Paperclip ========= [![Build Status](https://secure.travis-ci.org/thoughtbot/paperclip.png?branch=master)](http://travis-ci.org/thoughtbot/paperclip) [![Dependency Status](https://gemnasium.com/thoughtbot/paperclip.png?travis)](https://gemnasium.com/thoughtbot/paperclip) Paperclip is intended as an easy file attachment library for Active Record. The intent behind it was to keep setup as easy as possible and to treat files as much like other attributes as possible. This means they aren't saved to their final locations on disk, nor are they deleted if set to nil, until ActiveRecord::Base#save is called. It manages validations based on size and presence, if required. It can transform its assigned image into thumbnails if needed, and the prerequisites are as simple as installing ImageMagick (which, for most modern Unix-based systems, is as easy as installing the right packages). Attached files are saved to the filesystem and referenced in the browser by an easily understandable specification, which has sensible and useful defaults. See the documentation for `has_attached_file` in [`Paperclip::ClassMethods`](http://rubydoc.info/gems/paperclip/Paperclip/ClassMethods) for more detailed options. The complete [RDoc](http://rdoc.info/gems/paperclip) is online. Requirements ------------ ### Ruby and Rails Paperclip now requires Ruby version **>= 1.9.2** and Rails version **>= 3.0** (Only if you're going to use Paperclip with Ruby on Rails.) If you're still on Ruby 1.8.7 or Ruby on Rails 2.3.x, you can still use Paperclip 2.7.x with your project. Also, everything in this README might not apply to your version of Paperclip, and you should read [the README for version 2.7](http://rubydoc.info/gems/paperclip/2.7.0) instead. ### Image Processor [ImageMagick](http://www.imagemagick.org) must be installed and Paperclip must have access to it. To ensure that it does, on your command line, run `which convert` (one of the ImageMagick utilities). This will give you the path where that utility is installed. For example, it might return `/usr/local/bin/convert`. Then, in your environment config file, let Paperclip know to look there by adding that directory to its path. In development mode, you might add this line to `config/environments/development.rb)`: Paperclip.options[:command_path] = "/usr/local/bin/" If you're on Mac OS X, you'll want to run the following with Homebrew: brew install imagemagick If you are dealing with pdf uploads or running the test suite, you'll also need GhostScript to be installed. On Mac OS X, you can also install that using Homebrew: brew install gs Installation ------------ Paperclip is distributed as a gem, which is how it should be used in your app. Include the gem in your Gemfile: gem "paperclip", "~> 3.0" If you're still using Rails 2.3.x, you should do this instead: gem "paperclip", "~> 2.7" Or, if you want to get the latest, you can get master from the main paperclip repository: gem "paperclip", :git => "git://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip.git" If you're trying to use features that don't seem to be in the latest released gem, but are mentioned in this README, then you probably need to specify the master branch if you want to use them. This README is probably ahead of the latest released version, if you're reading it on GitHub. For Non-Rails usage: class ModuleName < ActiveRecord::Base include Paperclip::Glue ... end Quick Start ----------- In your model: class User < ActiveRecord::Base has_attached_file :avatar, :styles => { :medium => "300x300>", :thumb => "100x100>" } end In your migrations: class AddAvatarColumnsToUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration def self.up add_attachment :users, :avatar end def self.down remove_attachment :users, :avatar end end (Or you can use migration generator: `rails generate paperclip user avatar`) In your edit and new views: <%= form_for :user, @user, :url => user_path, :html => { :multipart => true } do |form| %> <%= form.file_field :avatar %> <% end %> In your controller: def create @user = User.create( params[:user] ) end In your show view: <%= image_tag @user.avatar.url %> <%= image_tag @user.avatar.url(:medium) %> <%= image_tag @user.avatar.url(:thumb) %> To detach a file, simply set the attribute to `nil`: @user.avatar = nil @user.save Usage ----- The basics of paperclip are quite simple: Declare that your model has an attachment with the `has_attached_file` method, and give it a name. Paperclip will wrap up up to four attributes (all prefixed with that attachment's name, so you can have multiple attachments per model if you wish) and give them a friendly front end. These attributes are: * `_file_name` * `_file_size` * `_content_type` * `_updated_at` By default, only `_file_name` is required for paperclip to operate. You'll need to add `_content_type` in case you want to use content type validation. More information about the options to `has_attached_file` is available in the documentation of [`Paperclip::ClassMethods`](http://rubydoc.info/gems/paperclip/Paperclip/ClassMethods). For validations, Paperclip introduces several validators to validate your attachment: * `AttachmentContentTypeValidator` * `AttachmentPresenceValidator` * `AttachmentSizeValidator` Example Usage: validates :avatar, :attachment_presence => true validates_with AttachmentPresenceValidator, :attributes => :avatar Validators can also be defined using the old helper style: * `validates_attachment_presence` * `validates_attachment_content_type` * `validates_attachment_size` Example Usage: validates_attachment_presence :avatar Lastly, you can also define multiple validations on a single attachment using `validates_attachment`: validates_attachment :avatar, :presence => true, :content_type => { :content_type => "image/jpg" }, :size => { :in => 0..10.kilobytes } Defaults -------- Global defaults for all your paperclip attachments can be defined by changing the Paperclip::Attachment.default_options Hash, this can be useful for setting your default storage settings per example so you won't have to define them in every has_attached_file definition. If you're using Rails you can define a Hash with default options in config/application.rb or in any of the config/environments/*.rb files on config.paperclip_defaults, these well get merged into Paperclip::Attachment.default_options as your Rails app boots. An example: ```ruby module YourApp class Application < Rails::Application # Other code... config.paperclip_defaults = {:storage => :fog, :fog_credentials => {:provider => "Local", :local_root => "#{Rails.root}/public"}, :fog_directory => "", :fog_host => "localhost"} end end ``` Another option is to directly modify the Paperclip::Attachment.default_options Hash, this method works for non-Rails applications or is an option if you prefer to place the Paperclip default settings in an initializer. An example Rails initializer would look something like this: ```ruby Paperclip::Attachment.default_options[:storage] = :fog Paperclip::Attachment.default_options[:fog_credentials] = {:provider => "Local", :local_root => "#{Rails.root}/public"} Paperclip::Attachment.default_options[:fog_directory] = "" Paperclip::Attachment.default_options[:fog_host] = "http://localhost:3000"} ``` Migrations ---------- Paperclip defines several migration methods which can be used to create necessary columns in your model. There are two types of method: ### Table Definition class AddAttachmentToUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration def self.up create_table :users do |t| t.attachment :avatar end end end If you're using Rails 3.2 or newer, this method works in `change` method as well: class AddAttachmentToUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration def change create_table :users do |t| t.attachment :avatar end end end ### Schema Definition class AddAttachmentToUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration def self.up add_attachment :users, :avatar end def self.down remove_attachment :users, :avatar end end If you're using Rails 3.2 or newer, you only need `add_attachment` in your `change` method: class AddAttachmentToUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration def change add_attachment :users, :avatar end end ### Vintage syntax Vintage syntax (such as `t.has_attached_file` and `drop_attaached_file`) are still supported in Paperclip 3.x, but you're advised to update those migration files to use this new syntax. Storage ------- Paperclip ships with 3 storage adapters: * File Storage * S3 Storage (via `aws-sdk`) * Fog Storage If you would like to use Paperclip with another storage, you can install these gems along side with Paperclip: * [Windows Azure](https://github.com/gmontard/paperclip-azure-storage) ### Understanding Storage The files that are assigned as attachments are, by default, placed in the directory specified by the `:path` option to `has_attached_file`. By default, this location is `:rails_root/public/system/:attachment/:id/:style/:filename`. This location was chosen because on standard Capistrano deployments, the `public/system` directory is symlinked to the app's shared directory, meaning it will survive between deployments. For example, using that `:path`, you may have a file at /data/myapp/releases/20081229172410/public/system/user/avatar/000/000/013/small/my_pic.png _**NOTE**: This is a change from previous versions of Paperclip, but is overall a safer choice for the default file store._ You may also choose to store your files using Amazon's S3 service. To do so, include the `aws-sdk` gem in your Gemfile: gem 'aws-sdk', '~> 1.3.4' And then you can specify using S3 from `has_attached_file`. You can find more information about configuring and using S3 storage in [the `Paperclip::Storage::S3` documentation](http://rubydoc.info/gems/paperclip/Paperclip/Storage/S3). Files on the local filesystem (and in the Rails app's public directory) will be available to the internet at large. If you require access control, it's possible to place your files in a different location. You will need to change both the `:path` and `:url` options in order to make sure the files are unavailable to the public. Both `:path` and `:url` allow the same set of interpolated variables. Post Processing --------------- Paperclip supports an extensible selection of post-processors. When you define a set of styles for an attachment, by default it is expected that those "styles" are actually "thumbnails". However, you can do much more than just thumbnail images. By defining a