Rails redirect_to is redirecting from https (correct) to http (incorrect)?

Question

In my Rails 4 app, I have a before_action requiring the user to be logged in, like so:

class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
  protect_from_forgery with: :exception
  before_action :require_login

  def require_login
    unless logged_in?
      flash[:alert] = "You must be logged in to access this section."
      redirect_to login_path
    end
  end

  def logged_in?
    # more logic
  end
end

When I visit example.com without being logged in, I get redirected to example.com/login as expected. However, I see this error in the console:

The page at 'https://example.com/login' was loaded over HTTPS, but displayed
insecure content from 'http://example.com/login': this content should also
be loaded over HTTPS.

The network tab appears to indicate that my redirect_to is pointing me to HTTP and not HTTPS. When it hits the HTTP, it then automatically redirects to HTTPS.

Request URL:http://example.com/login
Request Method:GET
Status Code:301 Moved Permanently

# In the response headers:
Location:https://example.com/login

Is there a way to tell the redirect_to that it should use HHTPS instead of HTTP, or is this an nginx config? I thought that using login_path as opposed to login_url would fix the issue since it should be relative to the base, but that didn't seem to work.

---

Update:

I thought about using force_ssl as well but was worried that I was taking a hammer to a push pin. Feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken.

Answer 1

In your application.rb (or environment.rb), you could set

config.force_ssl = true

This would make Rails use a secure end-point always.