Rebirth Through Simplicity
The turnaround didn't come from a single technical breakthrough, but from a change in philosophy. Guidi realized he couldn't do it alone and that the “all-or-nothing” approach was killing the project. He found a crucial collaborator in fellow developer Tim Riley, who helped shoulder the burden and bring a fresh perspective. Together, they made a critical decision: abandon the quest for perfection and focus on shipping a “minimum lovable product.” They would release the core of Hanami 2.0 first and build out the rest later. This pivot was transformative. It broke the cycle of endless development and gave the project a clear, achievable goal. By narrowing the scope, they were able to make tangible progress. In late 2022, after six long years, Hanami 2.0 was finally released. It wasn’t the all-encompassing system Guidi had once dreamed of, but it was real, it was stable, and it delivered on the core promise of a modern, modular Ruby framework.
