Ecto Changeset Patterns

RULES — Follow these with no exceptions

1. Define separate named changesets per operation — registration_changeset, email_changeset, password_changeset, etc. 2. Never require foreign key fields in cast_assoc child changesets — cast_assoc sets them automatically 3. Compose changesets with pipes — each validation step is a separate, reusable function 4. Always pair unsafe_validate_unique with unique_constraint — fast UI feedback plus race-safe enforcement 5. Use update_change/3 for field transformations — trim, downcase, and slugify inside the changeset 6. Accept opts \\ [] for conditional validation — toggle hashing or uniqueness checks per call site 7. Validate at the changeset level, not in context functions — keep validation next to the schema

FCIS at this boundary

Changeset functions should be pure data transformers (attrs in → changeset out). Persist with Repo in the context, not inside the schema module beyond optional helpers.

❌ Bad: schema function performs inserts

def create(attrs) do
  %Post{}
  |> changeset(attrs)
  |> Repo.insert()
end

✅ Good: schema builds; context persists

# schema
def changeset(post, attrs) do
  post
  |> cast(attrs, [:title, :body])
  |> validate_required([:title, :body])
end

# context shell
def create_post(attrs) do
  %Post{}
  |> Post.changeset(attrs)
  |> Repo.insert()
end

Workflow: Building a New Schema

When adding changesets to a new schema, apply patterns in this order:

1. Define separate named changesets for each operation (registration, update, password change, etc.)
2. Compose validations into small, reusable private functions piped together
3. Add uniqueness validation — pair unsafe_validate_unique with unique_constraint
4. Apply field transformations via update_change/3 in the changeset, not in controllers
5. Verify by testing in iex -S mix or running your changeset tests. A quick iex smoke test:

# In iex -S mix
MyApp.Accounts.User.registration_changeset(%MyApp.Accounts.User{}, %{email: "bad", username: ""})
# => Inspect .valid? and .errors to confirm validations fire as expected

# Or a minimal ExUnit test
test "registration_changeset requires email and username" do
  changeset = User.registration_changeset(%User{}, %{})
  assert %{email: ["can't be blank"], username: ["can't be blank"]} = errors_on(changeset)
end

Separate Changesets Per Operation

defmodule MyApp.Accounts.User do
  use Ecto.Schema
  import Ecto.Changeset

  schema "users" do
    field :email, :string
    field :username, :string
    field :password, :string, virtual: true, redact: true
    field :hashed_password, :string, redact: true
    field :bio, :string

    timestamps()
  end

  # Registration — all fields, password hashing
  def registration_changeset(user, attrs, opts \\ []) do
    user
    |> cast(attrs, [:email, :username, :password])
    |> validate_email(opts)
    |> validate_username()
    |> validate_password(opts)
  end

  # Email change — only email
  def email_changeset(user, attrs, opts \\ []) do
    user
    |> cast(attrs, [:email])
    |> validate_email(opts)
  end

  # Password change — only password
  def password_changeset(user, attrs, opts \\ []) do
    user
    |> cast(attrs, [:password])
    |> validate_password(opts)
    |> put_password_hash()
  end

  # Profile update — non-sensitive fields only
  def profile_changeset(user, attrs) do
    user
    |> cast(attrs, [:username, :bio])
    |> validate_username()
  end
end

Common Pitfalls

cast_assoc — Critical Pitfall

❌ Bad — :post_id is required but set automatically by cast_assoc:

def changeset(ingredient, attrs) do
  ingredient
  |> cast(attrs, [:name, :quantity, :post_id])
  |> validate_required([:name, :post_id])  # Fails!
end

✅ Good — only require user-provided fields:

def changeset(ingredient, attrs) do
  ingredient
  |> cast(attrs, [:name, :quantity])
  |> validate_required([:name])
end

Changeset Composition

defp validate_email(changeset, opts) do
  changeset
  |> validate_required([:email])
  |> validate_format(:email, ~r/^[^\s]+@[^\s]+$/, message: "must have the @ sign and no spaces")
  |> validate_length(:email, max: 160)
  |> maybe_validate_unique_email(opts)
end

defp validate_username(changeset) do
  changeset
  |> validate_required([:username])
  |> validate_format(:username, ~r/^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$/, message: "only letters, numbers, and underscores")
  |> validate_length(:username, min: 3, max: 30)
  |> unsafe_validate_unique(:username, MyApp.Repo)
  |> unique_constraint(:username)
end

Conditional Validation with opts

# Normal registration
def register_user(attrs) do
  %User{}
  |> User.registration_changeset(attrs)
  |> Repo.insert()
end

# In tests — skip hashing for speed
def register_user_for_test(attrs) do
  %User{}
  |> User.registration_changeset(attrs, hash_password: false, validate_email: false)
  |> Repo.insert()
end

Field Transformations with update_change

def changeset(user, attrs) do
  user
  |> cast(attrs, [:email, :username])
  |> update_change(:email, &String.downcase/1)
  |> update_change(:username, &String.trim/1)
  |> update_change(:username, &String.downcase/1)
end

# For slugs
defp generate_slug(changeset) do
  case get_change(changeset, :title) do
    nil -> changeset
    title ->
      slug = title |> String.downcase() |> String.replace(~r/[^a-z0-9]+/, "-") |> String.trim("-")
      put_change(changeset, :slug, slug)
  end
end

Uniqueness Validation

Always pair unsafe_validate_unique with unique_constraint:

def changeset(user, attrs) do
  user
  |> cast(attrs, [:email, :username])
  # Fast check — queries DB, gives immediate UI feedback
  |> unsafe_validate_unique(:email, MyApp.Repo)
  |> unsafe_validate_unique(:username, MyApp.Repo)
  # Constraint check — catches race conditions at insert time
  |> unique_constraint(:email)
  |> unique_constraint(:username)
end

Integration

Companion skills:

• ecto-essentials — schema, query, and migration foundations
• ecto-nested-associations — cast_assoc for deeply nested data structures
• testing-essentials — changeset tests with errors_on/1 helpers
• apply-ecto-conventions — enforce changeset conventions on existing code

Related Skills

Each skill can be used independently if companion files are not present.