# How to log in from console? **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [December 16, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770 "2008-12-16T16:25:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/1 "2008-12-16T16:25:18Z")
I am attempting to investigate the object state during a login process. I need instruction in the correct technique to emulate filling out an html form and submitting it within the rails console. Given a login form at /user\_session/new with fields :username and :password and a submit button. $ script/console … > > app.new\_user\_session\_path > > =\> “/user\_session/new” > > > @params = { :password =\> ‘mypassword’, :username =\> ‘myuser’ } > > =\> {:password=\>“mypassword”, :username=\>“myuser”} Now, how do I submit this to the create action of the user\_sessions\_controller? ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/2 "2008-12-16T17:57:59Z")
It will be easier to debug your app to find out the internal behavior of your objects. > **[DATANOISE.COM](https://www.datanoise.com/)** > > DATANOISE.COM - Contact us for any business inquiries Daniel On Dec 16, 10:25 am, James B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/3 "2008-12-16T18:43:55Z")
Daniel wrote: > It will be easier to debug your app to find out the internal behavior > of your objects. > > [http://www.datanoise.com/ruby-debug](http://www.datanoise.com/ruby-debug) > > Daniel Perhaps. But I would still like to know how to get this to work through the console. I have found a few leads on the web, such as : [http://snippets.dzone.com/posts/show/600](http://snippets.dzone.com/posts/show/600). But, I am afraid that this example does not make a lot of sense to me and appears at first blush to be a bit overwrought. I think that my main problem at this point is my lack of familiarity with some basic Ruby syntax pertaining to hashes or how to construct an http request with form data. If I do this: $ script/console > > app.new\_user\_session\_path > > =\> "/user\_session/new That seems correct. Next I need to fill in the form params which are nested in a hash called user\_session. This is where I believe that I am going off the rails (pardon the pun). The user\_session hash is accessed in the create method of the user\_sessions\_controller thus: @user\_session = UserSession.new(params[:user\_session]) :user\_session contains three elements, :password, :username, and :remember\_me. So I tried this: > > @params = { :user\_session =\> { :password =\> ‘mypass’, :username =\> ‘myname’, :remember\_me =\> ‘0’ } } > > =\> {:user\_session=\>{:remember\_me=\>“0”, :password=\>“mypass”, > > :username=\>“myname”}} Which also seem ok to me, given I believe that it is @params that I use to pass the form data back. If I misapprehend that, admittedly a strong possibility, then the failure that follows is expected. Then I do this: > > app.post app.user\_session\_path > > ==\> 200 But, the response code only refers to the re-rendered input page which has these errors: > > app.response > > =\> … ## 2 errors prohibited this user session from being saved There were problems with the following fields: - Username can not be blank - Password can not be blank ... Evidently I am not getting the form data to the controller. So, if some kind soul would care to demonstrate to me how this is accomplished within the console then I will be most grateful. Regards, ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/4 "2008-12-16T18:53:19Z")
James B. wrote: > Evidently I am not getting the form data to the controller. So, if some > kind soul would care to demonstrate to me how this is accomplished > within the console then I will be most grateful. I figured it out. $ script/console > > app.new\_user\_session\_path > > =\> “/user\_session/new” > > > @params = { :user\_session =\> { :password =\> ‘mypass’, :username =\> ‘myname’, :remember\_me =\> ‘0’ } } > > =\> {:user\_session=\>{:remember\_me=\>“0”, :password=\>“mypass”, > > :username=\>“myname”} > > > app.post app.user\_session\_path @params > > =\> 200 Ta Daa… we’re in. ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/5 "2008-12-16T18:55:16Z")
James B. wrote: s/b > > > app.post app.user\_session\_path @params > > > =\> 302 Got to watch where I am snipping from… ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/6 "2008-12-16T19:15:23Z")
On Dec 16, 2008, at 11:43 AM, James B. wrote: > Perhaps. But I would still like to know how to get this to work > through > the console. I have found a few leads on the web, such as : > [http://snippets.dzone.com/posts/show/600](http://snippets.dzone.com/posts/show/600). But, I am afraid that this > example does not make a lot of sense to me and appears at first > blush to > be a bit overwrought. I think you’d be better off creating a second way to log in where you can simply pass normal parameters from the console. ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/7 "2008-12-16T19:21:11Z")
Steven Budrys wrote: > I think you’d be better off creating a second way to log in where you > can simply pass normal parameters from the console. However, that was my problem to begin with, not knowing how to pass parameters from the console. ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/8 "2008-12-16T19:55:16Z")
On Dec 16, 2008, at 12:21 PM, James B. wrote: > Steven Budrys wrote: > > > I think you’d be better off creating a second way to log in where you > > can simply pass normal parameters from the console. > > However, that was my problem to begin with, not knowing how to pass > parameters from the console. Sorry, I should have been more clear. I meant create a new method that took parameters so that you could call it simply by something like MyController.console\_login(name, password) ---
**Author:** ![byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@byrnejb](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/byrnejb)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/how-to-log-in-from-console/155770/9 "2008-12-17T13:58:38Z")
James, You can use Mechanize for this sort of things: [http://github.com/tenderlove/mechanize/tree/master](http://github.com/tenderlove/mechanize/tree/master) Cheers, Sazima On Dec 16, 1:25 pm, James B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)