Reference for Ash Framework in Phoenix/LiveView projects.\nAsh complements Phoenix/Ecto — LiveView, security, and OTP Iron Laws still apply.\nOnly data access patterns shift toward Ash actions and domain code interfaces.
\nAsh.create/Ash.read directly in LiveViews or Controllers; use domain code interfaces: MyApp.Accounts.register_user() not Ash.create(User, attrs)actor: or scope: to\nfor_read/for_create/for_action (prep), NOT to Ash.read!/Ash.create! (execution);\nexecution-level actor bypasses row-level policy evaluation. If project uses Ash.Scope,\nuse scope: consistently instead of bare actor: — do not mix stylesmix ash.gen.resource or mix ash.gen.domain with --yes; check mix help ash.gen.<task> for optionsmix ash.codegen after modifying resources; this generates migrations from resource snapshots — never write AshPostgres migrations by handpriv/resource_snapshots/ is owned exclusively by mix ash.codegen; manual edits corrupt migration trackingRepo.* IN ASH PROJECTS — Repo.all/get/insert bypass Ash policies and notifications; use domain code interfaces. Any Repo call in an Ash project is an escape hatch and must be documented# Domain definition\ndefmodule MyApp.Accounts do\n use Ash.Domain\n\n resources do\n resource MyApp.Accounts.User do\n define :register_user, action: :create, args: [:email, :name]\n define :get_user_by_email, action: :read, get_by: [:email]\n end\n end\nend\n\n# In LiveView/Controller — always via domain, never Ash.create directly\n{:ok, user} = MyApp.Accounts.register_user(email, name, actor: nil)\nuser = MyApp.Accounts.get_user_by_email!(email, actor: current_user)\n# CORRECT — actor at query prep, policies evaluated per-row\nMyApp.Post\n|> Ash.Query.for_read(:list_published, %{}, actor: current_user)\n|> Ash.read!()\n\n# CORRECT with Ash.Scope (carries actor + tenant + context; use if project adopts it)\nMyApp.Post\n|> Ash.Query.for_read(:list_published, %{}, scope: scope)\n|> Ash.read!()\n\n# WRONG — actor at execution bypasses row-level policy evaluation\nMyApp.Post\n|> Ash.Query.for_read(:list_published)\n|> Ash.read!(actor: current_user)\nAsh.Scope bundles actor + tenant + context into a single struct carried through actions.\nImplement Ash.Scope.ToOpts on a project-defined scope struct:
defimpl Ash.Scope.ToOpts, for: MyApp.Scope do\n def get_actor(%{current_user: u}), do: {:ok, u}\n def get_tenant(%{current_tenant: t}), do: {:ok, t}\n def get_context(%{locale: l}), do: {:ok, %{shared: %{locale: l}}}\n def get_tracer(_), do: :error\n def get_authorize?(_), do: :error\nend\nDetection: if the project has a Scope module implementing Ash.Scope.ToOpts, use\nscope: everywhere instead of bare actor:. Do NOT mix the two styles in the same codebase.\nSee mix usage_rules.docs Ash.Scope for full protocol spec.
mix ash.gen.*)| File | \nLocation | \nBehaviour | \n
|---|---|---|
| Changes | \nlib/app/ctx/changes/name.ex | \nuse Ash.Resource.Change | \n
| Policy Checks | \nlib/app/ctx/checks/name.ex | \nuse Ash.Policy.Check | \n
| Custom Actions | \nlib/app/ctx/actions/name.ex | \ngeneric action logic | \n
| Custom Types | \nlib/app/ctx/types/name.ex | \nuse Ash.Type | \n
| Validations | \nlib/app/ctx/validations/name.ex | \nuse Ash.Resource.Validation | \n
mix ash.gen.resource MyApp.Accounts.User --yes\nmix ash.gen.domain MyApp.Accounts --yes\nmix ash.codegen # reads resource snapshots → generates migration\nmix ash.migrate\nPrefer the highest-fidelity source available:
\nTidewave (exact version from mix.lock):
mcp__tidewave__get_docs(module: \"Ash.Resource\")\nmcp__tidewave__get_docs(module: \"AshPhoenix.Form\")\nusage_rules (project-synced to your installed ash_* dep versions):
\nmix usage_rules.search_docs \"<topic>\" -p ash -p ash_phoenix -p ash_postgres -p ash_authentication -p ash_oban\nmix usage_rules.docs Ash.Resource\nWebFetch hexdocs.pm (fallback when neither is available):
\nWebFetch(url: \"https://hexdocs.pm/ash/Ash.Resource.html\", prompt: \"Extract module docs.\")\nIf usage_rules is not configured, the SessionStart hook suggests how to install it.