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Below is a version‑by‑version timeline of how Ruby on Rails has supported JavaScript, starting before 1.0 and running through today. For each milestone I list what changed, why it mattered, and where it came from.

Pre‑1.0 (2005)

Mar 22, 2005 — Rails 0.11: Early Ajax support built on Prototype; Rails ships helpers that generate JS (e.g., link_to_remote, form_remote_tag).
Jun 23, 2005 — Ahead of Rails 0.13: Rails announces a “big upgrade” to Ajax with script.aculo.us (effects, drag‑and‑drop) layered on Prototype. (Rails)
Jul 6, 2005 — Rails 0.13 released: Prototype + script.aculo.us are effectively “the” Rails JavaScript stack pre‑1.0. (scottstuff.net)

Rails 1.x

Dec 13/15, 2005 — Rails 1.0: Prototype/script.aculo.us ship with Rails; view helpers like javascript_include_tag(:defaults) include them; Ajax helpers (e.g., link_to_remote) are standard practice. (apidock.com)
Mar 28, 2006 — Rails 1.1: RJS (Ruby‑generated JavaScript) lands: write Ruby in .rjs templates and Rails emits JS to update the page (replace HTML, visual effects, etc.). Huge step for Ajax ergonomics. (Rails)

Rails 2.x (2007–2009)

Prototype/script.aculo.us remain the built‑ins; helpers such as link_to_remote, observe_field, and Scriptaculous helpers are common (last seen in the 2.3 era docs). (apidock.com)

Rails 3.x: UJS and the Asset Pipeline

Aug 2010 — Rails 3.0: Rails adopts Unobtrusive JavaScript (UJS). Instead of inline JS helpers, you mark links/forms with data-remote="true" and a rails.js driver handles Ajax. Legacy *_to_remote helpers are removed. Works with Prototype or jQuery via adapter drivers. (simonecarletti.com)
Aug 2011 — Rails 3.1:
- Asset Pipeline (Sprockets) becomes the standard way to compile/package JS & CSS.
- jQuery becomes the default JS library (Prototype can still be used).
- CoffeeScript added to the default Gemfile for authoring client code and .js.coffee views.
- RJS is extracted from core. (Ruby on Rails Guides)

Rails 4.x: Turbolinks era

Jun 2013 — Rails 4.0: Turbolinks ships by default to speed navigation by swapping the <body> over Ajax. (This is the predecessor to today’s Turbo Drive.) (Ruby on Rails Guides)

Rails 5.x: Real‑time and modern tooling

Jun 2016 — Rails 5.0: Action Cable integrates WebSockets end‑to‑end (server & JS client) for real‑time features. Turbolinks 5 also lands. (Ruby on Rails Guides)
Apr/May 2017 — Rails 5.1: Rails embraces the JS toolchain: Yarn support and a Webpack(er) bridge; jQuery is no longer a default dependency; rails‑ujs (vanilla JS) replaces jquery‑ujs as the built‑in UJS driver. (Ruby on Rails Guides)

Rails 6.x: Webpacker by default

Aug 2019 — Rails 6.0: Webpacker becomes the default way to manage JavaScript in new apps; Sprockets continues for assets like images/CSS (unless configured otherwise). (Rails)

Rails 7.x: Import maps + Hotwire

Dec 15, 2021 — Rails 7.0: Rails pivots away from Webpacker by default and offers three official answers to JS:
1. Import maps (no Node/bundler),
2. jsbundling‑rails (esbuild/rollup/Webpack/Bun) when you do want a bundler, and
3. Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus) as the default interaction model. Sprockets becomes optional. UJS is no longer the go‑to; Turbo is the recommended path. (Rails)
Oct 2023 — Rails 7.1: Continues the Rails‑7 approach; import maps + Turbo/Stimulus tooling mature (with minor UJS compatibility shims possible if you need them). (Ruby on Rails Guides)
Feb 2024 — Turbo 8 (Hotwire): Major Turbo update introduces morphing page refreshes, view transitions, and InstantClick‑style preloading—affecting Rails front‑end behavior without custom SPA frameworks. (37signals Dev)

Rails 8.x (2024–2025)

Rails 8.0: Rails keeps the Rails‑7 JavaScript posture (import maps by default; bundling via jsbundling‑rails when needed; Hotwire as the primary interactivity layer). Propshaft becomes the default asset pipeline, which affects how JS/CSS assets are served and digested. (Ruby on Rails Guides)

Key shifts at a glance

2005–2010: Prototype/script.aculo.us + Rails helpers/RJS (server‑generated JS).
2010–2016: UJS with data‑attributes; Asset Pipeline; jQuery default; Turbolinks for fast nav. (simonecarletti.com)
2016–2019: Action Cable (WebSockets). (Ruby on Rails Guides)
2019–2021: Webpacker default. (Rails)
2021→: Import maps (no Node), jsbundling‑rails (when you need bundling), and Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus) as the preferred JS story; UJS deprecated in favor of Turbo. (Rails)

Sources / release notes & docs

Rails blog & release notes for 1.1 (RJS) and 7.0 (new JS posture). (Rails)
Working with JavaScript in Rails (current guide, including notes on UJS vs Turbo). (Ruby on Rails Guides)
3.1 release notes (Asset Pipeline, jQuery default) + CoffeeScript default via coffee‑rails. (Ruby on Rails Guides)
4.0 release notes (Turbolinks). (Ruby on Rails Guides)
5.0 release notes / Action Cable guide. (Ruby on Rails Guides)
5.1 release notes (Yarn/webpack; drop jQuery default; rails‑ujs). (Ruby on Rails Guides)
6.0 announcement (Webpacker by default). (Rails)
Importmap‑rails and jsbundling‑rails gems. (GitHub)
Turbo 8 announcement (morphing, transitions, InstantClick). (37signals Dev)
Early history of Prototype/script.aculo.us in 0.11/0.13 (Thomas Fuchs’ deck & Rails blog).

Notes for maintainers upgrading legacy apps

Prototype-era helpers → UJS: Replace *_to_remote helpers with remote: true (Rails 3+). (simonecarletti.com)
jQuery UJS → rails‑ujs: Rails 5.1 removed the jQuery dependency; rails‑ujs is built in (but in Rails 7+ Hotwire/Turbo is recommended). (Ruby on Rails Guides)
Webpacker → Rails 7+: Migrate to import maps (no bundler) or jsbundling‑rails (esbuild/rollup/Webpack/Bun). (GitHub)
Turbo 8 morphing: Be aware of how morphing interacts with Stimulus/controllers when upgrading. (37signals Dev)

If you want this as a one‑page poster or CSV with dates/links for each item, say the word and I’ll produce it immediately.

create a complete timeline of Rails support for javascript since pre-v1