Why does Rails keep telling me unpermitted parameter even though I have permitted it?

Question

I have a Profile model that has the following:

  has_many :transcripts, dependent: :destroy
  accepts_nested_attributes_for :transcripts, allow_destroy: true

On my Transcript model, I have the following:

include TranscriptUploader[:attachment]

Which is a Shrine Uploader mount.

In my app/views/profile/_form.html.erb, I have the following:

    <div id="transcripts" class="text-center">
      <% if @profile.transcripts.any? %>
        <% @profile.transcripts.each do |transcript| %>
          <%= link_to "Click to view Transcript", transcript.url %>
        <% end %>
      <% end %>

      <%= f.simple_fields_for :transcripts do |transcript| %>
        <%= render 'transcript_fields', f: transcript %>
      <% end %>
      <br />
      <div class="links">
        <%= link_to_add_association 'Add Transcript', f, :transcripts, class: "btn btn-success add-transcript-button" %>
      </div>
    </div>

Then in my views/profiles/_transcript_fields.html.erb, I have the following:

<%= f.file_field :attachment, multiple: true, class: 'col-lg-4 form-control' %>

In my ProfilesController, I have the following:

# truncated for brevity
def profile_params
  params.require(:profile).permit(:id, :first_name, :last_name, :dob, :height, :weight, :bib_color, :attachment, :remove_transcript, :transcript_cache, transcripts_attributes: [:id, :url, :name, :attachment, :attachment_data, :remove_transcript, :url_cache, :_destroy])
end

So far so good, right?

But when I go to add a new profile, this is what my log looks like:

