Ecto Essentials

Ecto Essentials

Use this skill before modifying ANY schema, query, or migration.

Canonical FP bar: docs/fcis-engineering-rules.md — Functional Core, Imperative Shell: pure domain modules; side effects at edges. Build changesets/Multi in pure-ish functions; run Repo once at the context edge.

RULES — Follow these with no exceptions

1. Add database constraints (unique_index, foreign_key, check_constraint) AND changeset validations — both layers are required 2. Add indexes on foreign keys and frequently queried fields — never omit indexes on foreign keys 3. Parameterize all user input in queries — never interpolate values into SQL fragments, always use ^ 4. Never combine schema changes and data backfill in the same migration

FCIS at this boundary

Ecto is the persistence edge. Prefer pure functions that build changesets/queries/Multi; execute with Repo once in the context shell.

❌ Bad: mix calculation with inserts

def apply_discount(order_id, pct) do
  order = Repo.get!(Order, order_id)
  total = Enum.reduce(order.lines, 0, &(&1.amount + &2))
  order
  |> Ecto.Changeset.change(total: div(total * (100 - pct), 100))
  |> Repo.update!()
end

✅ Good: pure pricing + thin context

defmodule MyApp.Orders.Pricing do
  def total(%{lines: lines}), do: Enum.reduce(lines, 0, &(&1.amount + &2))
  def with_discount(total, pct) when pct in 0..100, do: div(total * (100 - pct), 100)
end

def apply_discount(order_id, pct) do
  with {:ok, order} <- fetch_order(order_id) do  # context helper: Repo.get → tagged tuple
    total = order |> Pricing.total() |> Pricing.with_discount(pct)

    order
    |> Order.changeset(%{total: total})
    |> Repo.update()
  end
end

Schema: Post.changeset/2. Context shell: Blog.change_post/2 (wraps the schema changeset). LiveViews call the context, not Post.changeset/2.

Schema Definition

defmodule MyApp.Media.Image do
  use Ecto.Schema
  import Ecto.Changeset

  schema "images" do
    field :title, :string
    field :filename, :string
    field :content_type, :string

    belongs_to :folder, MyApp.Media.Folder  # parent uses has_many :images, MyApp.Media.Image

    timestamps()
  end

  def changeset(image, attrs) do
    image
    |> cast(attrs, [:title, :filename, :content_type, :folder_id])
    |> validate_required([:title, :filename, :content_type])
    |> validate_length(:title, min: 1, max: 255)
    |> validate_inclusion(:content_type, ["image/jpeg", "image/png", "image/gif"])
    |> foreign_key_constraint(:folder_id)
  end
end

See assets/changeset_snippets.ex for copy-paste changeset templates (validations, associations, and error formatting).

Query Composition

Queries are data. Build them in *_query/1 functions; execute once in the context shell.

import Ecto.Query

def images_by_folder_query(folder_id) do
  Image
  |> where([i], i.folder_id == ^folder_id)
  |> order_by([i], desc: i.inserted_at)
end

def list_images_by_folder(folder_id) do
  folder_id
  |> images_by_folder_query()
  |> Repo.all()
end

def search_images_query(query_string) do
  search = "%#{query_string}%"
  where(Image, [i], ilike(i.title, ^search))
end

def search_images(query_string) do
  query_string
  |> search_images_query()
  |> Repo.all()
end

Preloading Associations

❌ N+1 — avoid:

images = Repo.all(Image)
Enum.each(images, fn image -> image.folder.name end)

✅ Single query with preload:

images =
  Image
  |> preload(:folder)
  |> Repo.all()

Enum.each(images, fn image -> image.folder.name end)

Transactions

def transfer_images(image_ids, from_folder_id, to_folder_id) do
  Repo.transaction(fn ->
    with {:ok, from_folder} <- get_folder(from_folder_id),
         {:ok, to_folder} <- get_folder(to_folder_id),
         {count, nil} <- update_images(image_ids, to_folder_id) do
      {:ok, count}
    else
      {:error, reason} -> Repo.rollback(reason)
      _ -> Repo.rollback(:unknown_error)
    end
  end)
end

Ecto.Multi for Complex Operations

def create_user_with_profile(user_attrs, profile_attrs) do
  Ecto.Multi.new()
  |> Ecto.Multi.insert(:user, User.changeset(%User{}, user_attrs))
  |> Ecto.Multi.insert(:profile, fn %{user: user} ->
    Profile.changeset(%Profile{}, Map.put(profile_attrs, :user_id, user.id))
  end)
  |> Repo.transaction()
end

On failure, the error tuple identifies the named step: {:error, :user, changeset, _changes} or {:error, :profile, changeset, _changes}.

Building Associations

def add_image_to_folder(folder, image_attrs) do
  folder
  |> Ecto.build_assoc(:images)
  |> Image.changeset(image_attrs)
  |> Repo.insert()
end

Upsert Operations

def create_or_update_folder(attrs) do
  %Folder{}
  |> Folder.changeset(attrs)
  |> Repo.insert(
    on_conflict: {:replace, [:name, :updated_at]},
    conflict_target: :name
  )
end

Dynamic Queries

def images_query(filters) do
  Enum.reduce(filters, Image, fn
    {:folder_id, id}, q -> where(q, [i], i.folder_id == ^id)
    {:search, term}, q -> where(q, [i], ilike(i.title, ^"%#{term}%"))
    {:content_type, ct}, q -> where(q, [i], i.content_type == ^ct)
    _, q -> q
  end)
end

def list_images(filters), do: Repo.all(images_query(filters))

Migrations

defmodule MyApp.Repo.Migrations.CreateImages do
  use Ecto.Migration

  def change do
    create table(:images) do
      add :title, :string, null: false
      add :filename, :string, null: false
      add :content_type, :string, null: false
      add :folder_id, references(:folders, on_delete: :nilify_all)

      timestamps()
    end

    create index(:images, [:folder_id])
    create index(:images, [:inserted_at])
  end
end

Migration validation workflow:

1. Run mix ecto.migrate — confirm it applies without errors
2. Run mix ecto.rollback — confirm it reverses cleanly
3. Run mix ecto.migrate again — confirm re-applying succeeds

See assets/migration_checklist.md for the full safe-migration and expand-contract checklist.

Unique Constraints

Add unique constraints in migration AND schema changeset.

# Migration
create unique_index(:folders, [:name])

Context Pattern

Never call Repo from the web layer (LiveViews, controllers) — all database operations belong in context modules.

defmodule MyApp.Media do
  alias MyApp.Media.{Image, Folder}
  alias MyApp.Repo

  def create_image(attrs) do
    %Image{}
    |> Image.changeset(attrs)
    |> Repo.insert()
  end
end

All standard CRUD functions (list_*, get_*!, update_*, delete_*) follow the same pattern.

Related Skills

• Prerequisite: elixir-essentials — core Elixir patterns before working with Ecto
• Next — changeset deep-dive: ecto-changeset-patterns — advanced validations, custom constraints, and error formatting
• Next — testing: testing-essentials — testing Ecto contexts and migrations

When Not to Use

• Simple read-only schema inspection — use mix ecto.schema directly
• Raw SQL queries that bypass Ecto entirely — write these in a dedicated repo method, not inline in contexts
• Advanced nested association patterns — use ecto-changeset-patterns instead
• Migration orchestration planning — use ecto-migration playbook instead

Common Pitfalls

Integration

Companion skills: ecto-changeset-patterns, ecto-nested-associations, ecto-migration, testing-essentials