Nodejs middleware always executed - node.js

Question

I am learning NodeJS, and I am having trouble understanding why my middleware is always executed.
From my understanding, the middleware as I wrote it should be executed for all the routes declared after the middleware itself.
My index.js is something like this:
const express = require('express');
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const router = express.Router();
const bodyParser = require('body-parser'); // Parse incoming request bodies in a middleware before your handlers, available under the req.body property.
const configdb = require('./config/db_develop');
const path = require('path');
const authentication = require('./routes/authentication')(router); // Import Authentication Routes
const noNeedForAuth = require('./routes/noNeedForAuth')(router);
const app = express();
const port = 30000;
mongoose.Promise = global.Promise;
mongoose.connect(configdb.uri, (err) => {
if (err) {
console.log('Could not connect to database ' + err);
} else {
console.log('Connected to the database ' + configdb.db);
}
});
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({
extended: false
})); // parse application/x-www-form-urlencoded
app.use(bodyParser.json()); // parse application/json
app.use(express.static(__dirname + '/frontend/buildpath'));
app.use('/noNeedForAuth', noNeedForAuth);
app.use('/users', authentication);
app.get('*', (req, res) => {
res.send(path.join(__dirname + '/client/dist'));
});
app.listen(port, () => {
console.log('Listening on port ' + port + '!');
});
The authentication.js is:
const User = require('../models/user'); // Import User Model Schema
const config = require('../config/db_develop.js'); // Import database configuration
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken'); // Compact, URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties.
module.exports = (router) => {
router.post('/register', (req, res) => {
//Register
});
router.post('/login', (req, res) => {
//Login
});
// MIDDLEWARE
router.use((req, res, next) => {
const token = req.headers['authorization']; // Create token found in headers
// Check if token was found in headers
if (!token) {
res.status(403);
res.json({
success: false,
message: 'No token provided'
}); // Return error
} else {
// Verify the token is valid
jwt.verify(token, config.secret, (err, decoded) => {
// Check if error is expired or invalid
if (err) {
res.json({
success: false,
message: 'Token invalid: ' + err
}); // Return error for token validation
} else {
req.decoded = decoded; // Create global variable to use in any request beyond
next(); // Exit middleware
}
});
}
});
/* ===============================================================
Route to get user's profile data
=============================================================== */
router.get('/profile', (req, res) => {
//Profile, protected route
});
return router; // Return router object to main index.js
}
And my noNeedForAuth.js is
module.exports = (router) => {
/* ===============================================================
Route to get all sections' names
=============================================================== */
router.get('/something', (req, res) => {
// Do something
res.json({
message: 'foobar'
});
});
return router; // Return router object to main index.js
}
From my understanding, a query to /noNeedForAuth/something should be executed without passing from the middleware, so without the need for Authentication. But this is not happening, the middleware is executed first, always.
What am I missing?
Thanks

Answer 1

You are applying your middleware without any mount path to your router. It will execute for any route.
Try something like:
// MIDDLEWARE
router.use('/protected', (req, res, next) => {
const token = req.headers['authorization']; // Create token found in headers
// Check if token was found in headers
if (!token) {
res.status(403);
res.json({
success: false,
message: 'No token provided'
}); // Return error
} else {
// Verify the token is valid
jwt.verify(token, config.secret, (err, decoded) => {
// Check if error is expired or invalid
if (err) {
res.json({
success: false,
message: 'Token invalid: ' + err
}); // Return error for token validation
} else {
req.decoded = decoded; // Create global variable to use in any request beyond
next(); // Exit middleware
}
});
}
});
All your routes, where the user have to be authenticated, are behind /protected.