What to use instead of `render :text` (and `render nothing: true`) in rails 5.1 and later?

Rails 5.1 removes a whole load of previously deprecated methods. Among them is the old friend render :text.

It was very useful when you need to render some text, but don't want the overhead of a view template. Examples:

render text: "ok"
render text: t('business_rules.project_access_denied'), status: 401

What to use instead?

Solution 1:

The non-deprecated way is to use render :plain

Rails Guide on Layouts and Rendering:

2.2.6 Rendering Text

You can send plain text - with no markup at all - back to the browser by using the :plain option to render:

render plain: "OK"

Bonus

Instead of render nothing: true (also removed), one should now use head :ok. Does the same thing: sends http 200 response code, just the headers, no content.