Should you use content_for inside a component template?

[TheEnzoMar]

Hi folks!
I wasn't able to find any documentation regarding this topic. As such, I'm wondering if there is a general consensus on whether or not you should use content_for in a component template?

It feels like an anti-pattern, even though it seems to work, as it couples a component to some external thing. I would appreciate other points of view though as I might be looking at this too narrowly.

Cheers!

[boardfish]

It feels like an anti-pattern, even though it seems to work, as it couples a component to some external thing.

I think you're right on the money here. If you're using content_for, then chances are you're doing something at a global level, perhaps involving layouts or needing to pass things around in a way you might find uncomfortable. In the past I've avoided the need for content_for by having layouts render a component:

<%# app/views/layouts/some_layout.html.erb %>
<%= render NavbarComponent.new %>
<%= yield %>

This way, if the data you'd pass to content_for changes on a controller basis, you can use a different template that renders the same component with some small tweak – maybe that's a different argument you pass on initialization, a slot, or something else entirely.

<%# app/views/layouts/some_layout.html.erb %>
<%= render NavbarComponent.new do |c| %>
  <% c.user_area(notifications: current_user.notifications) %>
  <%= yield %>
<% end %>

Said component could even contain the markup for the whole template, and render the page content as its own content:

<%# app/views/layouts/some_layout.html.erb %>
<%= render LayoutComponent.new do %>
  <%= yield %>
<% end %>

Hope that sparks a few ideas!

[TheEnzoMar]

Thanks @boardfish!
I really appreciate the feedback. It's inline with what I've thinking

Cheers!