How can I call controller/view helper methods from the console in Ruby on Rails?

Question

When I load script/console, sometimes I want to play with the output of a controller or a view helper method.

Are there ways to:

simulate a request?
call methods from a controller instance on said request?
test helper methods, either via said controller instance or another way?

100 years later, I still google for this – kch Jun 27 '21 at 00:34 — kch, Jun 27 '21 at 00:34

score 497 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:31

497

To call helpers, use the helper object:

$ ./script/console
>> helper.number_to_currency('123.45')
=> "R$ 123,45"

If you want to use a helper that's not included by default (say, because you removed helper :all from ApplicationController), just include the helper.

>> include BogusHelper
>> helper.bogus
=> "bogus output"

As for dealing with controllers, I quote Nick's answer:

> app.get '/posts/1'
> response = app.response
# you now have a rails response object much like the integration tests

> response.body            # get you the HTML
> response.cookies         # hash of the cookies

# etc, etc

edited May 23 '17 at 10:31

Community

1
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answered Jul 21 '09 at 19:15

kch

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I observe that I can't execute more than one `app.get` (a thread error ensues). Is there a way I can flush the system and execute more gets? – JellicleCat May 22 '12 at 17:53
2

Note in Rails 3.2 this does not work. I needed to call `url_for` from the console. To do this I did `app.url_for(...)` – Raphael Jul 05 '13 at 16:18
1

For `NoMethodError: undefined method \`protect_against_forgery?' for nil:NilClass` define a function called `protect_against_forgery?` within the console that returns `false` – Sida Zhou Sep 15 '15 at 22:21
how do I set the currently logged in user? – May 17 '16 at 19:28
2

@RudolfOlah It seems that if you are using device (or warden) you can do it with `ActionDispatch::Integration::Session.include(Warden::Test::Helpers); Warden.test_mode! ; app.login_as(User.find(1), scope: :user)`. – eloyesp Apr 05 '19 at 18:24

score 157 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:52

157

An easy way to call a controller action from a script/console and view/manipulate the response object is:

> app.get '/posts/1'
> response = app.response
# You now have a Ruby on Rails response object much like the integration tests

> response.body            # Get you the HTML
> response.cookies         # Hash of the cookies

# etc., etc.

The app object is an instance of ActionController::Integration::Session

This works for me using Ruby on Rails 2.1 and 2.3, and I did not try earlier versions.

edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:52

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 17 '09 at 01:40

Nick B

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A link to official documentation on app object would be good. – RajaRaviVarma Aug 29 '12 at 11:52
It is an instance of the ActionController::Integration::Session class. I have updated the answer to include that. – Nick B Aug 29 '12 at 18:02
5

How can I authenticate the console, so I can check controllers that require authentication? – Mild Fuzz Mar 07 '13 at 10:58
8

You should be able to post to your log in page, something like: app.post '/session/new', { :username => "foo", :password => "pass" }. And then continue to use the same "app" variable to get pages after that. – Nick B Mar 07 '13 at 18:15
That link is broken (as it's Rails 2.x). `app` is now an `ActionDispatch::Integration::Session `: http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActionDispatch/Integration/Session.html. The `get`, `post`, `patch` methods are defined in http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActionDispatch/Integration/RequestHelpers.html – jwadsack Oct 01 '15 at 17:02
Been working with Rails for two years now, first time I heard of this awesome way to hit controllers! – Epigene Mar 23 '16 at 13:47

score 117 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:55

If you need to test from the console (tested on Ruby on Rails 3.1 and 4.1):

Call Controller Actions:

app.get '/'
   app.response
   app.response.headers  # => { "Content-Type"=>"text/html", ... }
   app.response.body     # => "<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n\n<head>\n..."

ApplicationController methods:

foo = ActionController::Base::ApplicationController.new
foo.public_methods(true||false).sort
foo.some_method

Route Helpers:

app.myresource_path     # => "/myresource"
app.myresource_url      # => "http://www.example.com/myresource"

View Helpers:

foo = ActionView::Base.new

foo.javascript_include_tag 'myscript' #=> "<script src=\"/javascripts/myscript.js\"></script>"

helper.link_to "foo", "bar" #=> "<a href=\"bar\">foo</a>"

ActionController::Base.helpers.image_tag('logo.png')  #=> "<img alt=\"Logo\" src=\"/images/logo.png\" />"

