ActsAsArchive

Don't delete your records, move them to a different table.

Like acts_as_paranoid, but doesn't mess with your SQL queries.

Install

sudo gem install acts_as_archive

environment.rb:

config.gem 'acts_as_archive'

Update models

Add acts_as_archive to your models:

class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
  acts_as_archive
end

Create archive tables

Add this line to a migration:

ActsAsArchive.update Article, Comment

Replace Article, Comment with your own models that use acts_as_archive.

Archive tables mirror your table's structure, but with an additional deleted_at column.

There is an alternate way to create archive tables if you don't like migrations.

That's it!

Use destroy, delete, and delete_all like you normally would.

Records move into the archive table instead of being destroyed.

What if my schema changes?

New migrations are automatically applied to the archive table.

No action is necessary on your part.

Query the archive

Add ::Archive to your ActiveRecord class:

Article::Archive.find(:first)

Restore from the archive

Use restore_all to copy archived records back to your table:

Article.restore_all([ 'id = ?', 1 ])

Auto-migrate from acts_as_paranoid

If you previously used acts_as_paranoid, the ActsAsArchive.update call will automatically move your deleted records to the archive table (see Create archive tables).

Original deleted_at values are preserved.

Add indexes to the archive table

To keep insertions fast, there are no indexes on your archive table by default.

If you are querying your archive a lot, you will want to add indexes:

class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
  acts_as_archive :indexes => [ :id, [:subject_id, :subject_type], :created_at, :deleted_at ]
end

Call ActsAsArchive.update upon adding new indexes (see Create archive tables).

Delete records without archiving

To destroy a record without archiving:

article.destroy!

To delete multiple records without archiving:

Article.delete_all!(["id in (?)", [1,2,3]])