Getting started

Overview

A model-bound form builder for Phlex — one call per field, types inferred from the model, forms as first-class classes.

What it is#

phlex-forms gives Phlex apps a form builder that actually leans into Phlex. field :email renders a label, an input, and an error (or hint) in one call — the input type, the required flag, and even the choices are inferred from the bound model. Every field is a thin binding layer over a real daisyUI component, and a theme seam swaps the whole look for bare semantic HTML when a project doesn't use daisyUI at all.

The three pillars#

The model already knows. A boolean column renders a toggle, an ActiveRecord enum a humanized select, a belongs_to a collection select over the association, a text column a textarea, an attachment a file input. as: and choices: are overrides, not requirements — see Type inference.

Forms are classes. Phlex's whole thesis is views-as-objects, so forms shouldn't be anonymous blocks with f. on every line. Subclass Forms::Base, declare fields where self is the form, render it anywhere — see Form classes.

Validation without a mirror. With phlex-reactive installed, live model: User runs your real ActiveModel validators server-side on blur — uniqueness, :if/:unless, confirmation — and morphs the errors back in with focus preserved. No duplicated validation logic, no second message catalog — see Live validation.

A taste#

app/forms/user_form.rb

class UserForm < Forms::Base
  live model: User                 # real validators, live, focus preserved

  def fields                       # self IS the form — no f. prefix
    field :email                   # name → type=email, required inferred
    field :role                    # AR enum → select, humanized
    field :country                 # belongs_to → select over the association
    field :notify                  # boolean column → toggle
    field :bio                     # text column → textarea
    row do
      field :first_name
      field :last_name
    end
    submit :primary
  end
end

app/views/users/new.rb

render UserForm.new(model: @user)

For one-offs, the inline builder does the same with a yielded form:

Form(model: @user) do |f|
  f.field :email, hint: "We never spam."
  f.field :bio
  f.submit :primary
end

Where next#

Installation — the gem and its two optional companions.
Quick start — from a model to a live-validating form.
The field API — every option on the primary verb.
Theming — daisyUI by default, plain semantic HTML on demand.