Active Admin Claude Theme — Rails admin UI for AA3 & AA4
activeadmin-claude-theme is an open-source Ruby gem that themes Active Admin backends with a warm, editorial look inspired by Claude aesthetics — cream canvas, coral accents, and serif headlines.
Community theme. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.
Supports Active Admin 3.2+ (SCSS / Sprockets) and Active Admin 4.0.0.beta22+ (Tailwind CSS v4).
Quick install: add gem "activeadmin-claude-theme", "~> 0.2" → rails generate activeadmin_claude_theme:install → rebuild CSS (AA4 only).
- Latest release: 0.2.0 on RubyGems — AA3 + AA4
- RubyGems: https://rubygems.org/gems/activeadmin-claude-theme
- Changelog: CHANGELOG.md
- FAQ: docs/FAQ.md
- AI / LLM summary: llms.txt
Table of contents
- AI & agent-readable summary
- Version support
- Features
- Screenshots
- Installation — Active Admin 4
- Installation — Active Admin 3
- Troubleshooting
- Customization
- Development
- License
AI & agent-readable summary
Use this block for search indexing, LLM context, and GEO (generative engine optimization). Full structured index: llms.txt.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Package name | activeadmin-claude-theme |
| Type | Rails Engine gem |
| Purpose | Theme Active Admin 3/4 admin panels with Claude-inspired design tokens |
| AA4 mechanism | Tailwind v4 @theme remaps, --claude-* CSS variables, minimal ERB overrides |
| AA3 mechanism | Sass variables + selector overrides via activeadmin_claude_theme/aa3/base
|
| Install command | rails generate activeadmin_claude_theme:install |
| Current release |
0.2.0 (RubyGems) |
| Design source | DESIGN.md |
| FAQ | docs/FAQ.md |
Search keywords: active admin theme, activeadmin 4 theme, activeadmin 3 theme, rails admin theme, tailwind admin theme, claude admin theme, dark mode active admin, ruby gem admin ui.
Version support
| Active Admin | Asset pipeline | Theme mechanism | Dark mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0.0.beta22+ | Tailwind v4 CLI + Propshaft/cssbundling |
@theme token remaps + partial overrides |
Native (preserved) |
| 3.2 – 3.x | Sprockets + Sass (sassc-rails) |
Sass variables + #header / table / form overrides |
Not included (light only) |
Features
- Warm Claude-inspired palette (
#faf9f5canvas,#cc785ccoral accent) -
AA4: Tailwind v4
@themeremaps, semantic--claude-*variables, branded header, dark mode, Flowbite hooks - AA3: Sass theme with matching palette, header/sidebar/table/form/login styling
- Install generator auto-detects Active Admin major version
- Documented FAQ and override maps for integrators
Screenshots (Active Admin 4)
| Login | Dashboard |
|---|---|
![]() |
![]() |
| Admin Users | Dark Mode |
|---|---|
![]() |
![]() |
Installation — Active Admin 4
1. Prerequisites
Your Rails app must already use Active Admin 4 with Tailwind v4 assets:
# Gemfile
gem "activeadmin", "4.0.0.beta22"
gem "cssbundling-rails"
gem "importmap-rails"
bundle install
rails generate active_admin:install
rails generate active_admin:assets
npm install @activeadmin/activeadmin@4.0.0-beta22See Active Admin UPGRADING.md for full AA4 setup.
2. Add the theme gem
# Gemfile
gem "activeadmin-claude-theme"bundle install
rails generate activeadmin_claude_theme:install
npm run build:cssRestart the Rails server after rebuilding.
Installation — Active Admin 3
1. Prerequisites
# Gemfile
gem "activeadmin", "~> 3.5"
gem "sprockets-rails"
gem "sassc-rails"
gem "devise"bundle install
rails generate active_admin:install
rails generate active_admin:assets2. Add the theme gem
gem "activeadmin-claude-theme"bundle install
rails generate activeadmin_claude_theme:installThe generator replaces @import "active_admin/base" in app/assets/stylesheets/active_admin.scss with the Claude AA3 entry. Restart Rails.
Limits on AA3: light theme only (no native dark mode), approximate visual parity with AA4, classic AA3 layout. See FAQ.
Troubleshooting
See also docs/FAQ.md — Troubleshooting.
AA4: active_admin.css not present in the asset pipeline
Active Admin 4 builds CSS with Tailwind CLI. The source file must live outside Propshaft's served paths:
app/assets/tailwind/active_admin.css # Tailwind source (NOT served)
app/assets/builds/active_admin.css # compiled output (served as "active_admin")
Run rails generate activeadmin_claude_theme:install, then npm run build:css, and restart.
AA4: Do not use legacy SCSS imports
AA4 does not use @import "active_admin/base". Remove old Sprockets manifest entries.
AA3: Sass compilation errors
Ensure sassc-rails (or compatible Sass pipeline) is installed and active_admin.scss imports:
@import "activeadmin_claude_theme/aa3/base";Customization
Active Admin 4 (CSS variables)
:root {
--claude-primary: #d4845f;
--claude-canvas: #fff8f0;
}
.dark {
--claude-canvas: #121110;
}Active Admin 3 (Sass variables)
Override before importing the theme base in active_admin.scss:
$claude-primary: #d4845f;
$claude-canvas: #fff8f0;
@import "activeadmin_claude_theme/aa3/base";| Token | Default (light) | Role |
|---|---|---|
--claude-primary / $claude-primary
|
#cc785c |
Accent / CTA |
--claude-canvas / $claude-canvas
|
#faf9f5 |
Page background |
--claude-ink / $claude-ink
|
#141413 |
Headings |
--claude-body / $claude-body
|
#3d3d3a |
Body text |
Full token list: DESIGN.md
Development
Active Admin 4 dummy
bundle install
cd test/dummy
npm install && npm run build:css
ruby bin/rails db:setup db:seed
ruby bin/rails serverActive Admin 3 dummy
BUNDLE_GEMFILE=gemfiles/activeadmin_3.gemfile bundle install
cd test/dummy_aa3
bundle exec rails db:setup db:seed
bundle exec rails serverLogin (both): admin@example.com / password
Tests
# AA4
cd test/dummy && ruby bin/rails db:test:prepare
cd ../..
ruby -Itest test/activeadmin_claude_theme_test.rb
ruby -Itest test/integration/theme_integration_test.rb
# AA3
BUNDLE_GEMFILE=gemfiles/activeadmin_3.gemfile bundle install
cd test/dummy_aa3 && bundle exec rails db:test:prepare
cd ../..
DUMMY_PATH=dummy_aa3 BUNDLE_GEMFILE=gemfiles/activeadmin_3.gemfile \
ruby -Itest test/activeadmin_claude_theme_test.rb
DUMMY_PATH=dummy_aa3 BUNDLE_GEMFILE=gemfiles/activeadmin_3.gemfile \
ruby -Itest test/integration/aa3_theme_integration_test.rbSee CONTRIBUTING.md.
License
MIT — see LICENSE.



