Request: rename Rails console as irr or something other than irb

[MtnBiker]

Maybe not the right place to post this.

But it's confusing that the prompt for irb and rails console is the same.

[Edouard-chin]

You can create a ~/.irbrc file and customize irb as you wish here. You can use something like this:

if ENV["RAILS_ENV"]
  IRB.conf[:PROMPT][:RAILS] = IRB.conf[:PROMPT][:DEFAULT].clone
  IRB.conf[:PROMPT][:RAILS][:PROMPT_I] = "%N(rails):%03n> "

  IRB.conf[:PROMPT_MODE] = :RAILS
end

[MtnBiker]

Thanks. Works like a charm.

[rafaelfranca]

Maybe we should do that automatically. @dhh what do you think?

[dhh]

What's the problem we're trying to solve?

[dhh]

Why is it an issue that the prompt is the same between vanilla irb and irb loaded with the Rails app? That's the first time I've heard of that causing someone problems.

[rafaelfranca]

I believe because of the methods available in Rails console are drastically different from just calling irb so if you have two terminals one with the console another one with the irb, you don't know where you are at. I have seeing people also changing the prompt to show if the console is a production console.

In general, I think it would be good developer experience to Rails to show a more informative prompt.

[dhh]

Yeah, I could be on for making it more informative. Like including the env. But also don't want to make the line too long. Don't think adding (rails) to it is meaningful.

[MtnBiker]

Length: irb(rails):002> vs irb(main):001> using @Edouard-chin Edouard-chin. They are the same in the two places I use it.

Maybe irc(main) for rails console and irb(main) as it has been.

They are different environments and shouldn't look the same.

[dhh]

Actually, if anything, we should shave off the needless prefixing. "irb(main):001>" is just noise for us. But I'd take "dev:001>" and "prod:001>". Problem is we don't have any structured abbreviated names for envs. You don't want "development:001>" and "production:001>". Too long.

[MtnBiker]

An example of where confusion can arise. In Active Record Query Interface, Section 2.1.1, the following example irb> customer = Customer.find(10) appears. The word console appears no where on that page. I think some will think irb means irb, not rails console.

[Edouard-chin]

Oops, looks like I closed this too early and there is more to it, sorry!
I don't have much opinion on the topic.

You don't want "development:001>" and "production:001>". Too long.

For reference, the prompt name on a postgres repl is the name of the database, which never bothered me and felt it was too long. 🤷

❯ bin/rails dbconsole

my_app_development=#

[st0012]

Just to add some ideas and notes:

• You can use IRB.conf[:IRB_NAME] to replace irb from the prompt more easily.
  • For example, IRB.conf[:IRB_NAME] = Rails.root.basename.to_s will give you
    my-app(main):001>
• IRB has colorisation module that can also be used here.
  • IRB.conf[:IRB_NAME] = IRB::Color.colorize(Rails.root.basename.to_s, [:BLUE, :BOLD]) will show my-app in blue and the rest in the default colour.
  • Displaying different environments in different colours may be helpful as I've seen a few apps showing production in red.
• The way Rails currently invokes IRB doesn't allow it to use IRB.conf for configuration. So if we decided to customise the prompt, some additional adjustments need to be made there too. I'll be happy to help on this :-)

[rafaelfranca]

@st0012 can we move forward with "dev:001>" and "prod:001>"?

[st0012]

@rafaelfranca sure no problem. I'll prepare a PR for it.

[byroot]

"dev:001>" and "prod:001>"?

Is the 001 even worth it? I don't quite see the value of it. My irbrc just strips it.

[dhh]

Agree, I'd rather do without.

[st0012]

Maybe the saved space could display the app/folder name, like dev:my-app> or my-app(dev)>?

[byroot]

I think the application name would be valuable yes, especially for people who often juggle between multiple applications.

My preference goes to my-app(dev)> but no strong opinion here.

[dhh]

Dig that a lot 👌

[st0012]

PR for the prompt change: #50825

[dorianmariecom]

Wouldn't development and production be more consistent with the rest of the usage in rails?

[ghiculescu]

I think the application name would be valuable yes, especially for people who often juggle between multiple applications.

My preference goes to my-app(dev)> but no strong opinion here.

Would you consider adding the Rails version to the prompt?

Eg. my-app @ 7.1.1(dev)>

We've found it handy when doing upgrades, or switching between apps on different versions.

[dhh]

Too much for me. But great to point someone at how they can customize this further.

Context > Consistency on prod/dev. I don't want a long prefacing line. It's just ugly.