Started POST "/profiles" for ::1 at 2016-11-17 01:47:05 -0500
Processing by ProfilesController#create as HTML
  Parameters: {"utf8"=>"✓", "authenticity_token"=>"JDMTXHFCIaB3TFmCOQ==", "profile"=>{"avatar"=>"", "first_name"=>"Jack", "last_name"=>"BeNimble", "dob(3i)"=>"17", "dob(2i)"=>"11", "dob(1i)"=>"1986", "transcripts_attributes"=>{"1479365203532"=>{"attachment"=>[#<ActionDispatch::Http::UploadedFile:0x007f8901918700 @tempfile=#<Tempfile:/var/folders/0f/0gn/T/RackMultipart20161117-29277-msvds1.pdf>, @original_filename="Some-Awesome-File.pdf", @content_type="application/pdf", @headers="Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"profile[transcripts_attributes][1479365203532][attachment][]\"; filename=\"Some-Awesome-File.pdf\"\r\nContent-Type: application/pdf\r\n">], "_destroy"=>"false"}}, "commit"=>"Create Profile"}
  User Load (2.8ms)  SELECT  "users".* FROM "users" WHERE "users"."id" = $1 ORDER BY "users"."id" ASC LIMIT $2  [["id", 2], ["LIMIT", 1]]
  Role Load (1.3ms)  SELECT "roles".* FROM "roles" INNER JOIN "users_roles" ON "roles"."id" = "users_roles"."role_id" WHERE "users_roles"."user_id" = $1 AND (((roles.name = 'admin') AND (roles.resource_type IS NULL) AND (roles.resource_id IS NULL)))  [["user_id", 2]]
  Role Load (2.3ms)  SELECT "roles".* FROM "roles" INNER JOIN "users_roles" ON "roles"."id" = "users_roles"."role_id" WHERE "users_roles"."user_id" = $1 AND (((roles.name = 'coach') AND (roles.resource_type IS NULL) AND (roles.resource_id IS NULL)))  [["user_id", 2]]
  Role Load (2.5ms)  SELECT "roles".* FROM "roles" INNER JOIN "users_roles" ON "roles"."id" = "users_roles"."role_id" WHERE "users_roles"."user_id" = $1 AND (((roles.name = 'player') AND (roles.resource_type IS NULL) AND (roles.resource_id IS NULL)))  [["user_id", 2]]
   (3.9ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM "roles" INNER JOIN "users_roles" ON "roles"."id" = "users_roles"."role_id" WHERE "users_roles"."user_id" = $1 AND (((roles.name = 'admin') AND (roles.resource_type IS NULL) AND (roles.resource_id IS NULL)) OR ((roles.name = 'coach') AND (roles.resource_type IS NULL) AND (roles.resource_id IS NULL)))  [["user_id", 2]]
Unpermitted parameter: attachment
  Tournament Load (1.1ms)  SELECT "tournaments".* FROM "tournaments" WHERE "tournaments"."id" = 1
   (5.0ms)  SELECT COUNT(*) FROM "profiles" INNER JOIN "profiles_tournaments" ON "profiles"."id" = "profiles_tournaments"."profile_id" WHERE "profiles_tournaments"."tournament_id" = $1  [["tournament_id", 1]]
   (0.9ms)  BEGIN
   (1.5ms)  COMMIT
  Position Load (2.1ms)  SELECT "positions".* FROM "positions" WHERE 1=0
Unpermitted parameter: attachment
   (0.7ms)  BEGIN
  School Load (1.2ms)  SELECT  "schools".* FROM "schools" WHERE "schools"."id" = $1 LIMIT $2  [["id", 1], ["LIMIT", 1]]
  Profile Exists (3.7ms)  SELECT  1 AS one FROM "profiles" WHERE ("profiles"."id" IS NOT NULL) AND "profiles"."slug" = $1 LIMIT $2  [["slug", "jack-benimble-st-george-s-college"], ["LIMIT", 1]]
  SQL (23.3ms)  INSERT INTO "profiles" ("first_name", "last_name", "dob", "bib_color", "created_at", "updated_at", "player_type", "school_id", "grade", "slug", "home_phone", "cell_phone", "email") VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12, $13) RETURNING "id"  [["first_name", "Jack"], ["last_name", "BeNimble"], ["dob", Mon, 17 Nov 1986], ["bib_color", ""], ["created_at", 2016-11-17 06:47:05 UTC], ["updated_at", 2016-11-17 06:47:05 UTC], ["player_type", 0], ["school_id", 1], ["grade", ""], ["slug", "jack-benimble-st-george-s-college"], ["home_phone", ""], ["cell_phone", ""], ["email", ""]]
  SQL (3.5ms)  INSERT INTO "transcripts" ("profile_id", "created_at", "updated_at") VALUES ($1, $2, $3) RETURNING "id"  [["profile_id", 46], ["created_at", 2016-11-17 06:47:05 UTC], ["updated_at", 2016-11-17 06:47:05 UTC]]
  Profile Load (2.8ms)  SELECT  "profiles".* FROM "profiles" WHERE "profiles"."id" = $1 LIMIT $2  [["id", 46], ["LIMIT", 1]]
  SQL (1.7ms)  INSERT INTO "profiles_tournaments" ("profile_id", "tournament_id") VALUES ($1, $2)  [["profile_id", 46], ["tournament_id", 1]]
   (2.6ms)  COMMIT
  Profile Store (150.2ms)  {"id":46}
  Profile Store (135.8ms)  {"id":46}
Unpermitted parameter: attachment
Redirected to http://localhost:3000/profiles/jack-benimble-st-george-s-college
Completed 302 Found in 499ms (Searchkick: 286.0ms | ActiveRecord: 91.8ms)

When I do this for the edit action also, I see something similar.

Notice that in my profile_params, I declare :attachment in two places. Both within a transcript_attributes hash, and in the normal list of attributes.

What could be causing this? What am I missing?

