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Sinatra

Gem Version Testing

Sinatra is aDSLfor quickly creating web applications in Ruby with minimal effort:

# myapp.rb
require'sinatra'

get'/'do
'Hello world!'
end

Install the gems needed:

gem install sinatra
gem install rackup
gem install puma#or any other server (optional step)

And run with:

ruby myapp.rb

View at:http://localhost:4567

The code you changed will not take effect until you restart the server. Please restart the server every time you change or use a code reloader likererunor rack-unreloader.

It is recommended to also rungem install puma,which Sinatra will pick up if available.

Table of Contents

Routes

In Sinatra, a route is an HTTP method paired with a URL-matching pattern. Each route is associated with a block:

get'/'do
..showsomething..
end

post'/'do
..createsomething..
end

put'/'do
..replacesomething..
end

patch'/'do
..modifysomething..
end

delete'/'do
..annihilatesomething..
end

options'/'do
..appeasesomething..
end

link'/'do
..affiliatesomething..
end

unlink'/'do
..separatesomething..
end

Routes are matched in the order they are defined. The first route that matches the request is invoked.

Routes with trailing slashes are different from the ones without:

get'/foo'do
# Does not match "GET /foo/"
end

Route patterns may include named parameters, accessible via the paramshash:

get'/hello/:name'do
# matches "GET /hello/foo" and "GET /hello/bar"
# params['name'] is 'foo' or 'bar'
"Hello#{params['name']}!"
end

You can also access named parameters via block parameters:

get'/hello/:name'do|n|
# matches "GET /hello/foo" and "GET /hello/bar"
# params['name'] is 'foo' or 'bar'
# n stores params['name']
"Hello#{n}!"
end

Route patterns may also include splat (or wildcard) parameters, accessible via theparams['splat']array:

get'/say/*/to/*'do
# matches /say/hello/to/world
params['splat']# => [ "hello", "world" ]
end

get'/download/*.*'do
# matches /download/path/to/file.xml
params['splat']# => [ "path/to/file", "xml" ]
end

Or with block parameters:

get'/download/*.*'do|path,ext|
[path,ext]# => [ "path/to/file", "xml" ]
end

Route matching with Regular Expressions:

get/\/hello\/([\w]+)/do
"Hello,#{params['captures'].first}!"
end

Or with a block parameter:

get%r{/hello/([\w]+)}do|c|
# Matches "GET /meta/hello/world", "GET /hello/world/1234" etc.
"Hello,#{c}!"
end

Route patterns may have optional parameters:

get'/posts/:format?'do
# matches "GET /posts/" and any extension "GET /posts/json", "GET /posts/xml" etc
end

Routes may also utilize query parameters:

get'/posts'do
# matches "GET /posts?title=foo&author=bar"
title=params['title']
author=params['author']
# uses title and author variables; query is optional to the /posts route
end

By the way, unless you disable the path traversal attack protection (see below), the request path might be modified before matching against your routes.

You may customize theMustermann options used for a given route by passing in a:mustermann_optshash:

get'\A/posts\z',:mustermann_opts=>{:type=>:regexp,:check_anchors=>false}do
# matches /posts exactly, with explicit anchoring
"If you match an anchored pattern clap your hands!"
end

It looks like acondition,but it isn't one! These options will be merged into the global:mustermann_optshash described below.

Conditions

Routes may include a variety of matching conditions, such as the user agent:

get'/foo',:agent=>/Songbird (\d\.\d)[\d\/]*?/do
"You're using Songbird version#{params['agent'][0]}"
end

get'/foo'do
# Matches non-songbird browsers
end

Other available conditions arehost_nameandprovides:

get'/',:host_name=>/^admin\./do
"Admin Area, Access denied!"
end

get'/',:provides=>'html'do
haml:index
end

get'/',:provides=>['rss','atom','xml']do
builder:feed
end

providessearches the request's Accept header.

You can easily define your own conditions:

set(:probability){|value|condition{rand<=value}}

get'/win_a_car',:probability=>0.1do
"You won!"
end

get'/win_a_car'do
"Sorry, you lost."
end

For a condition that takes multiple values use a splat:

set(:auth)do|*roles|# <- notice the splat here
conditiondo
unlesslogged_in?&&roles.any?{|role|current_user.in_role?role}
redirect"/login/",303
end
end
end

get"/my/account/",:auth=>[:user,:admin]do
"Your Account Details"
end

get"/only/admin/",:auth=>:admindo
"Only admins are allowed here!"
end

Return Values

The return value of a route block determines at least the response body passed on to the HTTP client or at least the next middleware in the Rack stack. Most commonly, this is a string, as in the above examples. But other values are also accepted.

You can return an object that would either be a valid Rack response, Rack body object or HTTP status code:

  • An Array with three elements:[status (Integer), headers (Hash), response body (responds to #each)]
  • An Array with two elements:[status (Integer), response body (responds to #each)]
  • An object that responds to#eachand passes nothing but strings to the given block
  • A Integer representing the status code

That way we can, for instance, easily implement a streaming example:

classStream
defeach
100.times{|i|yield"#{i}\n"}
end
end

get('/'){Stream.new}

You can also use thestreamhelper method (described below) to reduce boilerplate and embed the streaming logic in the route.

Custom Route Matchers

As shown above, Sinatra ships with built-in support for using String patterns and regular expressions as route matches. However, it does not stop there. You can easily define your own matchers:

classAllButPattern
definitialize(except)
@except=except
end

defto_pattern(options)
returnself
end

defparams(route)
return{}unless@except===route
end
end

defall_but(pattern)
AllButPattern.new(pattern)
end

getall_but("/index")do
#...
end

Note that the above example might be over-engineered, as it can also be expressed as:

get/.*/do
passifrequest.path_info=="/index"
#...
end

Static Files

Static files are served from the./publicdirectory. You can specify a different location by setting the:public_folderoption:

set:public_folder,__dir__+'/static'

Note that the public directory name is not included in the URL. A file ./public/css/style.cssis made available as http://example.com/css/style.css.

Use the:static_cache_controlsetting (seebelow) to add Cache-Controlheader info.

Views / Templates

Each template language is exposed via its own rendering method. These methods simply return a string:

get'/'do
erb:index
end

This rendersviews/index.erb.

Instead of a template name, you can also just pass in the template content directly:

get'/'do
code="<%= Time.now %>"
erbcode
end

Templates take a second argument, the options hash:

get'/'do
erb:index,:layout=>:post
end

This will renderviews/index.erbembedded in the views/post.erb(default isviews/layout.erb,if it exists).

Any options not understood by Sinatra will be passed on to the template engine:

get'/'do
haml:index,:format=>:html5
end

You can also set options per template language in general:

set:haml,:format=>:html5

get'/'do
haml:index
end

Options passed to the render method override options set viaset.

Available Options:

locals
List of locals passed to the document. Handy with partials. Example:erb "<%= foo %>",:locals => {:foo => "bar" }
default_encoding
String encoding to use if uncertain. Defaults to settings.default_encoding.
views
Views folder to load templates from. Defaults tosettings.views.
layout
Whether to use a layout (trueorfalse). If it's a Symbol, specifies what template to use. Example: erb:index,:layout =>!request.xhr?
content_type
Content-Type the template produces. Default depends on template language.
scope
Scope to render template under. Defaults to the application instance. If you change this, instance variables and helper methods will not be available.
layout_engine
Template engine to use for rendering the layout. Useful for languages that do not support layouts otherwise. Defaults to the engine used for the template. Example:set:rdoc,:layout_engine =>:erb
layout_options
Special options only used for rendering the layout. Example: set:rdoc,:layout_options => {:views => 'views/layouts' }

Templates are assumed to be located directly under the./views directory. To use a different views directory:

set:views,settings.root+'/templates'

One important thing to remember is that you always have to reference templates with symbols, even if they're in a subdirectory (in this case, use::'subdir/template'or'subdir/template'.to_sym). You must use a symbol because otherwise rendering methods will render any strings passed to them directly.

Literal Templates

get'/'do
haml'%div.title Hello World'
end

Renders the template string. You can optionally specify:pathand :linefor a clearer backtrace if there is a filesystem path or line associated with that string:

get'/'do
haml'%div.title Hello World',:path=>'examples/file.haml',:line=>3
end

Available Template Languages

Some languages have multiple implementations. To specify what implementation to use (and to be thread-safe), you should simply require it first:

require'rdiscount'
get('/'){markdown:index}

Haml Templates

Dependency haml
File Extension .haml
Example haml:index,:format =>:html5

Erb Templates

Dependency erubi or erb (included in Ruby)
File Extensions .erb,.rhtmlor.erubi(Erubi only)
Example erb:index

Builder Templates

Dependency builder
File Extension .builder
Example builder { |xml| xml.em "hi" }

It also takes a block for inline templates (seeexample).

Nokogiri Templates

Dependency nokogiri
File Extension .nokogiri
Example nokogiri { |xml| xml.em "hi" }

It also takes a block for inline templates (seeexample).

Sass Templates

Dependency sass-embedded
File Extension .sass
Example sass:stylesheet,:style =>:expanded

Scss Templates

Dependency sass-embedded
File Extension .scss
Example scss:stylesheet,:style =>:expanded

Liquid Templates

Dependency liquid
File Extension .liquid
Example liquid:index,:locals => {:key => 'value' }

Since you cannot call Ruby methods (except foryield) from a Liquid template, you almost always want to pass locals to it.

Markdown Templates

Dependency Anyone of: RDiscount, RedCarpet, kramdown, commonmarker pandoc
File Extensions .markdown,.mkdand.md
Example markdown:index,:layout_engine =>:erb

It is not possible to call methods from Markdown, nor to pass locals to it. You therefore will usually use it in combination with another rendering engine:

erb:overview,:locals=>{:text=>markdown(:introduction)}

Note that you may also call themarkdownmethod from within other templates:

%h1HelloFromHaml!
%p=markdown(:greetings)

Since you cannot call Ruby from Markdown, you cannot use layouts written in Markdown. However, it is possible to use another rendering engine for the template than for the layout by passing the:layout_engineoption.

RDoc Templates

Dependency RDoc
File Extension .rdoc
Example rdoc:README,:layout_engine =>:erb

It is not possible to call methods from RDoc, nor to pass locals to it. You therefore will usually use it in combination with another rendering engine:

erb:overview,:locals=>{:text=>rdoc(:introduction)}

Note that you may also call therdocmethod from within other templates:

%h1HelloFromHaml!
%p=rdoc(:greetings)

Since you cannot call Ruby from RDoc, you cannot use layouts written in RDoc. However, it is possible to use another rendering engine for the template than for the layout by passing the:layout_engineoption.

AsciiDoc Templates

Dependency Asciidoctor
File Extension .asciidoc,.adocand.ad
Example asciidoc:README,:layout_engine =>:erb

Since you cannot call Ruby methods directly from an AsciiDoc template, you almost always want to pass locals to it.

Markaby Templates

Dependency Markaby
File Extension .mab
Example markaby { h1 "Welcome!" }

It also takes a block for inline templates (seeexample).

RABL Templates

Dependency Rabl
File Extension .rabl
Example rabl:index

Slim Templates

Dependency Slim Lang
File Extension .slim
Example slim:index

Yajl Templates

Dependency yajl-ruby
File Extension .yajl
Example yajl:index, :locals => {:key => 'qux' }, :callback => 'present', :variable => 'resource'

The template source is evaluated as a Ruby string, and the resulting json variable is converted using#to_json:

json={:foo=>'bar'}
json[:baz]=key

The:callbackand:variableoptions can be used to decorate the rendered object:

varresource={"foo":"bar","baz":"qux"};
present(resource);

Accessing Variables in Templates

Templates are evaluated within the same context as route handlers. Instance variables set in route handlers are directly accessible by templates:

get'/:id'do
@foo=Foo.find(params['id'])
haml'%h1= @foo.name'
end

Or, specify an explicit Hash of local variables:

get'/:id'do
foo=Foo.find(params['id'])
haml'%h1= bar.name',:locals=>{:bar=>foo}
end

This is typically used when rendering templates as partials from within other templates.

Templates withyieldand nested layouts

A layout is usually just a template that callsyield. Such a template can be used either through the:templateoption as described above, or it can be rendered with a block as follows:

erb:post,:layout=>falsedo
erb:index
end

This code is mostly equivalent toerb:index,:layout =>:post.

Passing blocks to rendering methods is most useful for creating nested layouts:

erb:main_layout,:layout=>falsedo
erb:admin_layoutdo
erb:user
end
end

This can also be done in fewer lines of code with:

erb:admin_layout,:layout=>:main_layoutdo
erb:user
end

Currently, the following rendering methods accept a block:erb,haml, liquid,slim.Also, the generalrendermethod accepts a block.

Inline Templates

Templates may be defined at the end of the source file:

require'sinatra'

get'/'do
haml:index
end

__END__

@@ layout
%html
!= yield

@@ index
%div.title Hello world.

NOTE: Inline templates defined in the source file that requires Sinatra are automatically loaded. Callenable:inline_templatesexplicitly if you have inline templates in other source files.

Named Templates

Templates may also be defined using the top-leveltemplatemethod:

template:layoutdo
"%html\n=yield\n"
end

template:indexdo
'%div.title Hello World!'
end

get'/'do
haml:index
end

If a template named "layout" exists, it will be used each time a template is rendered. You can individually disable layouts by passing :layout => falseor disable them by default via set:haml,:layout => false:

get'/'do
haml:index,:layout=>!request.xhr?
end

Associating File Extensions

To associate a file extension with a template engine, use Tilt.register.For instance, if you like to use the file extension ttfor Haml templates, you can do the following:

Tilt.registerTilt[:haml],:tt

Adding Your Own Template Engine

First, register your engine with Tilt, then create a rendering method:

Tilt.registerMyAwesomeTemplateEngine,:myat

helpersdo
defmyat(*args)render(:myat,*args)end
end

get'/'do
myat:index
end

Renders./views/index.myat.Learn more about Tilt.

Using Custom Logic for Template Lookup

To implement your own template lookup mechanism you can write your own#find_templatemethod:

configuredo
set:views,['./views/a','./views/b']
end

deffind_template(views,name,engine,&block)
Array(views).eachdo|v|
super(v,name,engine,&block)
end
end

Filters

Before filters are evaluated before each request within the same context as the routes will be and can modify the request and response. Instance variables set in filters are accessible by routes and templates:

beforedo
@note='Hi!'
request.path_info='/foo/bar/baz'
end

get'/foo/*'do
@note#=> 'Hi!'
params['splat']#=> 'bar/baz'
end

After filters are evaluated after each request within the same context as the routes will be and can also modify the request and response. Instance variables set in before filters and routes are accessible by after filters:

afterdo
putsresponse.status
end

Note: Unless you use thebodymethod rather than just returning a String from the routes, the body will not yet be available in the after filter, since it is generated later on.

Filters optionally take a pattern, causing them to be evaluated only if the request path matches that pattern:

before'/protected/*'do
authenticate!
end

after'/create/:slug'do|slug|
session[:last_slug]=slug
end

Like routes, filters also take conditions:

before:agent=>/Songbird/do
#...
end

after'/blog/*',:host_name=>'example.com'do
#...
end

Helpers

Use the top-levelhelpersmethod to define helper methods for use in route handlers and templates:

helpersdo
defbar(name)
"#{name}bar "
end
end

get'/:name'do
bar(params['name'])
end

Alternatively, helper methods can be separately defined in a module:

moduleFooUtils
deffoo(name)"#{name}foo "end
end

moduleBarUtils
defbar(name)"#{name}bar "end
end

helpersFooUtils,BarUtils

The effect is the same as including the modules in the application class.

Using Sessions

A session is used to keep state during requests. If activated, you have one session hash per user session:

enable:sessions

get'/'do
"value ="<<session[:value].inspect
end

get'/:value'do
session['value']=params['value']
end

Session Secret Security

To improve security, the session data in the cookie is signed with a session secret usingHMAC-SHA1.This session secret should optimally be a cryptographically secure random value of an appropriate length which for HMAC-SHA1is greater than or equal to 64 bytes (512 bits, 128 hex characters). You would be advised not to use a secret that is less than 32 bytes of randomness (256 bits, 64 hex characters). It is thereforevery importantthat you don't just make the secret up, but instead use a secure random number generator to create it. Humans are extremely bad at generating random values.

By default, a 32 byte secure random session secret is generated for you by Sinatra, but it will change with every restart of your application. If you have multiple instances of your application, and you let Sinatra generate the key, each instance would then have a different session key which is probably not what you want.

For better security and usability it's recommendedthat you generate a secure random secret and store it in an environment variable on each host running your application so that all of your application instances will share the same secret. You should periodically rotate this session secret to a new value. Here are some examples of how you might create a 64-byte secret and set it:

Session Secret Generation

$ ruby -e "require 'securerandom'; puts SecureRandom.hex(64)"
99ae8af...snip...ec0f262ac

Session Secret Environment Variable

Set aSESSION_SECRETenvironment variable for Sinatra to the value you generated. Make this value persistent across reboots of your host. Since the method for doing this will vary across systems this is for illustrative purposes only:

#echo "export SESSION_SECRET=99ae8af...snip...ec0f262ac" >> ~/.bashrc

Session Secret App Config

Set up your app config to fail-safe to a secure random secret if theSESSION_SECRETenvironment variable is not available:

require'securerandom'
set:session_secret,ENV.fetch('SESSION_SECRET'){SecureRandom.hex(64)}

Session Config

If you want to configure it further, you may also store a hash with options in thesessionssetting:

set:sessions,:domain=>'foo.com'

To share your session across other apps on subdomains of foo.com, prefix the domain with a.like this instead:

set:sessions,:domain=>'.foo.com'

Choosing Your Own Session Middleware

Note thatenable:sessionsactually stores all data in a cookie. This might not always be what you want (storing lots of data will increase your traffic, for instance). You can use any Rack session middleware in order to do so, one of the following methods can be used:

enable:sessions
set:session_store,Rack::Session::Pool

Or to set up sessions with a hash of options:

set:sessions,:expire_after=>2592000
set:session_store,Rack::Session::Pool

Another option is tonotcallenable:sessions,but instead pull in your middleware of choice as you would any other middleware.

