README

RubyConf 2026: A Retrospective Convo With the Community

Wow-wee! RubyConf 2026 in Las Vegas was something truly special, and it's thanks to all of you who made it possible.

In-person events aren't as easy to pull off these days. Economic pressures, travel worries (especially here in the U.S.), and shifting company budgets have all made professional development a harder sell. So when we say this event exceeded our expectations, we mean it. The attendee support, the quality of the talks, the poolside vibes, the sheer amount of human connection and joy in one place. It was a lot. In the best way.

Like many events this year (including others happening in that very same building), we didn't hit our projected budget or attendance numbers. That's the reality of in-person events right now, and it's not unique to us. But numbers aside, everyone who showed up made this program stellar: our attendees, our speakers, our sponsors, our outside supporters who couldn't make it but cheered us on anyway, our program committee, our volunteers, and our staff. You showed up, had a blast, and went home with your hearts and minds full. Thank you for being the best community out there, one that's truly worth bragging about.

What Went Well

We've loved watching the photos and stories roll in on social media this week, so keep them coming. Here's a taste of what you've been saying:

That's exactly what one speaker took away from the week, alongside getting his Ruby passport signed by Dave Thomas and swapping anime recommendations with Matz.

Others echoed that same feeling of a community that shows up for each other:

New This Year

RubyConf, now Ruby Central's single flagship annual event, gave us room to try some new things:

We also saw a wonderful mix of new faces through the Scholars and Guides program alongside longtime legends of the community, all hanging out together like old friends, with a few gone too soon still held in mind and heart, their spirits very much there celebrating alongside everyone else.

A Huge Thank You to Our Sponsors & Supporters

Here's the thing about our sponsors this year: they're just awesome. They're Rubyists, plain and simple. The same people staffing booths were the ones pulling up a chair to talk shop, swapping bundle install horror stories, and geeking out over what everyone else was building. No hard sells, no sales-pitchy energy, just genuine connection with the rest of the community.

And that hydration wasn't just a figure of speech. Fullscript's Relaxation Lounge gave everyone a spot to sink into a sofa, recoup, and recharge between sessions. Over at the Flagrant booth, a genuinely excellent magician (shoutout to Geoff Williams) kept people bamboozled, flummoxed, and fully entertained. Chime supported our Scholars and Guides program, which keeps the Ruby ecosystem growing with fresh voices and perspectives year after year. GitLab fueled our coffee habit (and we mean fueled: we went through more than 50 gallons in a single day). And Avo helped bring the Ruby Passport activity to life, giving attendees a fun way to track their conference journey stop by stop.

Thank you to all of this year's sponsors for showing up as part of the community: Judoscale, Infield.ai, Flagrant, Mudflap, Fullscript, Shopify, Gusto, Smart Financial, GitButler, Beyond Finance, Cedarcode, GitLab, Typesense, Chime, and Avo.

We also want to recognize our Supporters this year. Supporter tickets provide added travel and financial support to our Scholars and Guides program, student accessibility, and conference operations, and they're a generous way for community members and companies to give back beyond attending. Thank you to Dartmouth College and Def Method for your support this year. It means the world to us and to the scholars and students who benefit directly from it.

What the Surveys Told Us

Goals: achieved

Nearly everyone who told us they had a goal for RubyConf said they met it, usually something about networking, learning, or connecting with the community.

What stood out

Community warmth, front and center. Attendees consistently pointed to how inclusive and welcoming the space felt.

Something for every experience level. From junior developers to engineering managers, people found their footing.

The venue delivered. The hotel and its amenities were a consistent highlight.

A more intimate feel. Compared to RailsConf, several attendees noted RubyConf felt cozier and easier for making real connections.

Feedback We're Taking to Heart

We read every survey response, and a few themes came through clearly:

AI fatigue is real. We heard it in the surveys, and honestly, we're seeing it across the whole tech community online right now. It's something we'll factor into how we shape programming themes going forward.

More for beginners, entrepreneurs, and CTOs. Our attendee base skews mid-to-senior level, but there's real appetite for content that welcomes people earlier in their journey or coming at Ruby from a business angle. Worth thinking about as we work to keep Ruby youthful and thriving for years to come.

Timing and cost are real barriers. Summer means school's out and kids are home, which made timing tough for a lot of parents. With more than half of our attendees funding their own way and company professional development budgets tightening across the board, affordability matters more than ever. If you haven't read Ally's article on what it actually costs to run a large-scale U.S. event, the short version is: upwards of $600,000 for three days of full programming and catering. We're actively looking at how to restructure future events to bring costs down and make tickets more accessible, for both our U.S.-based Ruby folks, and for everyone traveling from further across the ponds and seas.

What's Next

There's a lot to unpack, revise, and reimagine for the next RubyConf. To give you a little assurance, we've already started discussing and researching options for next year. You'll be the first to know so you can start planning.

Until then: thank you for showing up, for sharing your feedback, and for being exactly the kind of community that makes all of this worth doing.

See you at the next one.