Fix emoji support in comments and project descriptions

config/database.yml.example

@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
 
 default: &default
   adapter: mysql2
-  encoding: utf8
+  encoding: utf8mb4
+  collation: utf8mb4_unicode_ci
   username: root
   password: root
   host: <%= host %>

db/migrate/20251202131317_convert_to_utf8mb4.rb

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+class ConvertToUtf8mb4 < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.2]
+  # Tables that need utf8mb4 for emoji support in their text fields
+  TABLES_TO_CONVERT = %w[
+    announcements
+    comments
+    faqs
+    projects
+    updates
+  ].freeze
+
+  def up
+    # Convert the database default charset
+    execute "ALTER DATABASE `#{connection.current_database}` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"
+
+    TABLES_TO_CONVERT.each do |table|
+      execute "ALTER TABLE #{table} CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"
+    end
+  end
+
+  def down
+    TABLES_TO_CONVERT.each do |table|
+      execute "ALTER TABLE #{table} CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_bin;"
+    end
+
+    execute "ALTER DATABASE `#{connection.current_database}` CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_general_ci;"
+  end
+end

db/schema.rb

@@ -10,46 +10,45 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema[7.2].define(version: 2025_10_21_103843) do
-
-  create_table "active_storage_attachments", charset: "utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+ActiveRecord::Schema[7.2].define(version: 2025_12_02_131317) do
+  create_table "active_storage_attachments", charset: "utf8mb3", collation: "utf8mb3_uca1400_ai_ci", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "name", null: false
     t.string "record_type", null: false
     t.bigint "record_id", null: false
     t.bigint "blob_id", null: false
-    t.datetime "created_at", precision: 6, null: false
+    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.index ["blob_id"], name: "index_active_storage_attachments_on_blob_id"
     t.index ["record_type", "record_id", "name", "blob_id"], name: "index_active_storage_attachments_uniqueness", unique: true
   end
 
-  create_table "active_storage_blobs", charset: "utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "active_storage_blobs", charset: "utf8mb3", collation: "utf8mb3_uca1400_ai_ci", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "key", null: false
     t.string "filename", null: false
     t.string "content_type"
     t.text "metadata"
     t.string "service_name", null: false
     t.bigint "byte_size", null: false
     t.string "checksum"
-    t.datetime "created_at", precision: 6, null: false
+    t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.index ["key"], name: "index_active_storage_blobs_on_key", unique: true
   end
 
-  create_table "active_storage_variant_records", charset: "utf8", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "active_storage_variant_records", charset: "utf8mb3", collation: "utf8mb3_uca1400_ai_ci", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.bigint "blob_id", null: false
     t.string "variation_digest", null: false
     t.index ["blob_id", "variation_digest"], name: "index_active_storage_variant_records_uniqueness", unique: true
   end
 
-  create_table "announcements", id: :integer, charset: "utf8", collation: "utf8_bin", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "announcements", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_unicode_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "title"
-    t.text "text", size: :medium
+    t.text "text", size: :long
     t.integer "originator_id"
     t.datetime "created_at"
     t.datetime "updated_at"
   end
 
-  create_table "comments", id: :integer, charset: "utf8", collation: "utf8_bin", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
-    t.text "text"
+  create_table "comments", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_unicode_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.text "text", size: :medium
     t.integer "commentable_id"
     t.string "commentable_type"
     t.integer "commenter_id"
@@ -58,14 +57,14 @@
     t.boolean "ham"
   end
 
-  create_table "enrollments", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "enrollments", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "announcement_id"
     t.integer "user_id"
     t.datetime "created_at"
     t.datetime "updated_at"
   end
 
-  create_table "episodes", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "episodes", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "name"
     t.date "start_date"
     t.date "end_date"
@@ -75,7 +74,7 @@
     t.text "description"
   end
 
-  create_table "episodes_projects", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "episodes_projects", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "episode_id"
     t.integer "project_id"
     t.datetime "created_at"
@@ -84,14 +83,14 @@
     t.index ["project_id"], name: "index_episodes_projects_on_project_id"
   end
 
