Action Controller Best Practices

name: action-controller-best-practices description: Build or Refactor large Rails controller files into clean, maintainable code. Use when a controller action exceeds ~10 lines, a controller has custom non-RESTful actions, or when the user asks to refactor, slim down, clean up, or organize a Rails controller. Applies patterns: service objects, query objects, form objects, controller concerns, presenters/decorators, and RESTful resource extraction.

Rails Controller Refactoring

Controllers should be thin traffic cops — they receive input via params, delegate to the appropriate object, and decide what to render or redirect. Each action should be roughly 5-10 lines. If an action is longer, logic needs to be extracted.

Decision Framework

Read the controller and classify each block of code:

Patterns

Service Objects

Use for any business logic that goes beyond simple CRUD. A controller action should call one service at most.

Before:

def create
  @player = Player.new(player_params)
  @player.team = Team.find(params[:team_id])
  @player.contract_start = Time.current
  @player.status = :active

  if @player.save
    PlayerMailer.welcome(@player).deliver_later
    Analytics.track("player_signed", player_id: @player.id)
    NotifyScoutsJob.perform_later(@player.team_id)
    redirect_to @player, notice: "Player signed"
  else
    render :new, status: :unprocessable_entity
  end
end

After:

# Controller
def create
  result = Players::SignPlayer.new(player_params, team_id: params[:team_id]).call

  if result.success?
    redirect_to result.player, notice: "Player signed"
  else
    @player = result.player
    render :new, status: :unprocessable_entity
  end
end

# app/services/players/sign_player.rb
module Players
  class SignPlayer
    def initialize(params, team_id:)
      @params = params
      @team_id = team_id
    end

    def call
      player = Player.new(@params)
      player.team = Team.find(@team_id)
      player.contract_start = Time.current
      player.status = :active

      if player.save
        send_notifications(player)
        Result.new(success: true, player: player)
      else
        Result.new(success: false, player: player)
      end
    end

    private

    def send_notifications(player)
      PlayerMailer.welcome(player).deliver_later
      Analytics.track("player_signed", player_id: player.id)
      NotifyScoutsJob.perform_later(player.team_id)
    end

    Result = Struct.new(:success, :player, keyword_init: true) do
      alias_method :success?, :success
    end
  end
end

Query Objects

Use when index actions have complex filtering, sorting, or search logic.

Before:

def index
  @players = Player.where(team_id: params[:team_id])
  @players = @players.where(position: params[:position]) if params[:position].present?
  @players = @players.where("age >= ?", params[:min_age]) if params[:min_age].present?
  @players = @players.where(status: :active) unless params[:include_inactive]
  @players = @players.joins(:stats).order("stats.war DESC")
  @players = @players.page(params[:page]).per(25)
end

After:

# Controller
def index
  @players = Players::FilterQuery.new(params).call
end

# app/queries/players/filter_query.rb
module Players
  class FilterQuery
    def initialize(params, relation: Player.all)
      @params = params
      @relation = relation
    end

    def call
      filter_by_team
      filter_by_position
      filter_by_age
      filter_by_status
      sort_and_paginate
      @relation
    end

    private

    def filter_by_team
      @relation = @relation.where(team_id: @params[:team_id]) if @params[:team_id].present?
    end

    def filter_by_position
      @relation = @relation.where(position: @params[:position]) if @params[:position].present?
    end

    def filter_by_age
      @relation = @relation.where("age >= ?", @params[:min_age]) if @params[:min_age].present?
    end

    def filter_by_status
      @relation = @relation.where(status: :active) unless @params[:include_inactive]
    end

    def sort_and_paginate
      @relation = @relation.joins(:stats).order("stats.war DESC").page(@params[:page]).per(25)
    end
  end
end

Controller Concerns

Use for shared behavior across multiple controllers: authentication, authorization, pagination, error handling, locale setting.

