Postman .post request stalls, will not process. Why is this happening? - node.js

Question

Here is my code--------
const express = require("express");
const router = express.Router();
const gravatar = require("gravatar");
// Load User model
const User = require("../../models/User");
// #route GET api/users/test
// #desc Tests users route
// #access Public
router.get("/test", (req, res) => res.json({ msg: "Users Works" }));
// #route GET api/users/register
// #desc Register user
// #access Public
router.post("/register", (req, res) => {
User.findOne({ email: req.body.email }).then(user => {
if (user) {
return res.status(400).json({ email: "email already exists" });
} else {
const avatar = gravatar.url(req.body.email, {
s: "200", // Size
r: "pg", // Rating
d: "mm" // Default
});
const newUser = new User({
name: req.body.name,
email: req.body.email,
avatar,
password: req.body.password
});
}
});
});
module.exports = router;
When I attempt a postman test for the .post(/register ... ) route it stalls loading for some minutes before giving me the error of --
"Could not get any response
There was an error connecting to http://localhost:5000/api/users/register.
Why this might have happened:
The server couldn't send a response:
Ensure that the backend is working properly
Self-signed SSL certificates are being blocked:
Fix this by turning off 'SSL certificate verification' in Settings > General
Proxy configured incorrectly
Ensure that proxy is configured correctly in Settings > Proxy
Request timeout:
Change request timeout in Settings > General"
Tweaking the suggested options did nothing and I'm lead to think neither of these things are the cause, as I am able to successfully process the .get(/test) route.
**point of note, I add the key:values in the body of the postman request for name, email and password. The avatar is generated from the email.
This is the route I use(post) --- http://localhost:5000/api/users/register
and for reference this is the working route (get)
--- http://localhost:5000/api/users/test
Any help would be great!

Answer 1

There is no return statement in the else block. Try as following... It should work
// #route GET api/users/register
// #desc Register user
// #access Public
router.post("/register", (req, res) => {
User.findOne({ email: req.body.email }).then(user => {
if (user) {
return res.status(400).json({ email: "email already exists" });
} else {
const avatar = gravatar.url(req.body.email, {
s: "200", // Size
r: "pg", // Rating
d: "mm" // Default
});
return res.status(200).json(new User({
name: req.body.name,
email: req.body.email,
avatar,
password: req.body.password
}));
}
});
});

Answer 2

I guess you are trying to register a user and save it mongoDB and return the response.
What you are doing wrong is you are not responding the data back to user. Also you are not saving anything in the whole API call..
Here's how you can do it.
router.post("/register", (req, res, next) => {
User.findOne({ email: req.body.email }).then(user => {
if (user) {
return res.status(400).json({ email: "email already exists" });
} else {
const avatar = gravatar.url(req.body.email, {
s: "200", // Size
r: "pg", // Rating
d: "mm" // Default
});
const newUser = new User({
name: req.body.name,
email: req.body.email,
avatar,
password: req.body.password
});
newUser.save()
.then(user => {
res.status(201).json(user); // 201 is HTTP Code for "Created"
});
.catch(next); // we usually handle error in a common middleware, which is why, I am calling "next" here with error as 1st argument.
}
});
});