Integrations

REST Framework integrates with several popular Rails libraries out of the box. This section pulls together the integration points that are otherwise scattered across the other sections.

Action Text

Opt in at the controller level by setting enable_action_text = true:

class ApiController < ApplicationController
  include RESTFramework::Controller
  self.enable_action_text = true
end

With this flag on, for a model like:

class Article < ApplicationRecord
  has_rich_text :body
end

the framework will:

If you need the raw HTML or formatted output rather than plain text, define your own method on the model and include it in fields instead:

class Article < ApplicationRecord
  has_rich_text :body

  def body_html
    body.to_s   # Or `body.body.to_html` for Trix-formatted HTML.
  end
end

class Api::ArticlesController < ApiController
  self.model = Article
  self.fields = [ :id, :title, :body_html ]
  # No `enable_action_text` — we're handling serialization manually.
end

Active Storage

Opt in at the controller level with enable_active_storage = true:

class ApiController < ApplicationController
  include RESTFramework::Controller
  self.enable_active_storage = true
end

For a model like:

class Movie < ApplicationRecord
  has_one_attached :poster
  has_many_attached :trailers
end

Serialization

Attached files serialize as:

{ "filename": "poster.png", "signed_id": "...", "url": "..." }

For has_many_attached, an array of those hashes.

Accepting Uploads

The controller accepts four payload shapes for attachment fields:

  1. Multipart upload — a standard <input type="file"> form submission.
  2. ActiveStorage hash: 
    { "io": "...", "content_type": "image/png", "filename": "poster.png" }
  3. Base64 data URL — useful for clients that can only send JSON: 
    "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo..."

    The framework decodes the base64 payload, builds the ActiveStorage hash automatically, and infers the filename extension from the content type.

  4. signed_id string — for keeping an existing attachment.

Mixed Payloads for has_many_attached

A single has_many_attached field can accept an array that mixes all four forms:

"trailers": [
  "signed_id_for_existing_attachment",
  "data:video/mp4;base64,AAAA...",
  { "io": "...", "content_type": "video/mp4", "filename": "trailer.mp4" }
]

TranslateEnum

If you use the translate_enum gem, REST Framework automatically includes translated values in field metadata. For a model like:

class User < ApplicationRecord
  enum :state, { default: 0, pending: 1, banned: 2, archived: 3 }
  translate_enum :state
end

the field config for state will contain enum_translations, and the OpenAPI schema will expose both the raw values and the translated labels:

Ransack

For more advanced filtering than what QueryFilter / SearchFilter can express (joins, aggregations, custom predicates), add the ransack gem to your Gemfile and include its filter backend:

class ApiController < ApplicationController
  include RESTFramework::Controller

  self.filter_backends += [ RESTFramework::RansackFilter ]
end

Clients can now pass Ransack search hashes via a q query parameter.

You still need to configure ransackable_attributes / ransackable_associations on your models — Ransack’s own safety controls apply, and the framework doesn’t bypass them.

ActiveModel::Serializers

If your project already uses active_model_serializers, you can point serializer_class at an AMS serializer and the framework will wrap it in an adapter compatible with the rest of the pipeline:

class UserSerializer < ActiveModel::Serializer
  attributes :id, :login, :email
  has_many :movies
end

class Api::UsersController < ApiController
  self.model = User
  self.serializer_class = UserSerializer
end

Notes: