elixir-antipatterns

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Elixir Anti-Patterns

Critical anti-patterns that compromise robustness and maintainability in Elixir/Phoenix applications.

Complement with: mix format and Credo for style enforcement Extended reference: See EXTENDED.md for 40+ patterns and deep-dive examples

When to Use

Topics: Error handling (3 patterns) • Architecture (2 patterns) • Performance (2 patterns) • Testing (1 pattern)

Load this skill when:

Writing Elixir modules and functions
Working with Phoenix Framework (Controllers, LiveView)
Building Ecto schemas and database queries
Implementing BEAM concurrency (Task, GenServer)
Handling errors with tagged tuples
Writing tests with ExUnit

Critical Patterns

Quick reference to the 8 core patterns this skill enforces:

Tagged Tuples: Return {:ok, value} | {:error, reason} instead of nil or exceptions
Explicit @spec: Document error cases in function signatures
Context Separation: Business logic in contexts, not LiveView
Preload Associations: Use Repo.preload/2 to avoid N+1 queries
with Arrow Binding: Use <- for all failable operations in with
Database Indexes: Index frequently queried columns
Test Assertions: Every test must assert expected behavior
Cohesive Functions: Group with chains >4 steps into functions

See ## Anti-Patterns section below for detailed ❌ BAD / ✅ CORRECT code examples.

Code Examples

Example 1: Error Handling with Tagged Tuples

elixir

# ✅ CORRECT - Errors as values, explicit in @spec
defmodule UserService do
  @spec fetch_user(String.t()) :: {:ok, User.t()} | {:error, :not_found}
  def fetch_user(id) do
    case Repo.get(User, id) do
      nil -> {:error, :not_found}
      user -> {:ok, user}
    end
  end
end

# ❌ BAD - Exceptions for business errors
def fetch_user(id) do
  Repo.get(User, id) || raise "User not found"
end

Example 2: Phoenix LiveView with Context Separation

Architecture Layers:
  User Request → LiveView (UI only) → Context (business logic) → Schema/Repo (data)
               ↓                    ↓                           ↓
           handle_event()     Accounts.create_user()      Repo.insert()

elixir

# ✅ CORRECT - Thin LiveView, logic in context
defmodule MyAppWeb.UserLive.Index do
  use MyAppWeb, :live_view
  
  def handle_event("create", params, socket) do
    case Accounts.create_user(params) do
      {:ok, user} -> {:noreply, redirect(socket, to: ~p"/users/#{user}")}
      {:error, changeset} -> {:noreply, assign(socket, changeset: changeset)}
    end
  end
end

# ❌ BAD - Business logic in LiveView
def handle_event("create", %{"user" => params}, socket) do
  if String.length(params["name"]) < 3 do
    {:noreply, put_flash(socket, :error, "Too short")}
  else
    case Repo.insert(User.changeset(%User{}, params)) do
      {:ok, user} -> send_email(user); redirect(socket)
    end
  end
end

Example 3: Ecto N+1 Query Optimization

elixir

# ✅ CORRECT - Preload associations (2 queries total)
users = User |> Repo.all() |> Repo.preload(:posts)
Enum.map(users, fn user -> process(user, user.posts) end)

# Note: For complex filtering (e.g., WHERE posts.status = 'published'),
# use join + preload in the query itself. See EXTENDED.md for advanced patterns.

# ❌ BAD - Query in loop (101 queries for 100 users)
users = Repo.all(User)
Enum.map(users, fn user ->
  posts = Repo.all(from p in Post, where: p.user_id == ^user.id)
  {user, posts}
end)

Anti-Patterns

Error Management

Don't: Use `raise` for Business Errors

elixir

# ❌ BAD
def fetch_user(id) do
  Repo.get(User, id) || raise "User not found"
end

# ✅ CORRECT
@spec fetch_user(String.t()) :: {:ok, User.t()} | {:error, :not_found}
def fetch_user(id) do
  case Repo.get(User, id) do
    nil -> {:error, :not_found}
    user -> {:ok, user}
  end
end

Why: @spec documents errors, pattern matching forces explicit handling.