It is important to note that when using this method, session based protectionwill not be enabled by default.

The Rack middleware to do that will also need to be added:

useRack::Session::Pool,:expire_after=>2592000
useRack::Protection::RemoteToken
useRack::Protection::SessionHijacking

See 'Configuring attack protection' for more information.

Halting

To immediately stop a request within a filter or route use:

halt

You can also specify the status when halting:

halt410

Or the body:

halt'this will be the body'

Or both:

halt401,'go away!'

With headers:

halt402,{'Content-Type'=>'text/plain'},'revenge'

It is of course possible to combine a template withhalt:

halterb(:error)

Passing

A route can punt processing to the next matching route usingpass:

get'/guess/:who'do
passunlessparams['who']=='Frank'
'You got me!'
end

get'/guess/*'do
'You missed!'
end

The route block is immediately exited and control continues with the next matching route. If no matching route is found, a 404 is returned.

Triggering Another Route

Sometimespassis not what you want, instead, you would like to get the result of calling another route. Simply usecallto achieve this:

get'/foo'do
status,headers,body=callenv.merge("PATH_INFO"=>'/bar')
[status,headers,body.map(&:upcase)]
end

get'/bar'do
"bar"
end

Note that in the example above, you would ease testing and increase performance by simply moving"bar"into a helper used by both/fooand /bar.

If you want the request to be sent to the same application instance rather than a duplicate, usecall!instead ofcall.

Check out the Rack specification if you want to learn more aboutcall.

Setting Body, Status Code, and Headers

It is possible and recommended to set the status code and response body with the return value of the route block. However, in some scenarios, you might want to set the body at an arbitrary point in the execution flow. You can do so with thebodyhelper method. If you do so, you can use that method from thereon to access the body:

get'/foo'do
body"bar"
end

afterdo
putsbody
end

It is also possible to pass a block tobody,which will be executed by the Rack handler (this can be used to implement streaming,see "Return Values").

Similar to the body, you can also set the status code and headers:

get'/foo'do
status418
headers\
"Allow"=>"BREW, POST, GET, PROPFIND, WHEN",
"Refresh"=>"Refresh: 20; https://ietf.org/rfc/rfc2324.txt"
body"I'm a teapot!"
end

Likebody,headersandstatuswith no arguments can be used to access their current values.

Streaming Responses

Sometimes you want to start sending out data while still generating parts of the response body. In extreme examples, you want to keep sending data until the client closes the connection. You can use thestreamhelper to avoid creating your own wrapper:

get'/'do
streamdo|out|
out<<"It's gonna be legen -\n"
sleep0.5
out<<"(wait for it)\n"
sleep1
out<<"- dary!\n"
end
end

This allows you to implement streaming APIs, Server Sent Events,and can be used as the basis forWebSockets.It can also be used to increase throughput if some but not all content depends on a slow resource.

Note that the streaming behavior, especially the number of concurrent requests, highly depends on the webserver used to serve the application. Some servers might not even support streaming at all. If the server does not support streaming, the body will be sent all at once after the block passed tostreamfinishes executing. Streaming does not work at all with Shotgun.

If the optional parameter is set tokeep_open,it will not callcloseon the stream object, allowing you to close it at any later point in the execution flow.

You can have a look at thechat example

It's also possible for the client to close the connection when trying to write to the socket. Because of this, it's recommended to check out.closed?before trying to write.

Logging

In the request scope, theloggerhelper exposes aLoggerinstance:

get'/'do
logger.info"loading data"
#...
end

This logger will automatically take your Rack handler's logging settings into account. If logging is disabled, this method will return a dummy object, so you do not have to worry about it in your routes and filters.

Note that logging is only enabled forSinatra::Applicationby default, so if you inherit fromSinatra::Base,you probably want to enable it yourself:

classMyApp<Sinatra::Base
configure:production,:developmentdo
enable:logging
end
end

To avoid any logging middleware to be set up, set theloggingoption to nil.However, keep in mind thatloggerwill in that case returnnil.A common use case is when you want to set your own logger. Sinatra will use whatever it will find inenv['rack.logger'].

Mime Types

When usingsend_fileor static files you may have mime types Sinatra doesn't understand. Usemime_typeto register them by file extension:

configuredo
mime_type:foo,'text/foo'
end

You can also use it with thecontent_typehelper:

get'/'do
content_type:foo
"foo foo foo"
end

Generating URLs

For generating URLs you should use theurlhelper method, for instance, in Haml:

%a{:href=>url('/foo')}foo

It takes reverse proxies and Rack routers into account - if present.

This method is also aliased toto(seebelowfor an example).

Browser Redirect

You can trigger a browser redirect with theredirecthelper method:

get'/foo'do
redirectto('/bar')
end

Any additional parameters are handled like arguments passed tohalt:

redirectto('/bar'),303
redirect'http://www.google.com/','wrong place, buddy'

You can also easily redirect back to the page the user came from with redirect back:

get'/foo'do
"<a href='/bar'>do something</a>"
end

get'/bar'do
do_something
redirectback
end

To pass arguments with a redirect, either add them to the query:

redirectto('/bar?sum=42')

Or use a session:

enable:sessions

get'/foo'do
session[:secret]='foo'
redirectto('/bar')
end

get'/bar'do
session[:secret]
end

Cache Control

Setting your headers correctly is the foundation for proper HTTP caching.

You can easily set the Cache-Control header like this:

get'/'do
cache_control:public
"cache it!"
end

Pro tip: Set up caching in a before filter:

beforedo
cache_control:public,:must_revalidate,:max_age=>60
end

If you are using theexpireshelper to set the corresponding header, Cache-Controlwill be set automatically for you:

beforedo
expires500,:public,:must_revalidate
end

To properly use caches, you should consider usingetagorlast_modified. It is recommended to call those helpersbeforedoing any heavy lifting, as they will immediately flush a response if the client already has the current version in its cache:

get"/article/:id"do
@article=Article.findparams['id']
last_modified@article.updated_at
etag@article.sha1
erb:article
end

It is also possible to use a weak ETag:

etag@article.sha1,:weak

These helpers will not do any caching for you, but rather feed the necessary information to your cache. If you are looking for a quick reverse-proxy caching solution, try rack-cache:

require"rack/cache"
require"sinatra"

useRack::Cache

get'/'do
cache_control:public,:max_age=>36000
sleep5
"hello"
end

Use the:static_cache_controlsetting (seebelow) to add Cache-Controlheader info to static files.

