We fix ActiveRecord::ProtectedEnvironmentError in the local environment.

How to fix ActiveRecord::ProtectedEnvironmentError during development in a local environment?

Apr 18, '24 05:27·1 min. read

This content has been automatically translated from Ukrainian.

Locally, you may see the error ActiveRecord::ProtectedEnvironmentError if you attempt to access an environment that is protected, such as production or staging, from a context where it is prohibited.

A simple example - I made a backup of the postgresql database on Heroku. I imported it locally. And when I wanted to delete the database - I received an error about trying to delete a protected database (production).

rake db:drop;
rake aborted!

ActiveRecord::ProtectedEnvironmentError: You are attempting to run a destructive action against your 'production' database.
If you are sure you want to continue, run the same command with the environment variable:
DISABLE_DATABASE_ENVIRONMENT_CHECK=1

The error message already indicates how to resolve it, namely - use the environment variable:

DISABLE_DATABASE_ENVIRONMENT_CHECK=1

So the command to delete the protected database will look like this:

DISABLE_DATABASE_ENVIRONMENT_CHECK=1 rake db:drop;

Be careful. You need to understand what you are doing and why. Do not accidentally drop the production database of your project. The error ActiveRecord::ProtectedEnvironmentError is a safeguard against mistakenly deleting an important database.

Programming (Програмування)