smart route aliases

_posts/2023-12-19-smart-route-aliases-in-rails.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Smart route aliases in Rails"
+headline: "Smart routes aliases in Rails"
+modified: 2023-12-19 18:00:50 +0100
+description: "Learn how to define smart aliases in Rails router."
+tags: [rails]
+featured_post: false
+image: route-66.jpg
+---
+
+For search engine optimization and marketing purposes, a Rails project may require the definition of an alias route. This can be challenging if the original route contains a dynamic component that depends on the current user's session.
+
+In our project, we sought to create an easy shorthand `/edit_my_plans` for the user-specific route `/users/:id/edit?tab=plans`.
+
+For instance, Rails provides a mechanism to define this type of redirect using the following syntax (the code example is extracted from their official documentation):
+
+```ruby
+get '/stories/:name', to: redirect { |path_params, req| "/articles/#{path_params[:name].pluralize}" }
+```
+
+Employing this knowledge, we devised a clean and legible approach to defining this type of route, incorporating business logic of any complexity directly within the router:
+
+```ruby
+# in config/routes.rb:
+get "/edit_my_plans", to: redirect(RoutesAlias.edit_my_plans)
+```
+
+And this is the dedicated service class, aptly named `RoutesAlias`, which encapsulates the intricate business logic. It's more judicious to isolate such intricate operations into a separate class, rather than embedding them within the router definition. We've placed it in the `app/lib` directory, though in your specific project, you may choose a different location:
+
+```ruby
+class RoutesAlias
+  include Rails.application.routes.url_helpers
+
+  attr_reader :session
+
+  def self.edit_my_plans
+    proc { |_params, request| new(request.session).edit_my_plans }
+  end
+
+  def initialize(session)
+    @session = session
+  end
+
+  def edit_my_plans
+    current_user = Authentication.user_from_session(session)
+
+    case current_user&.user_type
+    when "vendor"
+      edit_user_path(current_user, tab: "plans")
+    when "user"
+      projects_path
+    when nil
+      "/auth/auth0?origin=/edit_my_plans"
+    end
+  end
+end
+```
+
+Now, marketing sites, such as landing pages or others, can effortlessly utilize the generic URL `/edit_my_plans`. Rails will orchestrate the redirection to the appropriate route, whether it's a login form or a specific homepage tailored for distinct user types.
+
+I hope this assists in your Rails project. Happy coding!