According to RFC 2616, your application should behave differently if the If-Match or If-None-Match header is set to*,depending on whether the resource requested is already in existence. Sinatra assumes resources for safe (like get) and idempotent (like put) requests are already in existence, whereas other resources (for instance post requests) are treated as new resources. You can change this behavior by passing in a:new_resource option:

get'/create'do
etag'',:new_resource=>true
Article.create
erb:new_article
end

If you still want to use a weak ETag, pass in a:kindoption:

etag'',:new_resource=>true,:kind=>:weak

Sending Files

To return the contents of a file as the response, you can use thesend_file helper method:

get'/'do
send_file'foo.png'
end

It also takes options:

send_file'foo.png',:type=>:jpg

The options are:

filename
File name to be used in the response, defaults to the real file name.
last_modified
Value for Last-Modified header, defaults to the file's mtime.
type
Value for Content-Type header, guessed from the file extension if missing.
disposition
Value for Content-Disposition header, possible values:nil (default),:attachmentand:inline
length
Value for Content-Length header, defaults to file size.
status
Status code to be sent. Useful when sending a static file as an error page. If supported by the Rack handler, other means than streaming from the Ruby process will be used. If you use this helper method, Sinatra will automatically handle range requests.

Accessing the Request Object

The incoming request object can be accessed from request level (filter, routes, error handlers) through therequestmethod:

# app running on http://example.com/example
get'/foo'do
t=%w[text/csstext/htmlapplication/javascript]
request.accept# ['text/html', '*/*']
request.accept?'text/xml'# true
request.preferred_type(t)# 'text/html'
request.body# request body sent by the client (see below)
request.scheme# "http"
request.script_name# "/example"
request.path_info# "/foo"
request.port# 80
request.request_method# "GET"
request.query_string# ""
request.content_length# length of request.body
request.media_type# media type of request.body
request.host# "example.com"
request.get?# true (similar methods for other verbs)
request.form_data?# false
request["some_param"]# value of some_param parameter. [] is a shortcut to the params hash.
request.referrer# the referrer of the client or '/'
request.user_agent# user agent (used by:agent condition)
request.cookies# hash of browser cookies
request.xhr?# is this an ajax request?
request.url# "http://example.com/example/foo"
request.path# "/example/foo"
request.ip# client IP address
request.secure?# false (would be true over ssl)
request.forwarded?# true (if running behind a reverse proxy)
request.env# raw env hash handed in by Rack
end

Some options, likescript_nameorpath_info,can also be written:

before{request.path_info="/"}

get"/"do
"all requests end up here"
end

Therequest.bodyis an IO or StringIO object:

post"/api"do
request.body.rewind# in case someone already read it
data=JSON.parserequest.body.read
"Hello#{data['name']}!"
end

Attachments

You can use theattachmenthelper to tell the browser the response should be stored on disk rather than displayed in the browser:

get'/'do
attachment
"store it!"
end

You can also pass it a file name:

get'/'do
attachment"info.txt"
"store it!"
end

Dealing with Date and Time

Sinatra offers atime_forhelper method that generates a Time object from the given value. It is also able to convertDateTime,Dateand similar classes:

get'/'do
passifTime.now>time_for('Dec 23, 2016')
"still time"
end

This method is used internally byexpires,last_modifiedand akin. You can therefore easily extend the behavior of those methods by overriding time_forin your application:

helpersdo
deftime_for(value)
casevalue
when:yesterdaythenTime.now-24*60*60
when:tomorrowthenTime.now+24*60*60
elsesuper
end
end
end

get'/'do
last_modified:yesterday
expires:tomorrow
"hello"
end

Looking Up Template Files

Thefind_templatehelper is used to find template files for rendering:

find_templatesettings.views,'foo',Tilt[:haml]do|file|
puts"could be#{file}"
end

This is not really useful. But it is useful that you can actually override this method to hook in your own lookup mechanism. For instance, if you want to be able to use more than one view directory:

set:views,['views','templates']

helpersdo
deffind_template(views,name,engine,&block)
Array(views).each{|v|super(v,name,engine,&block)}
end
end

Another example would be using different directories for different engines:

set:views,:haml=>'templates',:default=>'views'

helpersdo
deffind_template(views,name,engine,&block)
_,folder=views.detect{|k,v|engine==Tilt[k]}
folder||=views[:default]
super(folder,name,engine,&block)
end
end

You can also easily wrap this up in an extension and share it with others!

Note thatfind_templatedoes not check if the file really exists but rather calls the given block for all possible paths. This is not a performance issue, sincerenderwill usebreakas soon as a file is found. Also, template locations (and content) will be cached if you are not running in development mode. You should keep that in mind if you write a really crazy method.

Configuration

Run once, at startup, in any environment:

configuredo
# setting one option
set:option,'value'

# setting multiple options
set:a=>1,:b=>2

# same as `set:option, true`
enable:option

# same as `set:option, false`
disable:option

# you can also have dynamic settings with blocks
set(:css_dir){File.join(views,'css')}
end

Run only when the environment (APP_ENVenvironment variable) is set to :production:

configure:productiondo
...
end

Run when the environment is set to either:productionor:test:

configure:production,:testdo
...
end

You can access those options viasettings:

configuredo
set:foo,'bar'
end

get'/'do
settings.foo?# => true
settings.foo# => 'bar'
...
end

Configuring attack protection

Sinatra is using Rack::Protectionto defend your application against common, opportunistic attacks. You can easily disable this behavior (which will open up your application to tons of common vulnerabilities):

disable:protection

To skip a single defense layer, setprotectionto an options hash:

set:protection,:except=>:path_traversal

You can also hand in an array in order to disable a list of protections:

set:protection,:except=>[:path_traversal,:remote_token]

