# Script/console and session

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/script-console-and-session/119447>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [November 7, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/script-console-and-session/119447 "2007-11-07T02:03:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![salj](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@salj](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/salj)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/script-console-and-session/119447/1 "2007-11-07T02:03:03Z")

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I am trying to debug my application using ruby script/console. Once I  
am in the console, I type session[:user\_id] and I get and undefined  
local variable error. If I use a view to post the session[:user\_id], I  
get no error. Any idea why this is happening. Help is greatly  
appreciated.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![salj](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@salj](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/salj)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/script-console-and-session/119447/2 "2007-11-07T12:25:21Z")

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you can use session only in your views and controllers.  
since a session is basically a hash that holds a value, for example  
your session[:user\_id] = some integer.

So in rails console, you can simply pass a value that you method  
expects.  
lets say you have a method called find\_user\_data(session[:user\_id)  
that expects a session[:user\_id]

in the console, instead of calling it like  
find\_user\_data(session[:user\_id) you can simply call this as  
find\_user\_data(1)