# app/controllers/concerns/paginatable.rb
module Paginatable
  extend ActiveSupport::Concern

  private

  def page
    params[:page] || 1
  end

  def per_page
    [params[:per_page].to_i, 100].min.nonzero? || 25
  end
end

# app/controllers/concerns/error_handleable.rb
module ErrorHandleable
  extend ActiveSupport::Concern

  included do
    rescue_from ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound, with: :not_found
    rescue_from ActionController::ParameterMissing, with: :bad_request
  end

  private

  def not_found
    render json: { error: "Not found" }, status: :not_found
  end

  def bad_request(exception)
    render json: { error: exception.message }, status: :bad_request
  end
end

Guidelines for controller concerns:

• Each concern should handle one cross-cutting aspect
• Don't use concerns to just split a large controller into files — that hides complexity
• Good candidates: auth, error handling, pagination, locale, current tenant scoping
• Bad candidates: domain-specific business logic

Presenters / Decorators

Use when an action assembles complex data for the view that isn't a direct model attribute. Keeps view logic out of the controller.

# app/presenters/player_dashboard_presenter.rb
class PlayerDashboardPresenter
  def initialize(player)
    @player = player
  end

  def career_stats
    @career_stats ||= @player.stats.group(:season).sum(:war)
  end

  def contract_status_label
    return "Free Agent" if @player.contract_end&.past?
    "Under Contract (#{@player.contract_end&.year})"
  end

  def trade_value_rating
    case @player.trade_value
    when 90.. then "Elite"
    when 70..89 then "High"
    when 50..69 then "Average"
    else "Low"
    end
  end
end

# Controller
def show
  @player = Player.find(params[:id])
  @presenter = PlayerDashboardPresenter.new(@player)
end

RESTful Resource Extraction

When a controller has custom non-RESTful actions, it usually means there's a hidden resource. Extract it into its own controller with standard CRUD actions.

Before:

class PlayersController < ApplicationController
  def trade
    # ...
  end

  def release
    # ...
  end

  def promote_to_roster
    # ...
  end
end

After:

# config/routes.rb
resources :players do
  resource :trade, only: [:new, :create], controller: "players/trades"
  resource :release, only: [:create], controller: "players/releases"
  resource :roster_promotion, only: [:create], controller: "players/roster_promotions"
end

# app/controllers/players/trades_controller.rb
module Players
  class TradesController < ApplicationController
    def new
      @player = Player.find(params[:player_id])
    end

    def create
      result = Players::TradePlayer.new(Player.find(params[:player_id]), trade_params).call
      # ...
    end
  end
end

Signs you need a new controller:

• Action name is a verb that isn't a CRUD verb (trade, approve, archive, publish)
• Action operates on a different concept than the controller's resource
• Controller has more than the 7 RESTful actions

Refactoring Process

1. Read the entire controller and identify every action, before_action, and private method.
2. Inline hidden code first. Copy logic from before_actions, helper methods, and parent classes into each action so you can see the full picture.
3. Classify each block using the decision framework table above.
4. Extract in order: RESTful resource extraction first (new controllers), then service objects, query objects, form objects, presenters, and finally concerns.
5. Slim down each action to: find/build the resource, call a service or query, render or redirect. Each action should be 5-10 lines.
6. Clean up strong params. Each controller should have one _params method. If you need different permitted params per action, consider separate controllers or form objects.
7. Create or update tests for each extracted class with its own spec file.

What the Controller Should Look Like After

class PlayersController < ApplicationController
  before_action :set_player, only: [:show, :edit, :update, :destroy]

  def index
    @players = Players::FilterQuery.new(params).call
  end

  def show
    @presenter = PlayerDashboardPresenter.new(@player)
  end

  def create
    result = Players::SignPlayer.new(player_params, team_id: params[:team_id]).call

    if result.success?
      redirect_to result.player, notice: "Player signed"
    else
      @player = result.player
      render :new, status: :unprocessable_entity
    end
  end

  def update
    if @player.update(player_params)
      redirect_to @player, notice: "Player updated"
    else
      render :edit, status: :unprocessable_entity
    end
  end

  def destroy
    @player.destroy
    redirect_to players_path, notice: "Player removed"
  end

  private

  def set_player
    @player = Player.find(params[:id])
  end

  def player_params
    params.require(:player).permit(:name, :position, :age, :team_id)
  end
end

What NOT to Do

• Don't put business logic in before_actions — they obscure the flow of an action.
• Don't use instance variables to pass data between before_actions and actions in complex ways.
• Don't rescue broad exceptions in individual actions — use a concern or rescue_from.
• Don't add non-RESTful actions to a controller when a new controller would be clearer.
• Don't create deeply nested service call chains — one service per action is the goal.
• Don't move logic to private methods and call it refactored — private methods still live in the controller.