Don't: Return `nil` for Errors

elixir

# ❌ BAD - No context on failure
def find_user(email), do: Repo.get_by(User, email: email)

# ✅ CORRECT - Explicit error reason
@spec find_user(String.t()) :: {:ok, User.t()} | {:error, :not_found}
def find_user(email) do
  case Repo.get_by(User, email: email) do
    nil -> {:error, :not_found}
    user -> {:ok, user}
  end
end

Don't: Use `=` Inside `with` for Failable Operations

elixir

# ❌ BAD - Validate errors silenced
with {:ok, user} <- fetch_user(id),
     validated = validate(user),  # ← Doesn't check for {:error, _}
     {:ok, saved} <- save(validated) do
  {:ok, saved}
end

# ✅ CORRECT - All operations use <-
with {:ok, user} <- fetch_user(id),
     {:ok, validated} <- validate(user),
     {:ok, saved} <- save(validated) do
  {:ok, saved}
end

Architecture & Boundaries

Don't: Put Business Logic in LiveView

elixir

# ❌ BAD - Validation in view
def handle_event("create", %{"user" => params}, socket) do
  if String.length(params["name"]) < 3 do
    {:noreply, put_flash(socket, :error, "Too short")}
  else
    case Repo.insert(User.changeset(%User{}, params)) do
      {:ok, user} -> redirect(socket)
    end
  end
end

# ✅ CORRECT - Delegate to context
def handle_event("create", params, socket) do
  case Accounts.create_user(params) do
    {:ok, user} -> {:noreply, redirect(socket, to: ~p"/users/#{user}")}
    {:error, changeset} -> {:noreply, assign(socket, changeset: changeset)}
  end
end

Why: Contexts testable without Phoenix, logic reusable.

Don't: Chain More Than 4 Steps in `with`

elixir

# ❌ BAD - Too many responsibilities
with {:ok, a} <- step1(),
     {:ok, b} <- step2(a),
     {:ok, c} <- step3(b),
     {:ok, d} <- step4(c),
     {:ok, e} <- step5(d) do
  {:ok, e}
end

# ✅ CORRECT - Group into cohesive functions
with {:ok, validated} <- validate_and_fetch(id),
     {:ok, processed} <- process_business_rules(validated),
     {:ok, result} <- persist_and_notify(processed) do
  {:ok, result}
end

Data & Performance

Don't: Query Inside Loops (N+1)

elixir

# ❌ BAD - 101 queries for 100 users
users = Repo.all(User)
Enum.map(users, fn user ->
  posts = Repo.all(from p in Post, where: p.user_id == ^user.id)
end)

# ✅ CORRECT - 2 queries total
User |> Repo.all() |> Repo.preload(:posts)

Impact: 100 users with N+1 = 10 seconds vs 5ms with preload.

Don't: Query Without Indexes

elixir

# ❌ BAD - No index on frequently queried column
# Migration:
create table(:users) do
  add :email, :string
end

# ✅ CORRECT - Add index
create table(:users) do
  add :email, :string
end
create unique_index(:users, [:email])

Why: Full table scan on 1M+ rows vs instant index lookup.

Testing

Don't: Write Tests Without Assertions

elixir

# ❌ BAD - What's being tested?
test "creates user" do
  UserService.create_user(%{name: "Juan"})
end

# ✅ CORRECT - Assert expected behavior
test "creates user successfully" do
  assert {:ok, user} = UserService.create_user(%{name: "Juan"})
  assert user.name == "Juan"
end

Quick Reference

Situation	Anti-Pattern	Correct Pattern
Error handling	`raise "Not found"`	`{:error, :not_found}`
Missing data	Return `nil`	`{:error, :not_found}`
Business logic	In LiveView	In context modules
Associations	`Enum.map` + `Repo.get`	`Repo.preload`
with chains	`validated = fn()`	`{:ok, validated} <- fn()`
Frequent queries	No index	`create index(:table, [:column])`
Testing	No assertions	`assert` expected behavior
Complex logic	6+ step `with`	Group into 3 functions

Resources

Elixir Style Guide
Phoenix Contexts
Ecto Query Performance
ExUnit Best Practices
Extended patterns: See EXTENDED.md for 40+ anti-patterns