Plutonium Create Resource

Create Resource Skill

Use the pu:res:scaffold generator to create complete resources in Plutonium applications.

Command Syntax

rails g pu:res:scaffold MODEL_NAME \
    field1:type \
    field2:type \
    --dest=DESTINATION

IMPORTANT: Always specify --dest to avoid interactive prompts:

• --dest=main_app for resources in the main application
• --dest=package_name for resources in a feature package

IMPORTANT: Quote fields containing ? or {} to prevent shell expansion:

'field:type?'              # Nullable - must quote
'field:decimal{10,2}'      # Options - must quote
'field:decimal?{10,2}'     # Both - must quote

From Existing Models

For existing Rails projects with models you want to convert to Plutonium resources:

Option 1: Model already includes Plutonium::Resource::Record

rails g pu:res:scaffold Post --no-migration --dest=main_app

This generates only the definition, policy, and controller - leaving your model unchanged.

Option 2: Let the generator update the model

rails g pu:res:scaffold Post --dest=main_app

Run without attributes to auto-import fields from model.content_columns. This regenerates the model file, so review changes carefully.

Don't forget to include the module

Your model must include Plutonium::Resource::Record (directly or via inheritance):

class Post < ApplicationRecord
  include Plutonium::Resource::Record
end

# Or inherit from a base class
class Post < ResourceRecord
end

Field Type Syntax

Format: name:type:index_type

Basic Types

PostgreSQL-Specific Types

These types work in both PostgreSQL and SQLite (automatically mapped):

Default Values

Use {default:value} syntax for default values:

'status:string{default:draft}'           # String default
'active:boolean{default:true}'           # Boolean default (true/false/yes/1)
'priority:integer{default:0}'            # Integer default
'rating:float{default:4.5}'              # Float default
'status:string?{default:pending}'        # Nullable with default

JSON/JSONB Default Values

Supports nested braces for structured defaults:

'metadata:jsonb{default:{}}'             # Empty hash
'tags:jsonb{default:[]}'                 # Empty array
'settings:jsonb{default:{"theme":"dark"}}' # Object with values
'config:jsonb?{default:{}}'              # Nullable with empty hash default

Default values are parsed as JSON first. If JSON parsing fails, the value is treated as a string (or coerced based on column type for integers, floats, and booleans).

Decimal with Precision and Default

'amount:decimal{10,2}'                   # precision: 10, scale: 2
'price:decimal{10,2,default:0}'          # with default value
'balance:decimal?{15,2,default:0}'       # nullable with precision and default

References/Associations

company:belongs_to                 # Required foreign key
'parent:belongs_to?'               # Nullable (null: true + optional: true)
user:references                    # Same as belongs_to
blogging/post:belongs_to           # Cross-package reference
'author:belongs_to{class_name:User}'     # Custom class_name (author_id -> User)
'reviewer:belongs_to?{class_name:User}'  # Nullable with class_name

Nullable references generate:

• Migration: null: true
• Model: belongs_to :parent, optional: true

Index Types (third segment)

email:string:index                 # Regular index
email:string:uniq                  # Unique index

Special Types

password_digest                    # has_secure_password
auth_token:token                   # has_secure_token (auto unique index)
content:rich_text                  # has_rich_text
avatar:attachment                  # has_one_attached
photos:attachments                 # has_many_attached
price_cents:integer                # has_cents (money field)

Token fields automatically get a unique index in the migration.

Generator Options

• --dest=DESTINATION - Target destination (always required to avoid prompts)
  • main_app for main application resources
  • package_name for feature package resources
• --no-model - Skip model generation (keeps existing model)
• --no-migration - Skip migration generation (use with --no-model for existing models)

What Gets Generated

For main_app resources:

1. Model - app/models/model_name.rb
2. Migration - db/migrate/xxx_create_model_names.rb
3. Controller - app/controllers/model_names_controller.rb
4. Policy - app/policies/model_name_policy.rb
5. Definition - app/definitions/model_name_definition.rb

For packaged resources:

1. Model - app/models/package_name/model_name.rb
2. Migration - db/migrate/xxx_create_package_name_model_names.rb
3. Controller - packages/package_name/app/controllers/package_name/model_names_controller.rb
4. Policy - packages/package_name/app/policies/package_name/model_name_policy.rb
5. Definition - packages/package_name/app/definitions/package_name/model_name_definition.rb

Migration Customizations

The generator creates basic migrations. Always review and customize the migration before running:

Inline Indexes (preferred)

create_table :model_names do |t|
  t.belongs_to :parent, null: false, foreign_key: true
  t.string :name, null: false

  t.timestamps

  t.index :name
  t.index [:parent_id, :name], unique: true
end

Cascade Delete

t.belongs_to :parent, null: false, foreign_key: {on_delete: :cascade}

Default Values

Default values can be set directly in the generator using {default:value} syntax (see Field Type Syntax above). For more complex defaults or expressions, edit the migration:

t.boolean :is_active, default: true
t.integer :status, default: 0
t.datetime :published_at, default: -> { "CURRENT_TIMESTAMP" }

Examples

Main App Resource

rails g pu:res:scaffold Post \
    user:belongs_to \
    title:string \
    'content:text?' \
    'published_at:datetime?' \
    --dest=main_app

Resource with Precision and Indexes

rails g pu:res:scaffold Property \
    company:belongs_to \
    code:string:uniq \
    'latitude:decimal{11,8}' \
    'longitude:decimal?{11,8}' \
    'value:decimal?{15,2}' \
    'notes:text?' \
    --dest=main_app

Optional Association

rails g pu:res:scaffold Comment \
    user:belongs_to \
    'parent:belongs_to?' \
    body:text \
    --dest=blogging

Cross-Package Reference

rails g pu:res:scaffold Comment \
    user:belongs_to \
    blogging/post:belongs_to \
    body:text \
    --dest=comments

After Generation

1. Review and customize the migration (add cascade delete, defaults, composite indexes)
2. Run rails db:migrate
3. Connect resource to portal: rails g pu:res:conn Post --dest=admin_portal
4. Customize policy permissions as needed
5. Add definition customizations for UI behavior