Render:

views = Rails::Application::Configuration.new(Rails.root).paths["app/views"]
views_helper = ActionView::Base.new views
views_helper.render 'myview/mytemplate'
views_helper.render file: 'myview/_mypartial', locals: {my_var: "display:block;"}
views_helper.assets_prefix  #=> '/assets'

ActiveSupport methods:

require 'active_support/all'
1.week.ago
=> 2013-08-31 10:07:26 -0300
a = {'a'=>123}
a.symbolize_keys
=> {:a=>123}

Lib modules:

> require 'my_utils'
 => true
> include MyUtils
 => Object
> MyUtils.say "hi"
evaluate: hi
 => true

This helps when you are writing independent ruby scripts that will be run using rails runner and they need to call methods in application controller. Thanks — CodeExpress, Mar 15 '15 at 14:30
@CodeExpress That should never happen. Instead, put the methods in a service object, and call the service from both ApplicationController and your script. — Marnen Laibow-Koser, May 01 '19 at 12:16

score 79 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 30 '08 at 00:19

Here's one way to do this through the console:

>> foo = ActionView::Base.new
=> #<ActionView::Base:0x2aaab0ac2af8 @assigns_added=nil, @assigns={}, @helpers=#<ActionView::Base::ProxyModule:0x2aaab0ac2a58>, @controller=nil, @view_paths=[]>

>> foo.extend YourHelperModule
=> #<ActionView::Base:0x2aaab0ac2af8 @assigns_added=nil, @assigns={}, @helpers=#<ActionView::Base::ProxyModule:0x2aaab0ac2a58>, @controller=nil, @view_paths=[]>

>> foo.your_helper_method(args)
=> "<html>created by your helper</html>"

Creating a new instance of ActionView::Base gives you access to the normal view methods that your helper likely uses. Then extending YourHelperModule mixes its methods into your object letting you view their return values.

score 18 · Answer 5 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:54

18

If the method is the POST method then:

app.post 'controller/action?parameter1=value1&parameter2=value2'

(Here parameters will be as per your applicability.)

Else if it is the GET method then:

app.get 'controller/action'

edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:54

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jun 22 '11 at 07:02

Swapnil Chincholkar

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And to find paths you want, `app.methods.grep(/_path/)` :) – Dorian Apr 25 '17 at 21:54
And it's not always `controler/action`, depends on your routes, e.g. could be `/users/all` and map to `Api::UsersController#index` :) – Dorian Apr 25 '17 at 21:55
@Dorian Or `rake routes`. :) – Marnen Laibow-Koser Jul 23 '19 at 04:22

Chloe · Answer 6 · 2014-05-28T21:40:15.523

Here is how to make an authenticated POST request, using Refinery as an example:

# Start Rails console
rails console
# Get the login form
app.get '/community_members/sign_in'
# View the session
app.session.to_hash
# Copy the CSRF token "_csrf_token" and place it in the login request.
# Log in from the console to create a session
app.post '/community_members/login', {"authenticity_token"=>"gT7G17RNFaWUDLC6PJGapwHk/OEyYfI1V8yrlg0lHpM=",  "refinery_user[login]"=>'chloe', 'refinery_user[password]'=>'test'}
# View the session to verify CSRF token is the same
app.session.to_hash
# Copy the CSRF token "_csrf_token" and place it in the request. It's best to edit this in Notepad++
app.post '/refinery/blog/posts', {"authenticity_token"=>"gT7G17RNFaWUDLC6PJGapwHk/OEyYfI1V8yrlg0lHpM=", "switch_locale"=>"en", "post"=>{"title"=>"Test", "homepage"=>"0", "featured"=>"0", "magazine"=>"0", "refinery_category_ids"=>["1282"], "body"=>"Tests do a body good.", "custom_teaser"=>"", "draft"=>"0", "tag_list"=>"", "published_at(1i)"=>"2014", "published_at(2i)"=>"5", "published_at(3i)"=>"27", "published_at(4i)"=>"21", "published_at(5i)"=>"20", "custom_url"=>"", "source_url_title"=>"", "source_url"=>"", "user_id"=>"56", "browser_title"=>"", "meta_description"=>""}, "continue_editing"=>"false", "locale"=>:en}

