Error "undefined method 'where' for" error on ActiveModel based resource

[jrsimmons-trevipay]

We just tried moving from v0.9.12 to v0.10.7 (and even tried with lower 10.x versions) and now our ActiveModel based models no longer work via resources. We now get a Internal Server Error: undefined method 'where' for error. Not sure what to do. Any help is greatly appreciated.

2025-02-24 20:22:55.712035 E [16:puma srv tp 004 acts_as_resource_controller.rb:289] {uuid: 0f40c8d0c138f0444cf4be9f7a8ec7ae} Rails -- Internal Server Error: undefined method `where' for AuthorizeV2:Class /app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/active_relation_resource.rb:877:in `apply_filter'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/active_relation_resource.rb:846:in `block in apply_filters'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/active_relation_resource.rb:845:in `each'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/active_relation_resource.rb:845:in `apply_filters'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/active_relation_resource.rb:777:in `filter_records'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/active_relation_resource.rb:707:in `apply_request_settings_to_records'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/active_relation_resource.rb:107:in `find_fragments'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/processor.rb:412:in `find_resource_id_tree'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/processor.rb:372:in `find_resource_set'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/processor.rb:245:in `create_resource'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/processor.rb:34:in `block (2 levels) in process'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/callbacks.rb:107:in `run_callbacks'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/processor.rb:33:in `block in process'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/callbacks.rb:99:in `run_callbacks'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/processor.rb:32:in `process'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/operation.rb:12:in `process'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:140:in `process_operation'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:110:in `block (3 levels) in process_request'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/request_parser.rb:32:in `each'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:97:in `block (2 levels) in process_request'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/callbacks.rb:99:in `run_callbacks'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:96:in `block in process_request'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:127:in `block (2 levels) in process_operations'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activerecord-7.0.8.7/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/transaction.rb:319:in `block in within_new_transaction'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/concurrency/load_interlock_aware_monitor.rb:25:in `handle_interrupt'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/concurrency/load_interlock_aware_monitor.rb:25:in `block in synchronize'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/concurrency/load_interlock_aware_monitor.rb:21:in `handle_interrupt'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/concurrency/load_interlock_aware_monitor.rb:21:in `synchronize'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activerecord-7.0.8.7/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/transaction.rb:317:in `within_new_transaction'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activerecord-7.0.8.7/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/abstract/database_statements.rb:316:in `transaction'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activerecord-7.0.8.7/lib/active_record/transactions.rb:209:in `transaction'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:126:in `block in process_operations'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/callbacks.rb:99:in `run_callbacks'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:125:in `process_operations'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:95:in `process_request'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/jsonapi-resources-0.10.7/lib/jsonapi/acts_as_resource_controller.rb:31:in `create'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/actionpack-7.0.8.7/lib/action_controller/metal/basic_implicit_render.rb:6:in `send_action'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/actionpack-7.0.8.7/lib/abstract_controller/base.rb:215:in `process_action'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/actionpack-7.0.8.7/lib/action_controller/metal/rendering.rb:165:in `process_action'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/actionpack-7.0.8.7/lib/abstract_controller/callbacks.rb:234:in `block in process_action'
/app/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.2.0/gems/activesupport-7.0.8.7/lib/active_support/callbacks.rb:118:in `block in run_callbacks'

resource:

class AuthorizeResource < JSONAPI::Resource
  model_name 'AuthorizeV2'
  model_hint model: AuthorizeV2, resource: :authorize

  attributes [LIST OF ATTRIBUTES]

end

model:

class AuthorizeV2
  include ActiveModel::Model

  attr_accessor [LIST OF ATTRIBUTES]
end

[takaokouji]

We've investigated this issue and added comprehensive tests to document the correct approach.

Root cause: The default JSONAPI::Resource inherits from ActiveRelationResource, which expects ActiveRecord query methods (where, order, etc.). ActiveModel::Model doesn't provide these methods.

Solution: Use JSONAPI::BasicResource for non-ActiveRecord models:

class AuthorizeResource < JSONAPI::BasicResource
  model_name 'AuthorizeV2'
  model_hint model: AuthorizeV2, resource: :authorize
  
  attributes [YOUR_ATTRIBUTES]
  
  # Override these methods for custom data access
  def self.find_by_key(key, options = {})
    # Your implementation
  end
  
  def self.find_fragments(filters, options = {})
    # Your implementation
  end
end

Tests and documentation: speee#20

BasicResource is designed for non-ActiveRecord models and doesn't assume database query methods. Hope this helps!

[jrsimmons-trevipay]

Thank you! That makes sense now. Wasn't aware of JSONAPI::BasicResource, so the new documentation should help. We ended up just using jsonapi-serializer.