activeadmin_batched_export

Batched CSV, JSON, and XML export workspace for ActiveAdmin 4.

Replaces single long-lived index downloads with a workspace page that loads filtered data in sequential HTTP batches, then offers one client-side file download.

Requirements

Ruby 3.2+
Rails 7.1+
ActiveAdmin 4.0.0.beta13+
importmap-rails and Stimulus (ActiveAdmin 4 default)

Dependencies

Required at runtime:

rails (>= 7.1)
activeadmin (>= 4.0.0.beta13, < 5)
importmap-rails

The host app must load ActiveAdmin with importmap and Stimulus (the ActiveAdmin 4 default). No extra JavaScript build step is required beyond the engine pins.

Installation

Add to your Gemfile:

gem "activeadmin_batched_export"

Then:

bundle install

The engine registers routes, views, importmap pins, and install hooks automatically. Optional host overrides go in config/initializers/activeadmin_batched_export.rb.

Enable download formats per resource:

ActiveAdmin.register Order do
  index download_links: [:csv] do
    # ...
  end

  csv do
    column :id
    column :email
  end
end

Configuration

# config/initializers/activeadmin_batched_export.rb
ActiveAdmin::BatchedExport.configure do |config|
  config.batch_size = 1000
  config.max_batch_size = 10_000
  config.large_export_row_threshold = 25_000
  config.stimulus_controller = "activeadmin-batched-export--batched-export"

  config.styles = ActiveAdmin::BatchedExport::Styles.new(
    primary_button: "rounded bg-emerald-600 px-4 py-2 text-white"
  )

  config.filename_proc = lambda do |resource_config, format, controller|
    "#{resource_config.resource_name.plural}-export.#{format}"
  end

  config.register_macro(:company_token, lambda { |value, _record, _column|
    value.to_s[0, 6]
  })
end

Per-resource options

ActiveAdmin.register User do
  batched_export column_selection: true, batch_size: 500,
    includes: [:account],
    macros: {email: :mask_email, phone: :mask_phone}

  csv do
    column :id
    column :email, macro: :mask_email
    column :notes, macro: ->(value, _record) { value.present? ? "[redacted]" : nil }
  end
end

Call batched_export on a resource to enable it. The DSL call itself opts the resource in, so you can wrap it in a condition when enablement should vary. Set batched_export enabled: false only when you need to override a global config.default_enabled = true. Resources without a batched_export call stay off unless default_enabled is true.

Built-in export macros

:mask_email
:mask_phone
:truncate_middle
:hash_identifier
:redact

Theme customization

Match the export workspace to your ActiveAdmin 4 design system without forking batch or download logic.

Style classes

Pass Tailwind utilities or your design-system classes through the initializer:

# config/initializers/activeadmin_batched_export.rb
ActiveAdmin::BatchedExport.configure do |config|
  config.styles = ActiveAdmin::BatchedExport::Styles.new(
    card: "rounded-lg border border-slate-200 bg-slate-50 p-6",
    primary_button: "btn btn-primary",
    secondary_button: "btn btn-outline",
    back_link: "link link-primary"
  )
end

Override only the keys you need; unset keys keep gem defaults (light and dark Tailwind classes).

Available keys: workspace, card, card_title, table, table_body, table_row, table_header, table_cell, table_cell_mono, hint, column_grid, column_label, column_checkbox, heading, progress_wrap, progress_bar, progress_status_row, error, warning, actions, primary_button, secondary_button, back_link.

Override partials

Copy any partial from the gem into app/views/active_admin/batched_export/ in the host app:

workspace.html.erb — page shell; start here for layout changes
_summary.html.erb
_columns.html.erb
_filters.html.erb
_progress.html.erb
_actions.html.erb — export and back buttons

Stimulus controller

The engine pins batched_export_controller on ActiveAdmin.importmap. To replace it, pin your own file and set:

ActiveAdmin::BatchedExport.configure do |config|
  config.stimulus_controller = "my-batched-export"
end

Adoption checklist

See examples/custom_theme/README.md for locale overrides and verification steps when adding the gem to another themed admin app.

Stimulus controller and assets

The engine pins controllers/activeadmin_batched_export/batched_export_controller on both the host and ActiveAdmin importmaps. Include the gem asset path in your ActiveAdmin importmap cache sweeper when developing locally.

How it works

Index download links route to batched_export instead of synchronous format URLs.
Workspace shows filter context, optional column checkboxes, and batch metadata.
Stimulus fetches export_meta JSON, then each batch_page chunk.
User saves the assembled Blob locally.

Batched requests limit server memory per request; the browser still holds the full assembled file before save. Very large exports can exhaust tab memory. Tune batch_size, max_batch_size, and large_export_row_threshold for your data width and row counts. The workspace shows a warning when row count reaches the threshold.

Each batch page uses offset pagination on the filtered collection. Later batches can slow down on very large tables; narrowing filters or raising batch_size within max_batch_size reduces batch count.

JSON and XML exports use the same column definitions as csv blocks. JSON batches return arrays of row objects; the client merges them into one array. XML batches return record fragments; the client wraps them in a single <export> root. Shapes differ from ActiveAdmin synchronous JSON/XML downloads.

Authorization follows ActiveAdmin download_links and authorize! on the resource. Disable a format with index download_links: [:csv] (or false to hide exports). Batch endpoints reject formats not listed on the resource index presenter.

Development

From the gem root:

bundle install
bundle exec appraisal install
bundle exec rubocop
bundle exec polyrun parallel-rspec --workers 5 --merge-failures

Matrixed Rails versions use Appraisal: gemfiles/rails72.gemfile, rails8ruby34.gemfile, and rails8truffleruby.gemfile. Run bundle exec appraisal rspec to execute RSpec in each gemfile context.

Shared agent guidance is managed with pray via Prayfile.

Trunk config lives in .trunk/; CI can run trunk via .github/workflows/_trunk_check.yml. Releases: make release or usr/bin/release.rb.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. Bug reports and pull requests are welcome at https://github.com/amkisko/activeadmin_batched_export.rb/issues

License

MIT — see LICENSE.md.