Til Tracker

Routing Error for static files (`/documents/cv.pdf`) in development

Issue: Linking to PDFs I placed in public/documents/ resulted in No route matches [GET] /documents/cv.pdf in the development environment.
Cause: By default, the Rails development environment often doesn't serve static files from the public directory. This is typically enabled only in production for performance reasons.
Resolution:
1. I enabled static file serving in development by setting config.public_file_server.enabled = true in config/environments/development.rb.
2. I ensured the PDF files were correctly placed in til_tracker/public/documents/.
3. I restarted the Rails server (./bin/dev).
Learning: To serve static assets (like PDFs, images) directly from the public folder in the development environment, I learned I must explicitly set config.public_file_server.enabled = true in config/environments/development.rb and restart the server. In production, this is usually handled by the webserver (like Nginx or Apache) or enabled by default in production.rb.

Tags: rails-core environment-setup frontend error-handling debugging

Learned on: April 22, 2024 Edit

`rails db:seed` failed (NameError due to heredoc interpolation)

Context: I ran the generated seed script which populated Learning records from LEARNINGS.md. The error occurred processing an entry whose body contained the literal text params[:tag]. The default heredoc syntax (<<~BODY) attempted Ruby interpolation (#{...}) on this text, causing NameError: undefined local variable or method 'params' for main:Object.
Resolution: I changed the heredoc definition for the problematic entry in db/seeds.rb from <<~BODY to <<~'BODY' (note the single quotes). This prevents interpolation within that specific string, treating it literally.
Learning: I learned to be cautious when using interpolating heredocs (<<~DELIMITER) in seed files or scripts if the source text might contain #{}, ${}, or similar sequences that could be misinterpreted as code interpolation. Use non-interpolating heredocs (<<~'DELIMITER') or escape the relevant characters (\#{}) within the string if interpolation is needed elsewhere but not for specific literals.

Tags: seeds database ruby heredoc interpolation error debugging workflow

Learned on: April 20, 2024 Edit

Stimulus controller not executing (dynamic button disable)

Issue: Despite seemingly correct Stimulus controller (selection_controller.js) setup, HTML attributes (data-controller, data-action, data-target), and CSS, the "Delete Selected" button remained disabled even when I checked items.
Context: Extensive troubleshooting performed: Verified controller registration (stimulus:manifest:update, controllers/index.js), javascript_importmap_tags in layout, controllers/application.js initialization. Added console.log statements; logs did not appear in the browser console, indicating the controller code was not executing. Tested moving data-controller scope. Checked for conflicts/errors.
Resolution: Due to the inability to diagnose why the Stimulus controller wasn't connecting/executing, I reverted the dynamic disabling feature for simplicity. I deleted the controller file, removed the registration, cleaned the data- attributes from view/layout, and removed CSS styles.
Learning: If JavaScript behavior (especially Stimulus) fails without obvious errors after checking standard setup (loading, registration, attributes, initialization, console logs), I learned to consider potential deeper issues: asset pipeline problems, JS bundling errors (check network tab/console thoroughly), subtle DOM interactions (e.g., Turbo Frames replacing elements Stimulus was connected to), typos in data- attributes or controller identifiers, or timing issues. Sometimes reverting to a simpler solution is pragmatic if debugging proves too complex or time-consuming for the feature's value.

Tags: frontend javascript stimulus hotwire debugging asset-pipeline turbo dom error

Learned on: April 19, 2024 Edit

NoMethodError: undefined method `learned_on` on `new` learning page

Context: The new.html.erb view tried to access @learning.learned_on to set the default value for the date field (value: @learning.learned_on || Date.today), causing NoMethodError.
Resolution: I changed the date_field value in the view to just value: Date.today. The @learning instance created by LearningsController#new (Learning.new) is unsaved and doesn't have attributes populated from database defaults until saved.
Learning: I learned to be mindful of when database defaults are applied (on save) versus needing to set defaults explicitly in the controller (Model.new(attr: default)) or view (value: default) for new object instances presented in forms.

Tags: rails-core controller view form model date nomethoderror database default

Learned on: April 13, 2024 Edit

Repeated `gem install bundler` failure (`Gem::FilePermissionError`)

Context: gem install bundler:2.6.7 failed again with Gem::FilePermissionError. The command was still running in the context of the system Ruby, attempting to write to protected system directories (/Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0).
Resolution: I had to ensure my terminal session correctly activated the rbenv Ruby version (3.2.2) *before* running gem install bundler -v 2.6.7 and subsequent bundle install.
Learning: Persistent permission errors during gem install strongly indicate the wrong Ruby environment is active. I learned to verify my rbenv (or similar) setup and activation (ruby -v, which ruby, which gem). Using rbenv exec gem install ... can sometimes bypass activation issues but doesn't fix underlying environment problems if my shell init is broken.

Tags: environment-setup workflow error-handling

Learned on: April 13, 2024 Edit

`rbenv` PATH missing, `gem install bundler` fails (permission error)

Context: rbenv init in my .zshrc was likely placed incorrectly, preventing shims from being added to the PATH early enough. gem install bundler still failed with a permission error.
Resolution (Workaround): I used rbenv exec gem install bundler -v 2.6.7 to successfully install bundler within the correct Ruby 3.2.2 context managed by rbenv.
Learning: rbenv exec forces the command to run within the context of the selected rbenv version, bypassing potential PATH or shell integration issues. It's a reliable way to ensure the correct Ruby environment is used when shell activation is faulty.

Tags: environment-setup error-handling

Learned on: April 09, 2024 Edit

Subsequent `bundle install` failed (bundler version, rbenv context)

Context: Even after installing libpq, bundle install failed again with Could not find 'bundler' (2.6.7) .... My shell was still trying to use the system Ruby's environment/bundler version, indicating rbenv wasn't fully integrated/activated for the bundle command execution.
My Attempt: gem install bundler directly, which failed with Gem::FilePermissionError (again trying to use system Ruby gems location).
Learning: Persistent environment issues suggest deeper problems with my shell initialization (.zshrc) or PATH order. I verified my rbenv path was missing/incorrectly configured and learned to ensure rbenv is active before running bundle.

Tags: environment-setup error-handling

Learned on: April 09, 2024 Edit

`gem install bundler` failed (`Gem::FilePermissionError`)

Context: gem install bundler:2.6.7 failed with Gem::FilePermissionError for /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0. My shell was using the system Ruby (2.6.x), and installing gems globally requires permissions and is generally discouraged. My project's .ruby-version specified 3.2.2.
Resolution: I identified that rbenv was installed but not properly activated in my shell environment (PATH configuration issue in .zshrc).
Learning: I learned to use a Ruby version manager (rbenv) to handle project-specific Ruby versions and avoid modifying the system Ruby installation. I need to ensure the version manager is correctly initialized in my shell configuration (.zshrc, .zprofile, etc.) and avoid using sudo gem install.

Tags: environment-setup error-handling

Learned on: April 09, 2024 Edit

NoMethodError: undefined method `pluralize` in controller

Context: The destroy_multiple action in LearningsController tried to use the pluralize helper directly, resulting in NoMethodError.
Resolution: I changed the call to view_context.pluralize to access the view helper context from the controller.
Learning: I learned that view helpers like pluralize are part of ActionView and must be accessed via view_context when called from within a controller action.

Tags: rails-core error-handling

Learned on: April 09, 2024 Edit