How to "update_attributes" without executing "before_save"?
In rails 3.1 you will use update_column.
Otherwise:
In general way, the most elegant way to bypass callbacks is the following:
class Message < ActiveRecord::Base cattr_accessor :skip_callbacks before_save lambda { foo(publisher); bar }, :unless => :skip_callbacks # let's say you do not want this callback to be triggered when you perform batch operationsendThen, you can do:
Message.skip_callbacks = true # for multiple recordsmy_message.update_attributes(:created_at => ...)Message.skip_callbacks = false # resetOr, just for one record:
my_message.update_attributes(:created_at => ..., :skip_callbacks => true)If you need it specifically for a Time attribute, then touch will do the trick as mentioned by @lucapette .
update_all won't trigger callbacks
my_message.update_all(:created_at => ...)# ORMessage.update_all({:created_at => ...}, {:id => my_message.id})