subclass of Paperclip::Processor, you can perform any processing you want on the files that are attached. Any file in your Rails app's lib/paperclip\_processors directory is automatically loaded by paperclip, allowing you to easily define custom processors. You can specify a processor with the :processors option to `has_attached_file`: has_attached_file :scan, :styles => { :text => { :quality => :better } }, :processors => [:ocr] This would load the hypothetical class Paperclip::Ocr, which would have the hash "{ :quality => :better }" passed to it along with the uploaded file. For more information about defining processors, see Paperclip::Processor. The default processor is Paperclip::Thumbnail. For backwards compatibility reasons, you can pass a single geometry string or an array containing a geometry and a format, which the file will be converted to, like so: has_attached_file :avatar, :styles => { :thumb => ["32x32#", :png] } This will convert the "thumb" style to a 32x32 square in png format, regardless of what was uploaded. If the format is not specified, it is kept the same (i.e. jpgs will remain jpgs). For more information on the accepted style formats, see [here](http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-processing.php#geometry). Multiple processors can be specified, and they will be invoked in the order they are defined in the :processors array. Each successive processor will be given the result of the previous processor's execution. All processors will receive the same parameters, which are what you define in the :styles hash. For example, assuming we had this definition: has_attached_file :scan, :styles => { :text => { :quality => :better } }, :processors => [:rotator, :ocr] then both the :rotator processor and the :ocr processor would receive the options "{ :quality => :better }". This parameter may not mean anything to one or more or the processors, and they are expected to ignore it. _NOTE: Because processors operate by turning the original attachment into the styles, no processors will be run if there are no styles defined._ If you're interested in caching your thumbnail's width, height and size in the database, take a look at the [paperclip-meta](https://github.com/y8/paperclip-meta) gem. Also, if you're interested in generating the thumbnail on-the-fly, you might want to look into the [attachment_on_the_fly](https://github.com/drpentode/Attachment-on-the-Fly) gem. Events ------ Before and after the Post Processing step, Paperclip calls back to the model with a few callbacks, allowing the model to change or cancel the processing step. The callbacks are `before_post_process` and `after_post_process` (which are called before and after the processing of each attachment), and the attachment-specific `before__post_process` and `after__post_process`. The callbacks are intended to be as close to normal ActiveRecord callbacks as possible, so if you return false (specifically \- returning nil is not the same) in a `before_filter`, the post processing step will halt. Returning false in an `after_filter` will not halt anything, but you can access the model and the attachment if necessary. _NOTE: Post processing will not even *start* if the attachment is not valid according to the validations. Your callbacks and processors will *only* be called with valid attachments._ class Message < ActiveRecord::Base has_attached_file :asset, styles: {thumb: "100x100#"} before_post_process :skip_for_audio def skip_for_audio ! %w(audio/ogg application/ogg).include?(asset_content_type) end end URI Obfuscation --------------- Paperclip has an interpolation called `:hash` for obfuscating filenames of publicly-available files. Example Usage: has_attached_file :avatar, { :url => "/system/:hash.:extension", :hash_secret => "longSecretString" } The `:hash` interpolation will be replaced with a unique hash made up of whatever is specified in `:hash_data`. The default value for `:hash_data` is `":class/:attachment/:id/:style/:updated_at"`. `:hash_secret` is required, an exception will be raised if `:hash` is used without `:hash_secret` present. For more on this feature read the author's own explanation. [https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip/pull/416](https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip/pull/416) MD5 Checksum / Fingerprint ------- A MD5 checksum of the original file assigned will be placed in the model if it has an attribute named fingerprint. Following the user model migration example above, the migration would look like the following. class AddAvatarFingerprintColumnToUser < ActiveRecord::Migration def self.up add_column :users, :avatar_fingerprint, :string end def self.down remove_column :users, :avatar_fingerprint end end Custom Attachment Processors ------- Custom attachment processors can be implemented and their only requirement is to inherit from `Paperclip::Processor` (see `lib/paperclip/processor.rb`). For example, when `:styles` are specified for an image attachment, the thumbnail processor (see `lib/paperclip/thumbnail.rb`) is loaded without having to specify it as a `:processor` parameter to `has_attached_file`. When any other processor is defined it must be called out in the `:processors` parameter if it is to be applied to the