InvalidAuthenticityToken / HTTP 500 error on newly created views immediately after 'rails new' on 8.1.
Author: naldiocjCreated Sep 15, 2026Updated Sep 15, 2026
Steps to reproduce
- Generate a brand new Rails application using:
rails new my_app --version=8.1.3.1 - Start the local development server using
rails server. - Open
http://localhost:3000in the browser.
# The application crashes immediately upon rendering the default welcome layout.
# An unhandled InvalidAuthenticityToken / CSRF exception is triggered during the initial request.
Expected behavior
The default Rails welcome page or basic generated scaffold views should render seamlessly without throwing an unhandled authenticity token/CSRF internal server error right out of the box.
Actual behavior
The application immediately crashes with an HTTP 500 Internal Server Error when evaluating the default layout containing <%= csrf_meta_tags %> and <%= csp_meta_tag %>.
System configuration
Rails version: 8.1.3.1
Ruby version: ruby 3.4.10 (2026-06-30 revision 2b0b7728dc) +PRISM [x86_64-linux]
Source: rails/rails