You might find these useful too if you get an error:

app.cookies.to_hash
app.flash.to_hash
app.response # long, raw, HTML

`NameError: undefined local variable or method app for main:Object` — Kamil Lelonek, Jul 17 '14 at 06:44
you also need disable forgery_protection `ApplicationController.allow_forgery_protection = false` — William Herry, Aug 22 '14 at 07:20
Wow that's probably easier. What I wrote is with forgery protection. You don't need to disable it, but I'm sure it's more convenient! — Chloe, Aug 22 '14 at 13:13

score 15 · Answer 7 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:59

15

You can access your methods in the Ruby on Rails console like the following:

controller.method_name
helper.method_name

edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:59

Peter Mortensen

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answered Oct 30 '13 at 11:22

Jyothu

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score 15 · Answer 8 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:49

Another way to do this is to use the Ruby on Rails debugger. There's a Ruby on Rails guide about debugging at http://guides.rubyonrails.org/debugging_rails_applications.html

Basically, start the server with the -u option:

./script/server -u

And then insert a breakpoint into your script where you would like to have access to the controllers, helpers, etc.

class EventsController < ApplicationController
  def index
    debugger
  end
end

And when you make a request and hit that part in the code, the server console will return a prompt where you can then make requests, view objects, etc. from a command prompt. When finished, just type 'cont' to continue execution. There are also options for extended debugging, but this should at least get you started.

> => Notice: debugger option is ignored since Ruby 2.0 and it will be removed in future versions. — bright-star, May 21 '15 at 01:13

score 9 · Answer 9 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:56

9

In Ruby on Rails 3, try this:

session = ActionDispatch::Integration::Session.new(Rails.application)
session.get(url)
body = session.response.body

The body will contain the HTML of the URL.

How to route and render (dispatch) from a model in Ruby on Rails 3

edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:56

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 29 '13 at 18:19

Tbabs

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score 8 · Answer 10 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 11:51

The earlier answers are calling helpers, but the following will help for calling controller methods. I have used this on Ruby on Rails 2.3.2.

First add the following code to your .irbrc file (which can be in your home directory)

class Object
   def request(options = {})
     url=app.url_for(options)
     app.get(url)
     puts app.html_document.root.to_s
  end
end

Then in the Ruby on Rails console you can type something like...

request(:controller => :show, :action => :show_frontpage)

...and the HTML will be dumped to the console.

score 5 · Answer 11 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 12:04

For controllers, you can instantiate a controller object in the Ruby on Rails console.

For example,

class CustomPagesController < ApplicationController

  def index
    @customs = CustomPage.all
  end

  def get_number
    puts "Got the Number"
  end

  protected

  def get_private_number
    puts 'Got private Number'
  end

end

custom = CustomPagesController.new
2.1.5 :011 > custom = CustomPagesController.new
 => #<CustomPagesController:0xb594f77c @_action_has_layout=true, @_routes=nil, @_headers={"Content-Type"=>"text/html"}, @_status=200, @_request=nil, @_response=nil>
2.1.5 :014 > custom.get_number
Got the Number
 => nil

# For calling private or protected methods,
2.1.5 :048 > custom.send(:get_private_number)
Got private Number
 => nil

It works! But how can I update action variables. Ex: `def show response = @user.contributions end ` How do I override the `@user` variable? — Fábio Araújo, Mar 21 '19 at 15:05

score 4 · Answer 12 · answered Dec 24 '17 at 07:18

Inside any controller action or view, you can invoke the console by calling the console method.

For example, in a controller:

class PostsController < ApplicationController
  def new
    console
    @post = Post.new
  end
end

Or in a view:

<% console %>

<h2>New Post</h2>

This will render a console inside your view. You don't need to care about the location of the console call; it won't be rendered on the spot of its invocation but next to your HTML content.

See: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/debugging_rails_applications.html

score 3 · Answer 13 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 12:01

3

One possible approach for Helper method testing in the Ruby on Rails console is:

Struct.new(:t).extend(YourHelper).your_method(*arg)

And for reload do:

reload!; Struct.new(:t).extend(YourHelper).your_method(*arg)

edited Sep 07 '19 at 12:01

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jun 15 '16 at 08:57

Dino Reic

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score 2 · Answer 14 · edited Sep 07 '19 at 12:03

2

If you have added your own helper and you want its methods to be available in console, do:

In the console execute include YourHelperName
Your helper methods are now available in console, and use them calling method_name(args) in the console.

Example: say you have MyHelper (with a method my_method) in 'app/helpers/my_helper.rb`, then in the console do:

include MyHelper
my_helper.my_method

edited Sep 07 '19 at 12:03

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jan 08 '18 at 07:15

Developer Marius Žilėnas

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How can I call controller/view helper methods from the console in Ruby on Rails?

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