# Rails Generators

By [Jasperwreed.eth](https://paragraph.com/@jasperwreed) · 2021-12-02

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Because who can remember them...
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![Rails Generators](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/010ffdae94d4a6d0baeb21f431e3c1a264234912bf6818783aeef7cd75db03f4.jpg)

Rails Generators

  

### 1\. Resource Generator (my favorite)

Using the resource generator creates everything from controller to migration. Running `rails g resource User username:string email:string age:integer` will result in the following:

    # a user controller
    class UsersController < ApplicationController
    end
    
    # a migration
    class CreateUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration[6.1]
      def change
        create_table :users do |t|
          t.string :username
          t.string :email
          t.integer :age
    
          t.timestamps
        end
      end
    end
    
    # a user model
    class User < ApplicationRecord
    end
    
    # endpoints for the user resource
    Rails.application.routes.draw do
      resources :users
    end
    

Sometimes using the resource generator is somewhat overkill. That is where individual generators come in handy. There are 3 that I have found to be very useful. The controller, migration, and model generators.

### 2\. Controller Generator

Using the controller generator creates... You guessed it! A controller. Running `rails g controller Users` will result in the following:

    # a user controller
    class UsersController < ApplicationController
    end
    

If you wish to also generate actions along with the controller you can do so by including the name of the action in the command. Running `rails g controller Users index show create update` will produce:

    # a user controller
    class UsersController < ApplicationController
      def index
      end
    
      def show
      end
    
      def create
      end
    
      def update
      end
    end
    
    # routes each actions
    Rails.application.routes.draw do
      get 'users/index'
      get 'users/show'
      get 'users/create'
      get 'users/update'
    end
    

It has to be said that, at the time of writing this, I am unaware of a way to generate the correct HTTP verbs to go along with the routes. This is no big deal, you just have to remember to change the verb prefixing the route with whichever it needs to be, or by using the resource prefix like you get from running the `rails g resource` generator.

### 3\. Model Generator

Using the model generator creates both a migration and model. Running `rails g model User` will result in the following:

    # a migration
    class CreateUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration[6.1]
      def change
        create_table :users do |t|
    
          t.timestamps
        end
      end
    end
    
    # a user model
    class User < ApplicationRecord
    end
    

This is pretty bear bones, so we can spice it up by including an optional list of attribute pairs as arguments. Running `rails g model User username:string email:string age:integer` will give us the following:

    # a migration
    class CreateUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration[6.1]
      def change
        create_table :users do |t|
          t.string :username
          t.string :email
          t.integer :age
    
          t.timestamps
        end
      end
    end
    
    # a user model
    class User < ApplicationRecord
    end
    

#### Side Note

Notice how the attribute pairs are broken up into two parts. This is so rails knows the data type of each attribute, but a small time saver is to leave off the datatype if the attribute is a string so `rails g model User username:string email:string age:integer` would become `rails g model User username email age:integer`. You can do this because the default datatype will always be a string.

### Things To Keep In Mind

Take note on the pluralization of the resource name when using each generator. For both the model and resource generators **DO NOT** pluralize the resource name, but go ahead while using the controller generator.

If you accidentally mess up while using one of the generators, it's an easy fix. Let's say I ran `rails g resource Users`, forgetting that "Users" needs to be singular, I can simply hit the up arrow on my keyboard and change g -> d resulting in the following command: `rails d resource Users`. This will destroy all files generated from the resource giving you a fresh plate to fix the typo and re-run the generator.

Lastly, knowing when to use each generator is important and can save a ton of time when developing with ruby on rails.

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*Originally published on [Jasperwreed.eth](https://paragraph.com/@jasperwreed/rails-generators)*