-  create_table "faqs", charset: "utf8", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
-    t.text "question"
-    t.text "answer"
+  create_table "faqs", charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_unicode_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.text "question", size: :medium
+    t.text "answer", size: :medium
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "impressions", charset: "utf8", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "impressions", charset: "utf8mb3", collation: "utf8mb3_uca1400_ai_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "impressionable_type"
     t.integer "impressionable_id"
     t.integer "user_id"
@@ -117,7 +116,7 @@
     t.index ["user_id"], name: "index_impressions_on_user_id"
   end
 
-  create_table "keywords", id: :integer, charset: "utf8", collation: "utf8_bin", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "keywords", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb3", collation: "utf8mb3_bin", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.text "name"
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
@@ -128,35 +127,35 @@
     t.string "description"
   end
 
-  create_table "keywords_projects", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "keywords_projects", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "project_id"
     t.integer "keyword_id"
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "keywords_users", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "keywords_users", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "user_id"
     t.integer "keyword_id"
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "likes", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "likes", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "project_id"
     t.integer "user_id"
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "memberships", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "memberships", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "project_id"
     t.integer "user_id"
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "notifications", id: :integer, charset: "utf8", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "notifications", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb3", collation: "utf8mb3_uca1400_ai_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "recipient_id"
     t.integer "actor_id"
     t.datetime "read_at"
@@ -167,16 +166,23 @@
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "project_follows", id: :integer, charset: "utf8", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "project_follows", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb3", collation: "utf8mb3_uca1400_ai_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "project_id"
     t.integer "user_id"
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "projects", id: :integer, charset: "utf8", collation: "utf8_bin", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
-    t.text "title"
-    t.text "description"
+  create_table "project_interests", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_unicode_ci", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.integer "project_id"
+    t.integer "keyword_id"
+    t.datetime "created_at", precision: nil
+    t.datetime "updated_at", precision: nil
+  end
+
+  create_table "projects", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_unicode_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.text "title", size: :medium
+    t.text "description", size: :medium
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
     t.integer "originator_id"
@@ -191,26 +197,33 @@
     t.integer "projecthits", default: 0
   end
 
-  create_table "roles", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "roles", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "name"
     t.datetime "created_at"
     t.datetime "updated_at"
   end
 
-  create_table "roles_users", id: false, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "roles_users", id: false, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.integer "role_id"
     t.integer "user_id"
   end
 
-  create_table "updates", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
-    t.text "text"
+  create_table "updates", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_unicode_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.text "text", size: :medium
     t.integer "author_id"
     t.integer "project_id"
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
   end
 
-  create_table "users", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
+  create_table "user_interests", id: :integer, charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_unicode_ci", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.integer "user_id"
+    t.integer "keyword_id"
+    t.datetime "created_at", precision: nil
+    t.datetime "updated_at", precision: nil
+  end
+
+  create_table "users", id: :integer, charset: "latin1", collation: "latin1_swedish_ci", options: "ENGINE=InnoDB ROW_FORMAT=DYNAMIC", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "uid"
     t.string "name"
     t.string "email"
@@ -231,6 +244,5 @@
     t.index ["reset_password_token"], name: "index_users_on_reset_password_token", unique: true
   end
 
-  add_foreign_key "active_storage_attachments", "active_storage_blobs", column: "blob_id"
   add_foreign_key "active_storage_variant_records", "active_storage_blobs", column: "blob_id"
 end

spec/models/comment_spec.rb

@@ -6,4 +6,13 @@
     comment.destroy!
     expect(Comment.count).to eq 0
   end
+
+  describe 'emoji support' do
+    it 'saves and retrieves comments with emoji characters' do
+      emoji_text = 'This is a great idea! 😱🎉👍'
+      comment = create(:comment, text: emoji_text)
+      comment.reload
+      expect(comment.text).to eq(emoji_text)
+    end
+  end
 end

spec/models/project_spec.rb

@@ -175,4 +175,20 @@
       expect(Notification.where(recipient: user).count).to eq(1)
     end
   end
+
+  describe 'emoji support' do
+    it 'saves and retrieves project descriptions with emoji characters' do
+      emoji_description = 'Project with emojis 😱🎉👍 and more text'
+      project = create(:project, description: emoji_description)
+      project.reload
+      expect(project.description).to eq(emoji_description)
+    end
+
+    it 'saves and retrieves project titles with emoji characters' do
+      emoji_title = 'My Awesome Project 🚀'
+      project = create(:project, title: emoji_title)
+      project.reload
+      expect(project.title).to eq(emoji_title)
+    end
+  end
 end