Devise login with user or admin models and Basecamp style subdomains

Question

I have separate models for Devise users and admins. I am also using Basecamp style subdomains. Everything is working well except for a few controllers and actions where I need to be able to authenticate as either a user or as an admin.

Currently I have authenticate_user! set in my application_controller.rb and I am skipping it with skip_before_filter for those controllers and actions that only admins should have access to.

Unfortunately I cannot simply specify the authentication requirement on each controller as I will still need some controllers and action to be access by both a User or an Admin.

I have tried a few things to no avail. It seems that if I move the authenticate_user! and authenticate_admin! into some sort of subdomain detection logic it fails to process. Basically:

current_subdomain = request.subdomains.first    
if current_subdomain == 'admin'
 authenticate_admin!
else
 authenticate_user!
end

I was, at one point, able to get it to attempt authentication but for some reason it was failing to except the session controller from needing authentication which resulted in a redirection loop (a first for me with Ruby!).

I realize that I could add a field to my User that denotes admin status, but the application requires a greater separation of powers between User and Admin than that will allow, except for a few controllers and actions.

• Ruby 1.9.2
• Rails 3.0.3
• Devise 1.1.3

Answer 1

Try writing your own before filter along the lines of

#application_controller.rb
def authenticate_any!
    if admin_signed_in?
        true
    else
        authenticate_user!
    end
end

then in the controller where you want both admins and user to be able to have access through authentication use

#myobject_controller.rb
before_filter :authenticate_any!

If you have logged in as an admin then you will pass the before_filter, otherwise you will go through authenticate_user! which is the default behaviour.

Answer 2

Actually this doesn't work:

#application_controller.rb
def authenticate_any!
    if admin_signed_in?
        true
    else
        authenticate_user!
    end
end

It will start an infinite recursion on authenticate user..

try this instead:

def authenticate_user!
  return if admin_signed_in?
  super
end

Just remember that with this second solution you're saying something like this: 'You must be logged in as, at least, user' and you will lose the authentication of users only.

Admins will be able to access everything.

Answer 3

Maybe you should consider additional gem - CanCan to handle roles

Quite nice described here: http://www.tonyamoyal.com/2010/09/29/rails-authentication-with-devise-and-cancan-part-2-restful-resources-for-administrators/