simple_form has_many through unpermitted parameters - ruby-on-rails

Question

I'm having a little trouble setting up my simple for for create/update. Here's the form:
<%= simple_form_for( setup_menu(#menu) ) do |f| %>
<%= f.input :user_id, :as => :hidden %>
<%= f.input :name %>
<%= f.input :description %>
<%= f.association :recipes %>
<%= f.button :submit %>
<% end %>
Here are the three models:
class Menu < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :courses
has_many :recipes, through: :courses
accepts_nested_attributes_for :recipes,
reject_if: :all_blank
accepts_nested_attributes_for :courses,
reject_if: :all_blank
end
class Recipe < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :courses
has_many :menus, through: :courses
accepts_nested_attributes_for :menus
end
class Course < ActiveRecord::Base
belongs_to :menu
belongs_to :recipe
end
And here is the params definition from the menus_controller:
def menu_params
params.require(:menu).permit(:user_id, :name, :description, :recipe_ids, :course_ids, :courses, :recipes,
recipes_attributes: [:id, :recipe_id, :_destroy], courses_attributes: [:id, :recipe_id, :menu_id, :_destroy]
)
end
I keep getting an unpermitted parameter error on the recipe_ids.
Started PATCH "/menus/1" for ::1 at 2015-10-01 20:54:56 -0500
Processing by MenusController#update as HTML
Parameters: {"utf8"=>"√", "authenticity_token"=>"i/7E27BWul9trszURDu1z8PtsHaG54byG9JOlEp3mn2oQZVveM2mSP4XTLzjWKAK+BNvwoi/pqBbQPrPTcnaDw==", "menu"=>{"name"=>"Menu 1", "description"=>"First test menu", "recipe_ids"=>["", "1", "3", "4"]}, "
commit"=>"Update Menu", "id"=>"1"}
Menu Load (1.0ms) SELECT "menus".* FROM "menus" WHERE "menus"."id" = ? LIMIT 1 [["id", 1]]
Unpermitted parameter: recipe_ids
(1.0ms) begin transaction
(0.0ms) commit transaction
Redirected to http://localhost:3000/menus/1
Completed 302 Found in 11ms (ActiveRecord: 2.0ms)
I'm sure it is something simple I've missed. I have been scratching my head for a whole day on this. Can someone help?

Answer 1

I knew it was something simple. This takes care of the whole problem.
params.require(:menu).permit(:user_id, :name, :description, { :recipe_ids => [] } )

Answer 2

To add to your answer, there are a bunch of issues with your structure.
Object
You're calling setup_menu in your view; this should at least be called in your controller (unless you're using a partial... even then it should be passed as a local var).
<%= simple_form_for #menu do |f| %>
<%= f.hidden_field :user_id %>
<%= f.input :name %>
<%= f.input :description %>
<%= f.association :recipes %>
<%= f.button :submit %>
<% end %>
This has to be backed up with the appropriate controller action. Again, if you're using this in the likes of a partial, you'll be able to assign the action at the same time you're defining #menu:
#app/controllers/menus_controller.rb
class MenusController < ApplicationController
def new
#menu = setup_menu x
end
end
Associative Data
Because you're using a has_many :recipes association, you should be able to set :recipes in your strong params. Failing that, your recipe_ids should be okay, but I think your encapsulation in parentheses is incorrect:
params.require(:menu).permit(:user_id, :name, :description, recipe_ids: [])
As an aside, if you had a has_and_belongs_to_many relationship set up, you'll be able to pass recipes as follows:
params.require(:menu).permit(:user, :name, :description, :recipes)
I see no reason why this would not work for your has_many :through
Definitions
Finally, you should be able to set multiple definitions in your model for accepts_nested_attributes_for:
#app/models/menu.rb
class Menu < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :courses
has_many :recipes, through: :courses
accepts_nested_attributes_for :recipes, :courses, reject_if: :all_blank
end
One of the most important, and simple, ways of keeping your code efficient is to make it readable. Above is an example of this - repeating yourself unnecessarily not only clutters your code, but prevents efficient management.