Configuration

Configure authors, post images, authentication, and other RailsPress options.

Basic Setup

Create an initializer at config/initializers/railspress.rb:

config/initializers/railspress.rb 
Railspress.configure do |config|
  # Configuration options go here
end

Feature Toggles

enable_authors

Enables author/user association for posts. When enabled, posts can be assigned to authors and the author dropdown appears in the post form.

Ruby 
Railspress.configure do |config|
  config.enable_authors
end

Default: Disabled

enable_post_images

Enables post image uploads for posts. When enabled, posts can have a featured/header image attached via Active Storage.

Ruby 
Railspress.configure do |config|
  config.enable_post_images
end

Default: Disabled

enable_focal_points

Enables focal point selection for header images. When enabled, editors can set the focal point (important area) of images to control cropping across different aspect ratios.

Ruby 
Railspress.configure do |config|
  config.enable_post_images    # Required first
  config.enable_focal_points   # Then enable focal points
end

Default: Disabled

Requirements: Must also enable enable_post_images. Requires running migrations for the railspress_focal_points table.

See Image Focal Point System for full documentation including image contexts, per-context overrides, and view helpers.

Author Configuration

These options are only relevant when enable_authors is called.

author_class_name

The class name of your user/author model as a string.

Ruby 
config.author_class_name = "User"        # default
config.author_class_name = "Admin"       # custom model
config.author_class_name = "Author"      # dedicated author model

current_author_method

The controller method that returns the currently signed-in user. This integrates with your authentication system (Devise, Clearance, custom auth, etc.).

Ruby 
config.current_author_method = :current_user   # default (Devise)
config.current_author_method = :current_admin  # admin-specific
config.current_author_method = :logged_in_user # custom auth

author_scope

Limits which users appear in the author dropdown. Accepts a Symbol (scope name) or a Proc.

Ruby 
# Use a scope defined on the User model
config.author_scope = :authors           # calls User.authors
config.author_scope = :active            # calls User.active

# Use a Proc for complex logic
config.author_scope = ->(klass) { klass.where(role: "writer") }

author_display_method

The method called on author objects to display their name in dropdowns and post listings.

Ruby 
config.author_display_method = :name       # default
config.author_display_method = :full_name
config.author_display_method = :email
config.author_display_method = :display_name

Example Configurations

Minimal Setup (No Authors)

config/initializers/railspress.rb 
Railspress.configure do |config|
  config.enable_post_images
end

With Devise Authentication

config/initializers/railspress.rb 
Railspress.configure do |config|
  config.enable_authors
  config.enable_post_images
  config.author_class_name = "User"
  config.current_author_method = :current_user
  config.author_display_method = :email
end

With Scoped Authors

app/models/user.rb 
class User < ApplicationRecord
  scope :writers, -> { where(role: %w[writer editor admin]) }

  def display_name
    "#{first_name} #{last_name}"
  end
end
config/initializers/railspress.rb 
Railspress.configure do |config|
  config.enable_authors
  config.author_class_name = "User"
  config.author_scope = :writers
  config.author_display_method = :display_name
end

Adding Authentication

RailsPress does not include authentication. Protect the admin area by configuring your application controller:

app/controllers/application_controller.rb 
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
  # If using Devise
  before_action :authenticate_user!, if: :railspress_admin?

  private

  def railspress_admin?
    request.path.start_with?("/railspress/admin")
  end
end

Or override the RailsPress base controller:

config/initializers/railspress.rb 
Rails.application.config.to_prepare do
  Railspress::Admin::BaseController.class_eval do
    before_action :authenticate_user!
    before_action :require_admin!

    private

    def require_admin!
      redirect_to root_path unless current_user&.admin?
    end
  end
end