State machines changed the way I design workflows in Ruby.

"I've used them in payments, approvals, integrations, and complex backend processes - and every time, they help keep the logic clean, predictable, and easy to maintain."

"I just wrote a new article explaining: ✨ The idea behind state machines ✨ A simple Ruby example ✨ A comparison of the major gems (AASM, Statesman, state_machine, Workflow)"

"If you're working with Ruby or Rails and want to structure your workflows better, this article will give you a solid start."

State machines provide a formal model of states and transitions that enforces predictable behavior and encapsulates workflow logic. Ruby examples demonstrate defining states, transitions, guards, and callbacks to implement clear state-driven behavior. Major Ruby gems—AASM, Statesman, state_machine, and Workflow—offer differing APIs, persistence strategies, and trade-offs between simplicity and support for complex or event-sourced systems. Common use cases include payments, approval flows, external integrations, and complex backend processes. Best practices include encapsulating state logic, using explicit transitions, writing tests for state flows, and choosing a gem based on project complexity and persistence needs.

Read at Rubyflow