inquiry-attrs

name	inquiry-attrs
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "add inquiry_attrs", "install inquiry_attrs", "use inquiry_attrs", "add predicate methods to Rails attributes", "replace string comparison with predicates", "make attribute inquiry work", "add .active? .admin? style methods", "user.status.active?", "nil-safe attribute predicates", or when working with the inquiry_attrs gem in a Rails, StoreModel, or plain Ruby project. Also activate when the user wants to convert `record.attr == 'value'` comparisons to predicate style, or asks about `NilInquiry`, `SymbolInquiry`, or `inquirer` macro.
version	1.0.0

inquiry_attrs Skill

inquiry_attrs adds predicate-style inquiry methods to Rails model attributes, replacing verbose string comparisons with expressive ?-methods that are nil-safe by design.

What It Does

# Before
user.status == 'active'     # ❌ verbose, breaks on nil

# After
user.status.active?         # ✅ expressive, nil-safe
user.status.nil?            # ✅ true when blank — never raises NoMethodError

Return type dispatch (automatic, invisible to the caller):

Raw attribute value	Object returned	Key behaviour
nil or any blank value	InquiryAttrs::NilInquiry::INSTANCE	nil? → true, all predicates → false
Symbol	InquiryAttrs::SymbolInquiry	matches symbol name
Any string	ActiveSupport::StringInquirer	standard Rails inquiry

Installation

See references/installation.md for full steps. Quick summary:

# Gemfile
gem 'inquiry_attrs'

bundle install
rails inquiry_attrs:install   # writes config/initializers/inquiry_attrs.rb

The installer writes a single ActiveSupport.on_load(:active_record) block that auto-includes InquiryAttrs::Concern into every AR model. No manual include needed in AR models.

Core Usage

ActiveRecord (zero configuration after install)

class User < ApplicationRecord
  inquirer :status, :role, :plan
end

user.status.active?    # => true / false
user.role.admin?       # => true / false
user.plan.nil?         # => true when blank — never raises
user.status == 'active'  # => still works — string methods intact

StoreModel / plain Ruby

Include the concern explicitly for non-AR classes. Call inquirer after the attribute reader is defined.

class ShippingAddress
  include StoreModel::Model
  include InquiryAttrs::Concern   # required for non-AR classes

  attribute :kind, :string
  inquirer  :kind                 # after attribute
end

class Subscription
  include InquiryAttrs::Concern

  attr_accessor :plan
  inquirer :plan                  # after attr_accessor
end

Symbol attributes

# If a reader returns a Symbol, SymbolInquiry wraps it automatically.
si = InquiryAttrs::SymbolInquiry.new(:active)
si.active?        # => true
si == :active     # => true
si == 'active'    # => true
si.is_a?(Symbol)  # => true

⚠️ Reserved Predicate Names — Critical Gotcha

Some predicate names are real methods on the returned objects. method_missing is never reached for them — they do not test string equality.

Predicate	What it actually does
.nil?	Always false for present values; always true for blank
.blank?	Tests blankness (nil / "" / whitespace) — not value == "blank"
.present?	Opposite of blank? — not value == "present"
.empty?	true only for "" — not value == "empty"
.frozen?	Reflects object freeze state

Rule: when a domain value matches one of those names, use direct comparison:

order.state == 'blank'   # ✅ correct
order.state.blank?       # ❌ tests blankness, not state == "blank"

See references/reserved-predicates.md for worked examples and all edge cases.

Testing

# Minitest
test 'status predicate' do
  user = User.new(status: 'active')
  assert user.status.active?
  refute user.status.inactive?
  assert_equal 'active', user.status   # string comparison still works
end

test 'nil status is safe' do
  user = User.new(status: nil)
  assert user.status.nil?
  refute user.status.active?
end

Common Mistakes

# ❌ inquirer before attr_accessor in plain Ruby
class Broken
  include InquiryAttrs::Concern
  inquirer :status           # no reader to capture yet!
  attr_accessor :status
end

# ✅ always after
class Fixed
  include InquiryAttrs::Concern
  attr_accessor :status
  inquirer :status
end

# ❌ forgetting include for StoreModel / plain Ruby
class MyModel
  include StoreModel::Model
  # missing: include InquiryAttrs::Concern
  inquirer :status           # => NoMethodError
end

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/installation.md — Step-by-step installation for new and existing projects, initializer content, rake tasks
• references/patterns.md — Full usage patterns: scopes, case/when replacement, guard clauses, NilInquiry detection
• references/reserved-predicates.md — Deep dive into reserved predicate names with every edge case

Examples

• examples/activerecord.rb — AR model with multiple inquired attrs
• examples/storemoderl.rb — StoreModel integration
• examples/plain_ruby.rb — Plain Ruby class
• examples/testing.rb — Minitest and RSpec test patterns