RESTomatic

RESTomatic helps Rails developers organize nested resources with automatic namespacing. Each nested resource gets its own controller module, making your app cleaner and easier to maintain.

Unlike Rails shallow routes that send everything to one controller, RESTomatic enforces proper separation: Blogs::PostsController, Users::PostsController, etc. keeping your controllers organized and your codebase more maintainable.

Installation

Add to your Rails application Gemfile:

bundle add "restomatic"

That's it! The routing helpers are automatically available in your config/routes.rb file.

Then start using more RESTful routes in config/routes.rb:

resources :blogs do
  nest :posts do                    # Blogs::PostsController
    collection do
      get :search                   # Blogs::PostsController#search
    end
  end
end

resources :posts do
  create :comments                  # Posts::CommentsController#new, #create
end

The Problem

Rails provides shallow routes and nested resources, but the syntax becomes verbose and repetitive, especially when you want to properly namespace controllers.

Before RESTomatic

resources :blogs do
  scope module: :blogs do
    resources :posts, only: i[index new create] do
      collection do
        get :search
      end
    end
  end
end

resources :posts do
  scope module: :posts do
    resources :comments, only: i[new create]
  end
end

With RESTomatic

resources :blogs do
  nest :posts do                    # Blogs::PostsController
    collection do
      get :search                   # Blogs::PostsController#search
    end
  end
end

resources :posts do
  create :comments                  # Posts::CommentsController#new, #create
end

Much cleaner! The nest helper automatically:

• Scopes to the parent resource's module (e.g., Blogs::PostsController)
• Sets sensible defaults for which actions are included
• Reduces boilerplate while maintaining Rails conventions

Route Helpers

nest

Nest resources under a parent with automatic module scoping and sensible action defaults.

resources :blogs do
  nest :posts         # Creates index, new, create actions under Blogs::PostsController
  nest :post          # Singular: creates new, create actions (no edit/update/destroy)
end

Options:

• except: - Exclude specific actions (overrides defaults)
• Singular resources default to excluding: [:edit, :update, :destroy]
• Plural resources default to excluding: [:show, :edit, :update, :destroy]

Module-only nesting:

resources :posts do
  nest do
    # Routes defined here will be scoped to Posts module
    # without creating a nested resource
    get :analytics
  end
end

create

Define routes for creating a resource (new + create actions only).

resources :posts do
  create :comments    # Only new and create actions
end

create :session       # Works with both singular and plural forms

edit

Define routes for editing a resource (edit + update actions only).

resources :posts do
  edit :metadata      # Only edit and update actions
end

show

Define routes for showing a resource (show action only).

resources :posts do
  show :preview       # Only show action
end

destroy

Define routes for destroying a resource (destroy action only).

resources :posts do
  destroy :attachment # Only destroy action
end

list

Define routes for listing resources (index action only).

resources :users do
  list :posts         # Only index action
end

Real-World Example

Rails.application.routes.draw do
  root "home#index"

  # Public blog routes
  resources :blogs, only: [:index, :show] do
    list :posts                              # Blogs::PostsController#index
  end

  # Admin area with nested resources
  namespace :admin do
    resources :blogs do
      nest :posts do                         # Admin::Blogs::PostsController
        create :comments                     # Admin::Blogs::Posts::CommentsController#new, #create
        collection do
          get :scheduled                     # Admin::Blogs::PostsController#scheduled
          post :bulk_publish                 # Admin::Blogs::PostsController#bulk_publish
        end
      end
    end

    resources :posts do
      edit :seo                              # Admin::Posts::SeosController#edit, #update
      show :preview                          # Admin::Posts::PreviewsController#show
      destroy :featured_image                # Admin::Posts::FeaturedImagesController#destroy
    end
  end

  # User account management
  resource :account do
    nest do
      edit :profile                          # Accounts::ProfilesController#edit, #update
      edit :password                         # Accounts::PasswordsController#edit, #update
      show :billing                          # Accounts::BillingsController#show
    end
  end
end

How It Works

RESTomatic extends ActionDispatch::Routing::Mapper to add these helper methods. The helpers automatically:

1. Detect singular vs. plural resource names
2. Apply appropriate module scoping
3. Set sensible action defaults based on the helper used
4. Work seamlessly with existing Rails routing features

Philosophy

Rails routing is powerful but can become verbose when building properly organized applications with shallow routes and namespaced controllers. RESTomatic embraces Rails conventions while reducing boilerplate, making your routes file more readable and maintainable.

Requirements

• Rails 7.0+
• Ruby 3.0+

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add some feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
5. Create a new Pull Request

License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.