express-validator converting body to [object Object] - node.js

Question

I'm trying to escape form input for a simple demo express app, and I'm getting a result I don't understand.
When I execute this route:
/* Update a toy */
app.post('/toys/:id', [
body().escape()
], (req, res) => {
console.log("Update: ");
console.log(req.body);
toyController.update(req, res);
});
I get this output:
Update:
[object Object]
It looks to me as if the request body is getting destroyed.
If I remove the middleware,
/* Update a toy */
app.post('/toys/:id', (req, res) => {
console.log("Update: ");
console.log(req.body);
toyController.update(req, res);
});
I get the expected result:
Update:
{
toy: {
name: 'Playstation 4',
description: 'A gaming console',
manufacturer: 'Sony',
price: '400'
},
commit: 'Update Toy'
}
Update: If I call body('toy') instead of body(), I get the following result:
{ toy: '[object Object]', commit: 'Update Toy' }
So, it appears that the problem lies in the fact that that body is a nested object.
How can I apply the validation/sanitization to body.toy instead of all of body?
Is there a way that I can directly call the escape code an apply it to a specific string, instead of using the entire middleware setup?

Answer 1

You need to use body().escape() in a correct way. Please refer below an example.
const express = require('express');
const { body } = require('express-
validator');
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
app.post('/comment', [
body('email')
.isEmail()
.normalizeEmail(),
body('text')
.not().isEmpty()
.trim()
.escape(),
body('notifyOnReply').toBoolean()
], (req, res) => {
// Handle the request somehow
});
Above example contains the right way to use express validator.In the example above, we are validating email and text fields, so we may take advantage of the same chain to apply some sanitization, like e-mail normalization (normalizeEmail) and trimming (trim)/HTML escaping (escape).
The notifyOnReply field isn't validated, but it can still make use of the same check function to convert it to a JavaScript boolean.
Sorry the indentation is not good, I am posting the answer from mobile.
Since you modified the question. You can use schema validation by express- validator.
https://express-validator.github.io/docs/schema-validation.html