Rails 4 nested attributes and has_many :through associaton in a form

When employing a has_many :through relationship, you need to pass the nested_attributes through the different models, like this:

Models

class Goal < ActiveRecord::Base
  has_many :milestones, inverse_of: :goal, dependent: :destroy
  accepts_nested_attributes_for :milestones, :allow_destroy => true

  def self.build
      goal = self.new
      goal.milestones.build.milestone_programs.build_program
  end
end

class Milestone < ActiveRecord::Base
  belongs_to :goal, inverse_of: :milestones

  has_many :milestone_programs
  has_many :programs, through: :milestone_programs

  accepts_nested_attributes_for :milestone_programs
end

class MilestoneProgram < ActiveRecord::Base
    belongs_to :milestone
    belongs_to :program

    accepts_nested_attributes_for :program
end

class Program
    has_many :milestone_programs
    has_many :milestones, through: :milestone_programs
end

Controller

#app/controllers/goals_controller.rb
def new
    @goal = Goal.build
end

def create
    @goal = Goal.new(goal_params)
    @goal.save
end

private

def goal_params
    params.require(:goal).permit(milestones_attributes: [milestone_programs_attributes: [program_attributes:[]]])
end

Form

#app/views/goals/new.html.erb
<%= form_for @goal do |f| %>
   <%= f.fields_for :milestones do |m| %>
      <%= m.fields_for :milestone_programs do |mp| %>
          <%= mp.fields_for :program do |p| %>
               <%= p.text_field :name %>
          <% end %>
      <% end %>
   <% end %>
   <%= f.submit %>
<% end %>

I appreciate this might not be exactly what you’re looking for, but tbh I didn’t read all your prose. I just gathered you needed help passing nested_attributes through a has_many :through relationship