By default, Sinatra will only set up session based protection if:sessions have been enabled. See 'Using Sessions'. Sometimes you may want to set up sessions "outside" of the Sinatra app, such as in the config.ru or with a separateRack::Builderinstance. In that case, you can still set up session based protection by passing the:sessionoption:

set:protection,:session=>true

Available Settings

absolute_redirects
If disabled, Sinatra will allow relative redirects, however, Sinatra will no longer conform with RFC 2616 (HTTP 1.1), which only allows absolute redirects.
Enable if your app is running behind a reverse proxy that has not been set up properly. Note that theurlhelper will still produce absolute URLs, unless you pass infalseas the second parameter.
Disabled by default.
add_charset
Mime types thecontent_typehelper will automatically add the charset info to. You should add to it rather than overriding this option:settings.add_charset << "application/foobar"
app_file
Path to the main application file, used to detect project root, views and public folder and inline templates.
bind
IP address to bind to (default:0.0.0.0or localhostif your `environment` is set to development). Only used for built-in server.
default_content_type
Content-Type to assume if unknown (defaults to"text/html"). Set tonilto not set a default Content-Type on every response; when configured so, you must set the Content-Type manually when emitting content or the user-agent will have to sniff it (or, ifnosniffis enabled in Rack::Protection::XSSHeader, assumeapplication/octet-stream).
default_encoding
Encoding to assume if unknown (defaults to"utf-8").
dump_errors
Display errors in the log. Enabled by default unless environment is "test".
environment
Current environment. Defaults toENV['APP_ENV'],or "development"if not available.
logging
Use the logger.
lock
Places a lock around every request, only running processing on request per Ruby process concurrently.
Enabled if your app is not thread-safe. Disabled by default.
method_override
Use_methodmagic to allow put/delete forms in browsers that don't support it.
mustermann_opts
A default hash of options to pass to Mustermann.new when compiling routing paths.
port
Port to listen on. Only used for built-in server.
prefixed_redirects
Whether or not to insertrequest.script_nameinto redirects if no absolute path is given. That wayredirect '/foo'would behave likeredirect to('/foo').Disabled by default.
protection
Whether or not to enable web attack protections. See protection section above.
public_dir
Alias forpublic_folder.See below.
public_folder
Path to the folder public files are served from. Only used if static file serving is enabled (seestaticsetting below). Inferred fromapp_filesetting if not set.
quiet
Disables logs generated by Sinatra's start and stop commands. falseby default.
reload_templates
Whether or not to reload templates between requests. Enabled in development mode.
root
Path to project root folder. Inferred fromapp_filesetting if not set.
raise_errors
Raise unhandled errors (will stop application). Enabled by default when environmentis set to"test",disabled otherwise.
Any explicitly defined error handlers always override this setting. See the "Error" section below.
run
If enabled, Sinatra will handle starting the web server. Do not enable if using rackup or other means.
running
Is the built-in server running now? Do not change this setting!
server
Server or list of servers to use for built-in server. Order indicates priority, default depends on Ruby implementation.
server_settings
If you are using a WEBrick web server, presumably for your development environment, you can pass a hash of options toserver_settings, such asSSLEnableorSSLVerifyClient.However, web servers such as Puma do not support this, so you can set server_settingsby defining it as a method when you call configure.
sessions
Enable cookie-based sessions support using Rack::Session::Cookie.See 'Using Sessions' section for more information.
session_store
The Rack session middleware used. Defaults to Rack::Session::Cookie.See 'Using Sessions' section for more information.
show_exceptions
Show a stack trace in the browser when an exception happens. Enabled by default whenenvironmentis set to"development", disabled otherwise.
Can also be set to:after_handlerto trigger app-specified error handling before showing a stack trace in the browser.
static
Whether Sinatra should handle serving static files.
Disable when using a server able to do this on its own.
Disabling will boost performance.
Enabled by default in classic style, disabled for modular apps.
static_cache_control
When Sinatra is serving static files, set this to add Cache-Controlheaders to the responses. Uses the cache_controlhelper. Disabled by default.
Use an explicit array when setting multiple values: set:static_cache_control, [:public,:max_age => 300]
threaded
If set totrue,will tell server to use EventMachine.deferfor processing the request.
traps
Whether Sinatra should handle system signals.
views
Path to the views folder. Inferred fromapp_filesetting if not set.
x_cascade
Whether or not to set the X-Cascade header if no route matches. Defaults totrue.

Lifecycle Events

There are 2 lifecycle events currently exposed by Sinatra. One when the server starts and one when it stops.

They can be used like this:

on_startdo
puts"===== Booting up ====="
end

on_stopdo
puts"===== Shutting down ====="
end

Note that these callbacks only work when using Sinatra to start the web server.

Environments

There are three predefinedenvironments:"development", "production"and"test".Environments can be set through the APP_ENVenvironment variable. The default value is"development". In the"development"environment all templates are reloaded between requests, and specialnot_foundanderrorhandlers display stack traces in your browser. In the"production"and"test"environments, templates are cached by default.

To run different environments, set theAPP_ENVenvironment variable:

APP_ENV=production ruby my_app.rb

You can use predefined methods:development?,test?andproduction?to check the current environment setting:

get'/'do
ifsettings.development?
"development!"
else
"not development!"
end
end

Error Handling

Error handlers run within the same context as routes and before filters, which means you get all the goodies it has to offer, likehaml,erb, halt,etc.

Not Found

When aSinatra::NotFoundexception is raised, or the response's status code is 404, thenot_foundhandler is invoked:

not_founddo
'This is nowhere to be found.'
end

Error

Theerrorhandler is invoked any time an exception is raised from a route block or a filter. But note in development it will only run if you set the show exceptions option to:after_handler:

set:show_exceptions,:after_handler

A catch-all error handler can be defined witherrorand a block:

errordo
'Sorry there was a nasty error'
end

The exception object can be obtained from thesinatra.errorRack variable:

errordo
'Sorry there was a nasty error - '+env['sinatra.error'].message
end

Pass an error class as an argument to create handlers for custom errors:

errorMyCustomErrordo
'So what happened was...'+env['sinatra.error'].message
end

Then, if this happens:

get'/'do
raiseMyCustomError,'something bad'
end

You get this:

So what happened was... something bad

Alternatively, you can install an error handler for a status code:

error403do
'Access forbidden'
end

get'/secret'do
403
end

Or a range:

error400..510do
'Boom'
end

Sinatra installs specialnot_foundanderrorhandlers when running under the development environment to display nice stack traces and additional debugging information in your browser.