attachment. The thumbnail processor uses the imagemagick `convert` command to do the work of resizing image thumbnails. It would be easy to create a custom processor that watermarks an image using imagemagick's `composite` command. Following the implementation pattern of the thumbnail processor would be a way to implement a watermark processor. All kinds of attachment processors can be created; a few utility examples would be compression and encryption processors. Dynamic Configuration --------------------- Callable objects (lambdas, Procs) can be used in a number of places for dynamic configuration throughout Paperclip. This strategy exists in a number of components of the library but is most significant in the possibilities for allowing custom styles and processors to be applied for specific model instances, rather than applying defined styles and processors across all instances. Dynamic Styles: Imagine a user model that had different styles based on the role of the user. Perhaps some users are bosses (e.g. a User model instance responds to #boss?) and merit a bigger avatar thumbnail than regular users. The configuration to determine what style parameters are to be used based on the user role might look as follows where a boss will receive a `300x300` thumbnail otherwise a `100x100` thumbnail will be created. class User < ActiveRecord::Base has_attached_file :avatar, :styles => lambda { |attachment| { :thumb => (attachment.instance.boss? ? "300x300>" : "100x100>") } end Dynamic Processors: Another contrived example is a user model that is aware of which file processors should be applied to it (beyond the implied `thumbnail` processor invoked when `:styles` are defined). Perhaps we have a watermark processor available and it is only used on the avatars of certain models. The configuration for this might be where the instance is queried for which processors should be applied to it. Presumably some users might return `[:thumbnail, :watermark]` for its processors, where a defined `watermark` processor is invoked after the `thumbnail` processor already defined by Paperclip. class User < ActiveRecord::Base has_attached_file :avatar, :processors => lambda { |instance| instance.processors } attr_accessor :watermark end Deployment ---------- Paperclip is aware of new attachment styles you have added in previous deploys. The only thing you should do after each deployment is to call `rake paperclip:refresh:missing_styles`. It will store current attachment styles in `RAILS_ROOT/public/system/paperclip_attachments.yml` by default. You can change it by: Paperclip.registered_attachments_styles_path = '/tmp/config/paperclip_attachments.yml' Here is an example for Capistrano: namespace :deploy do desc "build missing paperclip styles" task :build_missing_paperclip_styles, :roles => :app do run "cd #{release_path}; RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rake paperclip:refresh:missing_styles" end end after("deploy:update_code", "deploy:build_missing_paperclip_styles") Now you don't have to remember to refresh thumbnails in production every time you add a new style. Unfortunately it does not work with dynamic styles - it just ignores them. If you already have a working app and don't want `rake paperclip:refresh:missing_styles` to refresh old pictures, you need to tell Paperclip about existing styles. Simply create a `paperclip_attachments.yml` file by hand. For example: class User < ActiveRecord::Base has_attached_file :avatar, :styles => {:thumb => 'x100', :croppable => '600x600>', :big => '1000x1000>'} end class Book < ActiveRecord::Base has_attached_file :cover, :styles => {:small => 'x100', :large => '1000x1000>'} has_attached_file :sample, :styles => {:thumb => 'x100'} end Then in `RAILS_ROOT/public/system/paperclip_attachments.yml`: --- :User: :avatar: - :thumb - :croppable - :big :Book: :cover: - :small - :large :sample: - :thumb Testing ------- Paperclip provides rspec-compatible matchers for testing attachments. See the documentation on [Paperclip::Shoulda::Matchers](http://rubydoc.info/gems/paperclip/Paperclip/Shoulda/Matchers) for more information. Contributing ------------ If you'd like to contribute a feature or bugfix: Thanks! To make sure your fix/feature has a high chance of being included, please read the following guidelines: 1. Ask on the [mailing list](http://groups.google.com/group/paperclip-plugin), or post a new [GitHub Issue](http://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip/issues). 2. Make sure there are tests! We will not accept any patch that is not tested. It's a rare time when explicit tests aren't needed. If you have questions about writing tests for paperclip, please ask the mailing list. Please see `CONTRIBUTING.md` for more details on contributing and running test. Credits ------- ![thoughtbot](http://thoughtbot.com/images/tm/logo.png) Paperclip is maintained and funded by [thoughtbot, inc](http://thoughtbot.com/community) Thank you to all [the contributors](https://github.com/thoughtbot/paperclip/contributors)! The names and logos for thoughtbot are trademarks of thoughtbot, inc. License ------- Paperclip is Copyright © 2008-2011 thoughtbot. It is free software, and may be redistributed under the terms specified in the MIT-LICENSE file.