Rails Error Prevention

Rails Error Prevention Skill

This skill provides preventative checklists and error patterns for common Rails mistakes. Review relevant sections BEFORE writing code.

When to Use This Skill

• Before creating ViewComponents
• Before writing ActiveRecord queries with GROUP BY or joins
• Before writing view code that calls component methods
• Before creating controller actions
• When debugging undefined method errors
• When debugging template not found errors
• When debugging ActiveRecord grouping errors

Critical Rule: Method Exposure Verification

This is the #1 cause of runtime errors in Rails applications.

WRONG ASSUMPTION: Service has method → View can call it through component
CORRECT RULE:     Service has method + Component exposes it = View can call it

Verification Process

# Step 1: List all methods view will call on component
grep -oE '@[a-z_]+\.[a-z_]+' app/views/{path}/*.erb | sort -u

# Step 2: List all public methods in component
grep -E '^\s+def [a-z_]+' app/components/{component}_component.rb

# Step 3: Compare - any view call without component method = BUG
# Missing methods MUST be added to component BEFORE writing view code

Patterns to Fix Missing Methods

# Pattern 1: Delegation
class Metrics::DashboardComponent < ViewComponent::Base
  delegate :calculate_lifetime_tasks,
           :calculate_lifetime_success_rate,
           to: :@service
  
  def initialize(service:)
    @service = service
  end
end

# Pattern 2: Wrapper methods (preferred for transformation)
class Metrics::DashboardComponent < ViewComponent::Base
  def initialize(service:)
    @service = service
  end
  
  def lifetime_tasks
    @service.calculate_lifetime_tasks
  end
  
  def lifetime_success_rate
    @service.calculate_lifetime_success_rate
  end
end

# Pattern 3: Expose service directly (use sparingly)
class Metrics::DashboardComponent < ViewComponent::Base
  attr_reader :service
  
  def initialize(service:)
    @service = service
  end
end
# View then calls: dashboard.service.calculate_lifetime_tasks

ViewComponent Errors

Template Not Found

Error Pattern:

Couldn't find a template file or inline render method for {Component}

Root Causes:

• Missing template file (component.html.erb)
• Template in wrong location
• Class name doesn't match file path
• Using render without inline template defined

Prevention Checklist:

# Before creating component:
ls app/components/                              # Check structure
head -50 app/components/*_component.rb | head -1 # Review existing pattern
# Verify naming: ComponentName -> component_name/

Required Files:

app/components/{namespace}/{component_name}_component.rb
app/components/{namespace}/{component_name}_component.html.erb

Correct Patterns:

# Option A: Separate template file
# app/components/metrics/kpi_card_component.rb
class Metrics::KpiCardComponent < ViewComponent::Base
  def initialize(title:, value:)
    @title = title
    @value = value
  end
end

# app/components/metrics/kpi_card_component.html.erb
# <div class="kpi-card">
#   <h3><%= @title %></h3>
#   <span><%= @value %></span>
# </div>

# Option B: Inline template (call method)
class Metrics::KpiCardComponent < ViewComponent::Base
  def initialize(title:, value:)
    @title = title
    @value = value
  end

  def call
    content_tag :div, class: "kpi-card" do
      safe_join([
        content_tag(:h3, @title),
        content_tag(:span, @value)
      ])
    end
  end
end

Helper Method Errors

Error Pattern:

undefined local variable or method '{method}' for an instance of {Component}
Did you mean `helpers.{method}`?

Root Cause: Calling view helper directly without helpers. prefix

Prevention Rules:

• ViewComponents do NOT have direct access to view helpers
• Must use helpers.method_name for any Rails helper

Helpers Requiring Prefix:

# WRONG                          # CORRECT
link_to(...)                     helpers.link_to(...)
image_tag(...)                   helpers.image_tag(...)
url_for(...)                     helpers.url_for(...)
form_with(...)                   helpers.form_with(...)
number_to_currency(...)          helpers.number_to_currency(...)
time_ago_in_words(...)           helpers.time_ago_in_words(...)
truncate(...)                    helpers.truncate(...)
pluralize(...)                   helpers.pluralize(...)
content_tag(...)                 helpers.content_tag(...)
tag(...)                         helpers.tag(...)
content_for(...)                 helpers.content_for(...)

Alternative - Delegate Helpers:

class Metrics::KpiCardComponent < ViewComponent::Base
  delegate :number_to_currency, :link_to, to: :helpers

  def formatted_value
    number_to_currency(@value)  # Now works without prefix
  end
end

Content Block Errors

Error Pattern:

content is not defined

Prevention: Always check content? before using content

<% if content? %>
  <%= content %>
<% end %>

ActiveRecord Errors

Grouping Error (PostgreSQL)

Error Pattern:

PG::GroupingError: ERROR: column "{table}.{column}" must appear in the GROUP BY clause

Root Causes:

• SELECT includes columns not in GROUP BY or aggregate functions
• Using .select with .group but including non-grouped columns
• Eager loading (includes/preload) with GROUP BY
• Using .pluck or .select with associations and GROUP BY

Prevention Rules:

1. Every non-aggregated column in SELECT must be in GROUP BY
2. NEVER combine includes/preload/eager_load with GROUP BY
3. Use .select only for grouped columns and aggregates
4. If you need associated data with grouped results, query separately

