Where should Rails 3 custom validators be stored?

Question

I've seen docs/websites show that custom validators should go in a /lib or /lib/validators directory of a project. I've found (by reading an answer to another post) that they only seem to work in config/initializers. Does anyone know, or have a pointer to official documentation that shows where custom validators should live?

How about [changing the accepted answer flag](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5263239/where-should-rails-3-custom-validators-be-stored/6610270#comment16660135_6610270)? — JJD, Oct 17 '13 at 08:07

score 222 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 07 '11 at 12:03

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If you place your custom validators in app/validators they will be automatically loaded without needing to alter your config/application.rb file.

answered Jul 07 '11 at 12:03

gbc

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I don't know if there's some gem/config you need to add for this, but under rails 3.2.8 this doesn't work. Specifically, simply dropping your validator into app/validators/???.rb doesn't work. – Doug Aug 28 '12 at 06:22
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Doug try to name the validator file same way the validator class is named but underscored: MyCoolValidator goes to app/validators/my_cool_validator.rb – equivalent8 Sep 11 '12 at 08:50
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@Doug you need to restart your server. The autoload paths are expanded on initialization so new subfolders will not get picked up until you do that. – Timo Oct 08 '12 at 23:36
I like to also monkeypatch ActiveModel::Validations::HelperMethods to add a helper for my new validation (e.g. validates_address for AddressValidator). When I include both the monkeypatch and the Validator in app/validators/address_validator.rb only the AddressValidator object is loaded, not the monkeypatch. Are you guys experiencing the same behavior? – jshkol Dec 18 '12 at 23:58
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`spring stop` was necessary for me in Rails 5.2, otherwise it wasn't picked up. – Jack Kinsella Nov 01 '18 at 11:57

score 15 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 11 '11 at 07:30

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If you add this to your /config/application.rb file:

config.autoload_paths += %W["#{config.root}/lib/validators/"]

Then Rails will automatically load your validators on start up (just like /config/initializers/), but you keep the clean structure of having your validators in one nice, well named spot.

edited Jul 11 '11 at 07:30

Andrei

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answered Apr 08 '11 at 21:16

gunit888

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Good idea but your code needs some cleanup: `config.autoload_paths += %W(#{config.root}/lib/validators/)` – aNoble May 26 '11 at 20:46

score 6 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 10 '11 at 17:18

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lib/validators seems by far the cleanest. However you may need to load them in before your models, so probably from an initializer.

answered Mar 10 '11 at 17:18

Jakub Hampl

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score 4 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 20 '19 at 07:36

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Here's the official docs about custom validations. AFAIK its a good practice to keep them in the relevant models.

edited Jun 20 '19 at 07:36

RameshVel

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answered Mar 10 '11 at 17:16

Shreyas

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Unless they're applicable to multiple models, in which case you should keep them elsewhere to stay DRY. – Andrew Marshall Mar 10 '11 at 17:18
Which is what they presumably are because otherwise there's little point in creating a separate class for them. – Jakub Hampl Mar 10 '11 at 17:29
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@Jakub Yes there is: Single Responsibility Principle – mattwynne May 23 '11 at 10:52
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The link to the official docs is broken. Here is the current location of that documentation; http://guides.rubyonrails.org/active_record_validations.html#custom-validators – Stijnster Sep 23 '15 at 05:20

Where should Rails 3 custom validators be stored?

4 Answers4

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