Behavior withraise_errorsoption

Whenraise_errorsoption istrue,errors that are unhandled are raised outside of the application. Additionally, any errors that would have been caught by the catch-all error handler are raised.

For example, consider the following configuration:

# First handler
errorMyCustomErrordo
'A custom message'
end

# Second handler
errordo
'A catch-all message'
end

Ifraise_errorsisfalse:

  • WhenMyCustomErroror descendant is raised, the first handler is invoked. The HTTP response body will contain"A custom message".
  • When any other error is raised, the second handler is invoked. The HTTP response body will contain"A catch-all message".

Ifraise_errorsistrue:

  • WhenMyCustomErroror descendant is raised, the behavior is identical to whenraise_errorsisfalse,described above.
  • When any other error is raised, the second handler isnotinvoked, and the error is raised outside of the application.
    • If the environment isproduction,the HTTP response body will contain a generic error message, e.g."An unhandled lowlevel error occurred. The application logs may have details."
    • If the environment is notproduction,the HTTP response body will contain the verbose error backtrace.
    • Regardless of environment, ifshow_exceptionsis set to:after_handler, the HTTP response body will contain the verbose error backtrace.

In thetestenvironment,raise_errorsis set totrueby default. This means that in order to write a test for a catch-all error handler, raise_errorsmust temporarily be set tofalsefor that particular test.

Rack Middleware

Sinatra rides onRack,a minimal standard interface for Ruby web frameworks. One of Rack's most interesting capabilities for application developers is support for "middleware" -- components that sit between the server and your application monitoring and/or manipulating the HTTP request/response to provide various types of common functionality.

Sinatra makes building Rack middleware pipelines a cinch via a top-level usemethod:

require'sinatra'
require'my_custom_middleware'

useRack::Lint
useMyCustomMiddleware

get'/hello'do
'Hello World'
end

The semantics ofuseare identical to those defined for the Rack::BuilderDSL (most frequently used from rackup files). For example, theusemethod accepts multiple/variable args as well as blocks:

useRack::Auth::Basicdo|username,password|
username=='admin'&&password=='secret'
end

Rack is distributed with a variety of standard middleware for logging, debugging, URL routing, authentication, and session handling. Sinatra uses many of these components automatically based on configuration so you typically don't have tousethem explicitly.

You can find useful middleware in rack, rack-contrib, or in theRack wiki.

Testing

Sinatra tests can be written using any Rack-based testing library or framework. Rack::Test is recommended:

require'my_sinatra_app'
require'minitest/autorun'
require'rack/test'

classMyAppTest<Minitest::Test
includeRack::Test::Methods

defapp
Sinatra::Application
end

deftest_my_default
get'/'
assert_equal'Hello World!',last_response.body
end

deftest_with_params
get'/meet',:name=>'Frank'
assert_equal'Hello Frank!',last_response.body
end

deftest_with_user_agent
get'/',{},'HTTP_USER_AGENT'=>'Songbird'
assert_equal"You're using Songbird!",last_response.body
end
end

Note: If you are using Sinatra in the modular style, replace Sinatra::Applicationabove with the class name of your app.

Sinatra::Base - Middleware, Libraries, and Modular Apps

Defining your app at the top-level works well for micro-apps but has considerable drawbacks when building reusable components such as Rack middleware, Rails metal, simple libraries with a server component, or even Sinatra extensions. The top-level assumes a micro-app style configuration (e.g., a single application file,./publicand./views directories, logging, exception detail page, etc.). That's where Sinatra::Basecomes into play:

require'sinatra/base'

classMyApp<Sinatra::Base
set:sessions,true
set:foo,'bar'

get'/'do
'Hello world!'
end
end

The methods available toSinatra::Basesubclasses are exactly the same as those available via the top-level DSL. Most top-level apps can be converted toSinatra::Basecomponents with two modifications:

  • Your file should requiresinatra/baseinstead ofsinatra; otherwise, all of Sinatra's DSL methods are imported into the main namespace.
  • Put your app's routes, error handlers, filters, and options in a subclass ofSinatra::Base.

Sinatra::Baseis a blank slate. Most options are disabled by default, including the built-in server. SeeConfiguring Settingsfor details on available options and their behavior. If you want behavior more similar to when you define your app at the top level (also known as Classic style), you can subclassSinatra::Application:

require'sinatra/base'

classMyApp<Sinatra::Application
get'/'do
'Hello world!'
end
end

Modular vs. Classic Style

Contrary to common belief, there is nothing wrong with the classic style. If it suits your application, you do not have to switch to a modular application.

The main disadvantage of using the classic style rather than the modular style is that you will only have one Sinatra application per Ruby process. If you plan to use more than one, switch to the modular style. There is no reason you cannot mix the modular and classic styles.

If switching from one style to the other, you should be aware of slightly different default settings:

Setting Classic Modular Modular
app_file file loading sinatra file subclassing Sinatra::Base file subclassing Sinatra::Application
run $0 == app_file false false
logging true false true
method_override true false true
inline_templates true false true
static true File.exist?(public_folder) true

Serving a Modular Application

There are two common options for starting a modular app, actively starting withrun!:

# my_app.rb
require'sinatra/base'

classMyApp<Sinatra::Base
#... app code here...

# start the server if ruby file executed directly
run!ifapp_file== $0
end

Start with:

ruby my_app.rb

Or with aconfig.rufile, which allows using any Rack handler:

# config.ru (run with rackup)
require'./my_app'
runMyApp

Run:

rackup -p 4567

Using a Classic Style Application with a config.ru

Write your app file:

# app.rb
require'sinatra'

get'/'do
'Hello world!'
end

And a correspondingconfig.ru:

require'./app'
runSinatra::Application

When to use a config.ru?

Aconfig.rufile is recommended if:

  • You want to deploy with a different Rack handler (Passenger, Unicorn, Heroku,...).
  • You want to use more than one subclass ofSinatra::Base.
  • You want to use Sinatra only for middleware, and not as an endpoint.

