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implementing ActiveRecord callbacks not executing in nested transactions in Rails 7.1

πŸ‘€ Views: 569 πŸ’¬ Answers: 1 πŸ“… Created: 2025-08-21
ruby-on-rails activerecord callbacks Ruby

I've been struggling with this for a few days now and could really use some help. I’m experiencing unexpected behavior with ActiveRecord callbacks in Rails 7.1 when using nested transactions. I have a `User` model that has an `after_create` callback set to send a welcome email. Here's the relevant code: ```ruby class User < ApplicationRecord after_create :send_welcome_email def send_welcome_email UserMailer.welcome(self).deliver_later end end ``` I also have a service object that creates a user within a transaction, like this: ```ruby class UserCreationService def create_user(user_params) ActiveRecord::Base.transaction do user = User.new(user_params) if user.save create_profile(user) # This method also wraps in a transaction else raise ActiveRecord::Rollback end end end private def create_profile(user) Profile.create!(user: user) end end ``` The scenario arises when a profile fails to create due to validation errors. In that case, the welcome email is sent anyway, which I don’t want. I noticed that the `after_create` callback seems to be executing even though the outer transaction rolls back. I tried using `after_commit` instead, but then the email sends even after a rollback in the inner transaction. Is there a way to manage callbacks and ensure they only execute if the entire transaction succeeds, especially when dealing with nested transactions? I'm also looking for solutions that won't complicate my existing code too much. Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. For context: I'm using Ruby on macOS. Is there a better approach?