Ruby on Rails

I just released a new Ruby gem called generic_app.  It uses the latest Rails Tutorial Sample App from a point just before the addition of microposts and followers.  Thus, you start off with a generic app and save yourself the work of having to install static pages, Twitter bootstrap, tests, Guard, user functionality, user activations, and password resets.  It's FAR easier and quicker to customize a generic app than to create the entire app from scratch.  My source code for this generic_app gem is at https://github.com/jhsu802701/generic_app .

I'd like to hear about the shortcuts you use for creating a Ruby on Rails app.  I recently tried the Hobo gem, but it didn't work for me and was outdated (still on Rails 4.0 while Rails Tutorial uses 4.2). 

I looked at the Rails Composer Starter apps, but they don't seem as comprehensive as Rails Tutorial.  Given that Rails Tutorial is available for free, I'd rather do things the Rails Tutorial way.  If I need features that don't come with the Rails Tutorial Sample App (such as OmniAuth and Stripe), I think it would be easier to add those on than to add the features of Rails Tutorial to Rails Composer.  Also, given that more people use Rails Tutorial than Rails Composer (because the former is free but the latter tutorial is not), I'd rather be on the same wavelength as the majority of the people in any group I'd ever work with.

What other shortcuts are there?  It is obvious to me that there is no clear consensus on this matter.  The one thing that is certain is that revisiting chapters 3 through 10 in Rails tutorial at Startup Weekend or a 24-hour web site challenge is NOT viable.