Introducing content_flagging: Effortless Content Moderation for Rails Apps 🚀

#ruby #rails #webdev #contentmoderation

As developers, we love building platforms where users can share ideas, post content, and engage with each other. But with user-generated content comes the challenge of moderation. How do you keep your app safe and welcoming without spending hours building complex moderation systems? Enter content_flagging, a Ruby gem I recently released to make content moderation in Rails apps a breeze. 🎯

In this post, I’ll walk you through what content_flagging does, why it’s a game-changer for Rails developers, and how you can add it to your app in just a few minutes.

What is content_flagging?

content_flagging is a lightweight Ruby gem designed to add automatic content moderation to your Rails application through community-driven flagging. With just one line of code—acts_as_flaggable—you can enable users to flag inappropriate content, and the gem will automatically hide it once it reaches a configurable threshold. Think of it as acts_as_paranoid for flagged content: clean, simple, and powerful.

Whether you’re building a blog, forum, or social platform, content_flagging ensures your app stays user-friendly and safe without requiring a full-blown moderation system.

Why Choose content_flagging?

Here’s what makes content_flagging stand out:

Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with sensible defaults. Just add acts_as_flaggable to your model, and you’re good to go! 🎯
Performance: Built with efficient queries and proper indexing for speed, even with large datasets. ⚡
Thread-Safe: Database-level counters prevent race conditions, ensuring reliability in high-traffic apps. 🔒
Flexible: Flag anything—posts, comments, users, or any model you want. 🎨
User-Driven: Empowers your community to flag inappropriate content, reducing admin workload. 👥
Admin-Friendly: Comes with scopes and tools for easy oversight and management. 🛡️

Getting Started in 3 Simple Steps

Adding content_flagging to your Rails app takes less than five minutes. Here’s how:

1. Add to Your Gemfile

# Gemfile
gem 'content_flagging'

2. Install and Migrate

Run these commands to set up the gem and database tables:

rails generate content_flagging:install
rails db:migrate

3. Add to Your Model

Add one line to the model you want to moderate (e.g., Post):

class Post < ApplicationRecord
  acts_as_flaggable  # That’s it!
end

See It in Action

Let’s take it for a spin in the Rails console:

> post = Post.create(title: "Controversial Content")
=> #<Post id: 1, title: "Controversial Content">

> post.flag!(flagged_by: user1)
=> Flag 1/3

> post.flag!(flagged_by: user2)
=> Flag 2/3

> post.flag!(flagged_by: user3)
=> 💥 BOOM! Post HIDDEN from Post.all

Once the post hits the default threshold (3 flags), it’s automatically hidden from Post.all. You can still access it using the Post.with_flagged scope for admin review or use Post.flagged to see only flagged content.

Want to try it yourself? Check out the interactive demo on the content_flagging website.

API Highlights

content_flagging provides a clean and intuitive API:

Instance Methods

flag!(flagged_by: user): Flag content.
unflag!(flagged_by: user): Remove a flag.
flagged?: Check if content is flagged.
flag_count: Get the number of flags.
flagged_at: See when the content was first flagged.

Scopes

Model.all: Returns only non-flagged content (default).
Model.with_flagged: Includes all content, flagged or not.
Model.flagged: Shows only flagged content.
Model.not_flagged: Explicitly returns non-flagged content.

Why I Built content_flagging

As a Rails developer, I’ve worked on projects where user-generated content needed moderation, but building a custom system was time-consuming and error-prone. I wanted a solution that was dead simple to integrate, performant, and flexible enough for any app. That’s why I created content_flagging—to empower developers to focus on building great features while keeping their platforms safe.