Access current_user in model - ruby-on-rails

Question

I have 3 tables
items (columns are: name , type)
history(columns are: date, username, item_id)
user(username, password)
When a user say "ABC" logs in and creates a new item, a history record gets created with the following after_create filter.
How to assign this username ‘ABC’ to the username field in history table through this filter.
class Item < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :histories
after_create :update_history
def update_history
histories.create(:date=>Time.now, username=> ?)
end
end
My login method in session_controller
def login
if request.post?
user=User.authenticate(params[:username])
if user
session[:user_id] =user.id
redirect_to( :action=>'home')
flash[:message] = "Successfully logged in "
else
flash[:notice] = "Incorrect user/password combination"
redirect_to(:action=>"login")
end
end
end
I am not using any authentication plugin. I would appreciate if someone could tell me how to achieve this without using plugin(like userstamp etc.) if possible.

Answer 1

Rails 5
Declare a module
module Current
thread_mattr_accessor :user
end
Assign the current user
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
around_action :set_current_user
def set_current_user
Current.user = current_user
yield
ensure
# to address the thread variable leak issues in Puma/Thin webserver
Current.user = nil
end
end
Now you can refer to the current user as Current.user
Documentation about thread_mattr_accessor
Rails 3,4
It is not a common practice to access the current_user within a model. That being said, here is a solution:
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
def self.current
Thread.current[:current_user]
end
def self.current=(usr)
Thread.current[:current_user] = usr
end
end
Set the current_user attribute in a around_filter of ApplicationController.
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
around_filter :set_current_user
def set_current_user
User.current = User.find_by_id(session[:user_id])
yield
ensure
# to address the thread variable leak issues in Puma/Thin webserver
User.current = nil
end
end
Set the current_user after successful authentication:
def login
if User.current=User.authenticate(params[:username], params[:password])
session[:user_id] = User.current.id
flash[:message] = "Successfully logged in "
redirect_to( :action=>'home')
else
flash[:notice] = "Incorrect user/password combination"
redirect_to(:action=>"login")
end
end
Finally, refer to the current_user in update_history of Item.
class Item < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :histories
after_create :update_history
def update_history
histories.create(:date=>Time.now, :username=> User.current.username)
end
end

Answer 2

The Controller should tell the model instance
Working with the database is the model's job. Handling web requests, including knowing the user for the current request, is the controller's job.
Therefore, if a model instance needs to know the current user, a controller should tell it.
def create
#item = Item.new
#item.current_user = current_user # or whatever your controller method is
...
end
This assumes that Item has an attr_accessor for current_user.

Answer 3

The Rails 5.2 approach for having global access to the user and other attributes is CurrentAttributes.

Answer 4

If the user creates an item, shouldn't the item have a belongs_to :user clause? This would allow you in your after_update to do
History.create :username => self.user.username

Answer 5

You could write an around_filter in ApplicationController
around_filter :apply_scope
def apply_scope
Document.where(:user_id => current_user.id).scoping do
yield
end

Answer 6

This can be done easily in few steps by implementing Thread.
Step 1:
class User < ApplicationRecord
def self.current
Thread.current[:user]
end
def self.current=(user)
Thread.current[:user] = user
end
end
Step 2:
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
before_filter :set_current_user
def set_current_user
User.current = current_user
end
end
Now you can easily get current user as User.current

Answer 7

The Thread trick isn't threadsafe, ironically.
My solution was to walk the stack backwards looking for a frame that responds to current_user. If none is found it returns nil. Example:
def find_current_user
(1..Kernel.caller.length).each do |n|
RubyVM::DebugInspector.open do |i|
current_user = eval "current_user rescue nil", i.frame_binding(n)
return current_user unless current_user.nil?
end
end
return nil
end
It could be made more robust by confirming the expected return type, and possibly by confirming owner of the frame is a type of controller...