Troubleshooting Hanami Framework in Scalable Ruby Back-End Systems

Details: Category: Back-End Frameworks; By Mindful Chase; 01.Aug; Hits: 11

Hanami is a modern Ruby web framework that emphasizes simplicity, performance, and modularity. It is an appealing choice for enterprises seeking alternatives to heavier monolith frameworks like Rails. However, in complex production environments, integrating Hanami often presents unique challenges—from component orchestration and concurrency limitations to debugging in multi-container or service-mesh architectures. This article provides a deep technical walkthrough on troubleshooting Hanami-based back-end systems at scale, with a focus on root causes, system design insights, and enterprise-ready solutions.

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Understanding Hanami in Enterprise Contexts

Architecture Overview

Hanami embraces a clean architecture approach by separating concerns into slices (contexts), encouraging testable and maintainable code. Components such as entities, repositories, views, and actions are decoupled, promoting clear boundaries.

Why Enterprises Choose Hanami

Lightweight runtime and fast boot times
Built-in thread-safety and concurrency
Clear separation of concerns
Compatibility with dry-rb and rom-rb ecosystems

Common Issues in Large-Scale Hanami Systems

1. Misconfigured Autoloading in Containerized Deployments

Hanami uses Zeitwerk-style autoloading under the hood. In Dockerized or CI environments, file watches and eager loading configurations can break due to volume mounts or incorrect path resolution.

2. Inconsistent Dependency Injection (DI)

Hanami uses its own DI container via Hanami::App.register. Mismanagement of shared state, especially for DB connections or cache clients, leads to thread leaks or stale data in multithreaded servers.

3. Database Transaction Isolation Issues

When using rom-rb with concurrent actions or background jobs, improper use of unit-of-work patterns causes phantom reads or uncommitted transactions, especially with PostgreSQL or MySQL under load.

4. Routing Conflicts in Multi-Slice Applications

In multi-slice applications, duplicated route names or unmounted routes result in 404s, especially if the slice is not explicitly mounted or scoped correctly in config/routes.rb.

Diagnosing Hanami Runtime Issues

1. Enable Verbose Logging and Backtraces

Use environment variables to enable detailed logs for framework internals:

HANAMI_LOG_LEVEL=debug HANAMI_ENV=development bundle exec hanami server

2. Analyze Dependency Graph

Use Hanami's container inspector to trace service registrations and resolution failures.

Hanami.app.container.keys.each { |k| puts k }

3. Monitor Database Pooling and Connection Leaks

Enable ActiveSupport::Notifications or integrate rack-mini-profiler to detect long-held or leaked DB connections.

4. Validate Slice Routing

List active routes to confirm proper mounting:

bundle exec hanami routes

Fixes and Workarounds

1. Configure Eager Load Paths for Containers

Ensure eager loading is enabled properly in production builds to avoid file system latency:

config.autoloader = :zeitwerk
config.eager_load_paths << "./lib"

2. Properly Register Dependencies

Inject shared services (e.g., Redis, DB clients) via the app container, and scope them appropriately:

Hanami.app.register("redis", Redis.new(url: ENV["REDIS_URL"]))

3. Use Unit-of-Work Wrappers for DB Operations

Encapsulate write-heavy workflows inside ROM transactions:

ROM::SQL::Relation.transaction do
  repo.create(user_data)
  audit_log.write(event)
end

4. Namespace and Mount Routes Explicitly

Use scoped routing to prevent path collisions:

mount Admin::Slice, at: "/admin"
mount Api::Slice, at: "/api"

Best Practices for Hanami in the Enterprise

Separate service logic and delivery mechanisms via slice isolation
Use contracts (via dry-validation) for strict input schemas
Integrate Hanami with Sidekiq or Faktory for background processing
Run container health checks against mounted routes or DI keys
Monitor GC time and heap growth in Puma-based deployments

Conclusion

Hanami offers architectural clarity and modularity rarely found in other Ruby frameworks, making it a strong choice for enterprise-grade back-end systems. However, teams must account for autoloading pitfalls, DI lifecycle management, and slice-level isolation when scaling Hanami apps. With disciplined container usage, proper observability, and robust routing strategies, Hanami can serve as the backbone of performant, maintainable systems.

FAQs

1. Is Hanami thread-safe in multi-core environments?

Yes, Hanami's design promotes thread safety. But shared resource management must still be handled carefully, especially for DB and caches.

2. Can I use ActiveRecord with Hanami?

While possible, it's not idiomatic. Hanami prefers ROM for data mapping and dry-rb for validations. Mixing in ActiveRecord may complicate architecture.

3. How do I run background jobs in Hanami?

Use Sidekiq or Faktory as separate workers. Mount job processors within the Hanami container and isolate them from HTTP server lifecycles.

4. Does Hanami support API-only applications?

Yes. You can disable view and template rendering and focus solely on actions that return JSON, ideal for microservices or BFFs.

5. What logging strategy works best with Hanami?

Combine Hanami's logger with Lograge or a structured logger like SemanticLogger, especially when running in containerized or cloud-native environments.

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