url_for(options = nil) public

Generate a URL based on the options provided, default_url_options, and the routes defined in config/routes.rb. The following options are supported:

  • :only_path - If true, the relative URL is returned. Defaults to false.

  • :protocol - The protocol to connect to. Defaults to "http".

  • :host - Specifies the host the link should be targeted at. If :only_path is false, this option must be provided either explicitly, or via default_url_options.

  • :subdomain - Specifies the subdomain of the link, using the tld_length to split the subdomain from the host. If false, removes all subdomains from the host part of the link.

  • :domain - Specifies the domain of the link, using the tld_length to split the domain from the host.

  • :tld_length - Number of labels the TLD id composed of, only used if :subdomain or :domain are supplied. Defaults to ActionDispatch::Http::URL.tld_length, which in turn defaults to 1.

  • :port - Optionally specify the port to connect to.

  • :anchor - An anchor name to be appended to the path.

  • :params - The query parameters to be appended to the path.

  • :path_params - The query parameters that will only be used for the named dynamic segments of path. If unused, they will be discarded.

  • :trailing_slash - If true, adds a trailing slash, as in "/archive/2009/".

  • :script_name - Specifies application path relative to domain root. If provided, prepends application path.

Any other key (:controller, :action, etc.) given to url_for is forwarded to the Routes module.

url_for controller: 'tasks', action: 'testing', host: 'somehost.org', port: '8080'
# => 'http://somehost.org:8080/tasks/testing'
url_for controller: 'tasks', action: 'testing', host: 'somehost.org', anchor: 'ok', only_path: true
# => '/tasks/testing#ok'
url_for controller: 'tasks', action: 'testing', trailing_slash: true
# => 'http://somehost.org/tasks/testing/'
url_for controller: 'tasks', action: 'testing', host: 'somehost.org', number: '33'
# => 'http://somehost.org/tasks/testing?number=33'
url_for controller: 'tasks', action: 'testing', host: 'somehost.org', script_name: "/myapp"
# => 'http://somehost.org/myapp/tasks/testing'
url_for controller: 'tasks', action: 'testing', host: 'somehost.org', script_name: "/myapp", only_path: true
# => '/myapp/tasks/testing'

Missing routes keys may be filled in from the current request’s parameters (e.g. :controller, :action, :id, and any other parameters that are placed in the path). Given that the current action has been reached through GET /users/1:

url_for(only_path: true)                        # => '/users/1'
url_for(only_path: true, action: 'edit')        # => '/users/1/edit'
url_for(only_path: true, action: 'edit', id: 2) # => '/users/2/edit'

Notice that no :id parameter was provided to the first url_for call and the helper used the one from the route’s path. Any path parameter implicitly used by url_for can always be overwritten like shown on the last url_for calls.

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March 25, 2011
4 thanks

How to specify :only_path when non-hash options

When passing in an object, as opposed to a hash, you can’t do this because url_for accepts one argument:

url_for(post, :only_path => true)

Instead, do this:

polymorphic_url(object, :routing_type => :path)
January 16, 2012
1 thank

Model objects routed with :as

When providing a model object, url_for will not work if the model’s routes are named using the :as option. You can instead use the named helper methods (posts_path, post_path(:id), etc.).

September 7, 2011 - (>= v3.0.9)
0 thanks

Passing an object as argument

It is possible to pass an instance of a record to the method. See the documentation of polymorphic_url (http://apidock.com/rails/ActionDispatch/Routing/PolymorphicRoutes).