There is no need to switch to aconfig.rusimply because you switched to the modular style, and you don't have to use the modular style for running with aconfig.ru.

Using Sinatra as Middleware

Not only is Sinatra able to use other Rack middleware, any Sinatra application can, in turn, be added in front of any Rack endpoint as middleware itself. This endpoint could be another Sinatra application, or any other Rack-based application (Rails/Hanami/Roda/...):

require'sinatra/base'

classLoginScreen<Sinatra::Base
enable:sessions

get('/login'){haml:login}

post('/login')do
ifparams['name']=='admin'&&params['password']=='admin'
session['user_name']=params['name']
else
redirect'/login'
end
end
end

classMyApp<Sinatra::Base
# middleware will run before filters
useLoginScreen

beforedo
unlesssession['user_name']
halt"Access denied, please <a href='/login'>login</a>."
end
end

get('/'){"Hello#{session['user_name']}."}
end

Dynamic Application Creation

Sometimes you want to create new applications at runtime without having to assign them to a constant. You can do this withSinatra.new:

require'sinatra/base'
my_app=Sinatra.new{get('/'){"hi"}}
my_app.run!

It takes the application to inherit from as an optional argument:

# config.ru (run with rackup)
require'sinatra/base'

controller=Sinatra.newdo
enable:logging
helpersMyHelpers
end

map('/a')do
runSinatra.new(controller){get('/'){'a'}}
end

map('/b')do
runSinatra.new(controller){get('/'){'b'}}
end

This is especially useful for testing Sinatra extensions or using Sinatra in your own library.

This also makes using Sinatra as middleware extremely easy:

require'sinatra/base'

useSinatrado
get('/'){...}
end

runRailsProject::Application

Scopes and Binding

The scope you are currently in determines what methods and variables are available.

Application/Class Scope

Every Sinatra application corresponds to a subclass ofSinatra::Base. If you are using the top-level DSL (require 'sinatra'), then this class isSinatra::Application,otherwise it is the subclass you created explicitly. At the class level, you have methods likegetor before,but you cannot access therequestorsessionobjects, as there is only a single application class for all requests.

Options created viasetare methods at class level:

classMyApp<Sinatra::Base
# Hey, I'm in the application scope!
set:foo,42
foo# => 42

get'/foo'do
# Hey, I'm no longer in the application scope!
end
end

You have the application scope binding inside:

  • Your application class body
  • Methods defined by extensions
  • The block passed tohelpers
  • Procs/blocks used as a value forset
  • The block passed toSinatra.new

You can reach the scope object (the class) like this:

  • Via the object passed to configure blocks (configure { |c|... })
  • settingsfrom within the request scope

Request/Instance Scope

For every incoming request, a new instance of your application class is created, and all handler blocks run in that scope. From within this scope you can access therequestandsessionobjects or call rendering methods like erborhaml.You can access the application scope from within the request scope via thesettingshelper:

classMyApp<Sinatra::Base
# Hey, I'm in the application scope!
get'/define_route/:name'do
# Request scope for '/define_route/:name'
@value=42

settings.get("/#{params['name']}")do
# Request scope for "/#{params['name']}"
@value# => nil (not the same request)
end

"Route defined!"
end
end

You have the request scope binding inside:

  • get, head, post, put, delete, options, patch, link and unlink blocks
  • before and after filters
  • helper methods
  • templates/views

Delegation Scope

The delegation scope just forwards methods to the class scope. However, it does not behave exactly like the class scope, as you do not have the class binding. Only methods explicitly marked for delegation are available, and you do not share variables/state with the class scope (read: you have a different self). You can explicitly add method delegations by calling Sinatra::Delegator.delegate:method_name.

You have the delegate scope binding inside:

  • The top-level binding, if you didrequire "sinatra"
  • An object extended with theSinatra::Delegatormixin

Have a look at the code for yourself: here's the Sinatra::Delegator mixin beingextending the main object.

Command Line

Sinatra applications can be run directly:

ruby myapp.rb [-h] [-x] [-q] [-e ENVIRONMENT] [-p PORT] [-o HOST] [-s HANDLER]

Options are:

-h # help
-p # set the port (default is 4567)
-o # set the host (default is 0.0.0.0)
-e # set the environment (default is development)
-s # specify rack server/handler (default is puma)
-q # turn on quiet mode for server (default is off)
-x # turn on the mutex lock (default is off)

Multi-threading

Paraphrasing from this StackOverflow answer by Konstantin

Sinatra doesn't impose any concurrency model but leaves that to the underlying Rack handler (server) like Puma or WEBrick. Sinatra itself is thread-safe, so there won't be any problem if the Rack handler uses a threaded model of concurrency.

Requirement

The following Ruby versions are officially supported:

Ruby
The stable releasesare fully supported and recommended.
TruffleRuby
The latest stable release of TruffleRuby is supported.
JRuby
The latest stable release of JRuby is supported. It is not recommended to use C extensions with JRuby.

Versions of Ruby before 2.7.8 are no longer supported as of Sinatra 4.0.0.

Sinatra should work on any operating system supported by the chosen Ruby implementation.

Running Sinatra on a not officially supported Ruby flavor means that if things only break there we assume it's not our issue but theirs.

The Bleeding Edge

If you would like to use Sinatra's latest bleeding-edge code, feel free to run your application against the main branch, it should be rather stable.

We also push out prerelease gems from time to time, so you can do a

gem install sinatra --pre

to get some of the latest features.

With Bundler

If you want to run your application with the latest Sinatra, using Bundleris the recommended way.

First, install bundler, if you haven't:

gem install bundler

Then, in your project directory, create aGemfile:

source'https://rubygems.org'
gem'sinatra',:github=>'sinatra/sinatra'

# other dependencies
gem'haml'# for instance, if you use haml

Note that you will have to list all your application's dependencies in theGemfile.Sinatra's direct dependencies (Rack and Tilt) will, however, be automatically fetched and added by Bundler.

Now you can run your app like this:

bundleexecruby myapp.rb

Versioning

Sinatra followsSemantic Versioning,both SemVer and SemVerTag.

Further Reading