Examples:

# WRONG - selecting all columns with group
Task.includes(:user).group(:task_type).count
# This tries to select tasks.* which fails

# WRONG - selecting id with group
Task.select(:task_type, :id).group(:task_type).count
# id is not grouped or aggregated

# CORRECT - only select grouped columns and aggregates
Task.group(:task_type).count
# => { "type_a" => 5, "type_b" => 3 }

# CORRECT - explicit select with only valid columns
Task.select(:task_type, 'COUNT(*) as count').group(:task_type)

# CORRECT - if you need associated data, query separately
type_counts = Task.group(:task_type).count
tasks_by_type = type_counts.keys.each_with_object({}) do |type, hash|
  hash[type] = Task.where(task_type: type).includes(:user).limit(5)
end

# CORRECT - using pluck for simple aggregations
Task.group(:task_type).pluck(:task_type, 'COUNT(*)')
# => [["type_a", 5], ["type_b", 3]]

Before Writing GROUP BY Query:

# Detection command
grep -r '\.group(' app/ --include='*.rb' -A3 -B3
grep -r '\.includes.*\.group\|.group.*\.includes' app/ --include='*.rb'

N+1 Queries

Detection: Multiple queries for same association in logs

Prevention:

# WRONG - N+1
tasks.each { |t| puts t.user.name }

# CORRECT
tasks.includes(:user).each { |t| puts t.user.name }

Ambiguous Column

Error Pattern:

PG::AmbiguousColumn: ERROR: column reference "{column}" is ambiguous

Prevention: Always qualify columns when joining

# WRONG
User.joins(:tasks).where(status: 'active')  # Both have status?

# CORRECT
User.joins(:tasks).where(users: { status: 'active' })
# OR
User.joins(:tasks).where('users.status = ?', 'active')

Missing Attribute

Error Pattern:

ActiveModel::MissingAttributeError: missing attribute: {attribute}

Prevention: Include all attributes needed downstream

# WRONG - later code needs 'email'
users = User.select(:id, :name)
users.each { |u| puts u.email }  # ERROR!

# CORRECT
users = User.select(:id, :name, :email)

Controller Errors

Missing Template

Error Pattern:

ActionView::MissingTemplate

Prevention:

• Every non-redirect action needs a view OR explicit render
• View path must match controller namespace

# Before creating controller action:
ls app/views/{controller}/

Unknown Action

Error Pattern:

AbstractController::ActionNotFound

Root Causes:

• Route points to non-existent action
• Action is private/protected (must be public)

# Verification
rails routes | grep {controller}
grep -n 'def ' app/controllers/{controller}_controller.rb

Nil Errors

Error Pattern:

undefined method '{method}' for nil:NilClass

Prevention Patterns:

# Safe navigation
user&.profile&.settings&.theme

# Guard clause
return unless user&.profile

# With default
user&.profile&.settings&.theme || 'default'

# Early return
def process_user(user)
  return if user.nil?
  # ... rest of method
end

Argument Errors

Error Pattern:

ArgumentError: wrong number of arguments (given X, expected Y)

Prevention:

# Before modifying method signature
grep -r 'method_name' app/ --include='*.rb'
# Update all call sites

Rules:

• Prefer keyword arguments for methods with 2+ params
• Use default values for optional params

Prevention Checklists

Before Creating ViewComponent

[ ] Check app/components/ structure
[ ] Review existing component for template pattern (inline vs file)
[ ] Verify naming: Namespace::ComponentNameComponent
[ ] Create both .rb AND .html.erb files (unless using inline)
[ ] List ALL methods view will need
[ ] Implement ALL needed methods in component
[ ] Prefix ALL Rails helpers with 'helpers.' or delegate them

Before Writing View Code

[ ] List ALL methods view will call on component
[ ] For EACH method, verify it exists in component class
[ ] If method missing, ADD to component BEFORE view code
[ ] Verify underlying service/model has implementation

Before Writing ActiveRecord Query with GROUP BY

[ ] List ALL columns in SELECT
[ ] Verify each is in GROUP BY or aggregate function
[ ] Remove includes/preload/eager_load
[ ] Test query in rails console first

Before Writing ActiveRecord Query with Joins

[ ] Qualify ambiguous columns with table name
[ ] Consider if includes is better for the use case

Before Creating Controller Action

[ ] View exists for non-redirect actions?
[ ] Routes point to public methods?
[ ] All @variables view needs are set?

Before Any Code

[ ] Inspect existing similar implementations
[ ] Check naming conventions in codebase
[ ] Verify all dependencies exist (gems, files, routes)
[ ] Verify method exposure across all layers (view→component→service)

Quick Debugging Commands

# Find where method is called
grep -r 'method_name' app/ --include='*.rb'

# Find method definition
grep -rn 'def method_name' app/ --include='*.rb'

# Check method visibility
grep -B5 'def method_name' app/path/to/file.rb

# List component methods
grep -E '^\s+def [a-z_]+' app/components/path_component.rb

# List service methods  
grep -E '^\s+def [a-z_]+' app/services/path.rb

# Compare view calls vs component methods
grep -oE '@\w+\.\w+' app/views/path/*.erb | sort -u