Workshops for Beginning Developers

Purple Workshops

Friendly, beginner-focused education geared for those who are curious to learn more.

Questions? Email me at jeff@purpleworkshops.com.

New · Coming 2027

Modern One-Person Deployment with Rails

A hands-on, two-day workshop that demystifies shipping a Ruby on Rails app to production using today's tooling. Full description and registration details coming soon. Add your email below and you'll be the first to know when dates and signups open.

You'll learn how to deploy your own Rails app to a virtual machine on Digital Ocean, step by step, demystifying the cloud so you will really understand it. Everything we cover is applicable to other hosts such as AWS. Digital Ocean provides an easier on-ramp and a nicer learning path than the AWS ecosystem. Expect to use a credit card and pay around $10 for Digital Ocean hosting during the class.

In person
January 2027 · Denver, CO
Virtual (online)
February 2027
Length & size
2 days · max 30 participants
Price
$199

What we'll cover

Day 1

  • What does "deployment" really mean?
  • All about servers and hosts
  • Understanding how networks work
  • The classical web stack
  • The secrets of proper Rails deployment
  • Acquiring and setting up a virtual host
  • Deploying a Rails app to the cloud

Day 2

  • How to set up logging and monitoring
  • Hand-rolled automated deployment
  • Intro to modern deployment
  • What are containers?
  • What is Docker all about?
  • Deploying with Kamal
  • Future deployment with AI

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One-Day Intensives

Shorter, focused, online-only sessions. Coming in 2027. Join the waitlist to hear when signups open.

New · 2027

Really Understanding Rails

Online · 1 day · $99

Rails can feel like magic, until that magic gets in your way. This one-day intensive is for developers who can already build a basic app but want to truly understand what's happening underneath: why the framework is shaped the way it is, and how "convention over configuration" actually plays out in real code.

We'll demystify the parts beginners most often gloss over: metaprogramming, associations, scopes, and the real division of labor between models and controllers. We will see the patterns and antipatterns that separate maintainable apps from messy ones. You'll leave with a new level of confidence to make better design decisions in your own projects.

What we'll cover

  • Convention over configuration
  • Ruby metaprogramming
  • How do associations really work?
  • The power of scopes
  • Models vs Controllers
  • Famous patterns and antipatterns
  • Background jobs best practices
Join the waitlist
New · 2027

Linux for Beginners

Online · 1 day · $99

Almost every server, container, and cloud deployment runs on Linux. Yet, most developers pick it up in scattered fragments and never feel quite at home in the terminal. This friendly one-day intensive starts from the very beginning: what Linux actually is, where it came from, and why it powers so much of modern computing.

From there we'll get hands-on with the command line: how processes and threads work, the Unix philosophy that shapes its tools, and the everyday utilities that make experienced developers so fast. We'll also cover users, permissions, and SSH, so you finish the day comfortable navigating, securing, and connecting to remote machines on your own.

What we'll cover

  • What is Linux?
  • The command line
  • Processes and threads
  • The Unix Philosophy
  • Famous tools of the trade
  • Users and permissions
  • SSH and networking
Join the waitlist

Past Catalog

Not currently offered

These are workshops I run regularly. None are open for registration right now, but they come back around. Email me if you'd like to be notified when one returns, or to arrange a private small-group session.

Office Hours

One-on-one · $30 per 45-min Zoom session

A "professional lifeline" for early-career developers: stuck on a project, working through post-bootcamp material, or chasing a stubborn bug? We work together until it clears up.

Computer Science: The Good Parts

Live online small group · 4 mornings

A friendly, eye-opening tour of the most practical computer science: data structures, algorithmic thinking, computer architecture, and the best beginner's introduction to cryptography you'll ever encounter.

React Fundamentals

Live online small group · 3 sessions

Start with plain JavaScript and slowly morph it into a full React app. By avoiding the "magic," you'll see exactly why React works the way it does and why other frameworks exist at all.

Ruby & Rails Fundamentals

Live online small group · 4 full days

A four-day deep dive that condenses a typical 10-week program by focusing on the parts beginners struggle with most: objects, routing, the full HTTP request-response cycle, controllers, and the model/database layer.