Edit 1

Updated params:

def profile_params
  params.require(:profile).permit(
    :id, :first_name, :last_name, :dob, :height, :weight,
    :bib_color, :parent_name, :sat_score, :video_url, :avatar,
    :remove_avatar, :avatar_cache, :player_type, :school_id, :grade, :email, 
    :cell_phone, :home_phone, tournament_ids: [], position_ids: [], 
    grades_attributes: [:id, :subject, :result, :grade_type, :_destroy], 
    achievements_attributes: [:id, :body, :achievement_type, :_destroy], 
    articles_attributes: [:id, :title, :url, :source, :_destroy], 
    videos_attributes: [:id, :url, :video, :vimeo_url, :vimeo_embed_code, :official, 
                        :video_cache, :remove_video, :_destroy], 
    transcripts_attributes: [:id, :url, :name, :attachment_data, :remove_transcript, 
                             :url_cache, :_destroy], 
    attachment: [])
end

Gaillard

could you show how this partial looks : ` <%= render 'transcript_fields', f: transcript %>` – Capeskin

Is attachment an array? – Duckbill

@LukaszMuzyka That's spelled out above in that 1 line: views/profiles/_transcript_fields.html.erb. – Gaillard

@Gaillard sorry missed that.. – Capeskin

Answer 1

For array values, you have to declare them as such. For array of simple strings it can be this.

.permit(:foo, :bar, ..., attachment: [])

If you had an array of objects, you could whitelist properties of the objects

.permit(:foo, :bar, ..., attachment: [:prop1, :prop3])

It's all in the docs, by the way: Hash and Array parameters.

Duckbill

That's the thing, so I am using the Shrine gem to handle uploads. That requires that I add an attribute_data which is a text field on the model. So on my Transcript model, I have this: # attachment_data :text. That's why in my profile_params, I have transcripts_attributes: [:id, :url, :name, :attachment, :attachment_data, :remove_transcript, :url_cache, :_destroy]. Note the attachment in that list. – Gaillard

@Gaillard I see the attachment in that list. I also see multi-select file input. – Duckbill

For the heck of it, I added attachment: [] to the list of my permissible params, and it still doesn't work and still gives me the Unpermitted parameter: attachment error. – Gaillard

@marcamillion: did you remove the other attachment? And restarted the server, just in case? – Duckbill

Hrmm...no. Ok let me try that. Edit: Ok I just tried that.....same issue. Same error. – Gaillard

Well, I guess you have to debug it. Now that you are armed with knowledge, should be easier. – Duckbill

The issue is that I mounted include TranscriptUploader[:attachment] to my Transcript.rb model, and then added attachment_data :text on that model -- but I am adding the record from my profile/_form.html.erb. – Gaillard

@marcamillion: yeah, this is getting waaaaaay too specific. And quite far from the original "why is this parameter not permitted?" :) – Duckbill

That's the thing, everything you told me I know already. But this issue is not what you are saying. It's more than that. I have been debugging all of the standard stuff, hence the question. If you re-read the question you will see that I tried all of that stuff. – Gaillard

@marcamillion: show me your updated strong params method, again? – Duckbill

Refresh the question, I left all the attributes for completeness sake. – Gaillard

@marcamillion: please care about the readers. 5000 char long string is very unreadable. That attachment is part of transcript attributes? If so, the attachment: [] goes into transcript attributes. – Duckbill

My apologies for the unreadable string. I was just trying to move quickly before you left :). That being said, you were right. It did belong inside transcripts: []. I tried that and it worked like a charm. Thanks! – Gaillard

So given that I added attachment_data as a text column to my Transcript model, should I also add :attachment_data inside the attachment hash? i.e. attachment: [:attachment_data], instead of putting :attachment_data within transcripts_attributes: [] alone? – Gaillard

@marcamillion: nope, why would you want to do that? – Duckbill

Ok fair enough. I wasn't sure. – Gaillard

@marcamillion: it's easy. Shape of your strong params must agree with the shape of the data. If it doesn't, you get unpermitted params. – Duckbill

Ugghh bro...you're not gonna believe this. The issue has raised it's head again. Seems it wasn't fixed. I had to remove multiple: true from the form_field and now it is giving me the same issue. Thoughts? – Gaillard

@marcamillion: come on, isn't it obvious? BTW, there's link to the docs in the answer. – Duckbill

It was fixed, but you broke it again :) – Duckbill

Ok fair enough. I figured it out. I had to remove the array and just re-add :attachment to the transcripts_attributes hash. – Gaillard