ActsAsArchive

Don't delete your records, move them to a different table.

Like acts_as_paranoid, but doesn't mess with your SQL queries.

sudo gem install acts_as_archive

environment.rb:

config.gem 'acts_as_archive'

Add acts_as_archive to your models:

class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
  acts_as_archive
end

Add this line to a migration:

ActsAsArchive.update Article, Comment

Replace Article, Comment with your own models that use acts_as_archive.

Archive tables mirror your table's structure, but with an additional deleted_at column.

There is an alternate way to create archive tables if you don't like migrations.

Use destroy, delete, and delete_all like you normally would.

Records move into the archive table instead of being destroyed.

New migrations are automatically applied to the archive table.

No action is necessary on your part.

Add ::Archive to your ActiveRecord class:

Article::Archive.find(:first)

Use restore_all to copy archived records back to your table:

Article.restore_all([ 'id = ?', 1 ])

If you previously used acts_as_paranoid, the ActsAsArchive.update call will automatically move your deleted records to the archive table (see Create archive tables).

Original deleted_at values are preserved.

To keep insertions fast, there are no indexes on your archive table by default.

If you are querying your archive a lot, you will want to add indexes:

class Article < ActiveRecord::Base
  acts_as_archive :indexes => [ :id, [:subject_id, :subject_type], :created_at, :deleted_at ]
end

Call ActsAsArchive.update upon adding new indexes (see Create archive tables).

To destroy a record without archiving:

article.destroy!

To delete multiple records without archiving:

Article.delete_all!(["id in (?)", [1,2,3]])