I am trying to start my project via launching server.js but I am getting error:"cannot GET /"
even after I made an app.get() route in my server.js
I am using also "body-parser" as a middleware, and "cors"
server.js:
// Setup empty JS object to act as endpoint for all routes
const projectData = {};
// Require Express to run server and routes
const express = require('express');
// Start up an instance of app
const app = express();
/* Middleware*/
//Here we are configuring express to use body-parser as middle-ware.
const bodyParser = require('body-parser')
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
// Cors for cross origin allowance
const cors = require('cors');
app.use(cors());
// Initialize the main project folder
app.use(express.static('views'));
const port = 8080;
app.use(express.static('dist'));
// Setup Server
const server=app.listen(port, ()=>{console.log(`running on localhost: ${port}`)});
app.get('/all', sendData);
function sendData (request, response) {
response.send(projectData);
};
// TODO-ROUTES!
app.post('/add', Info);
function Info(req, res) {
projectData['date'] = req.body.date;
projectData['temp'] = req.body.temp;
projectData['content'] = req.body.content;
res.send(projectData);
}
module.exports = server;
I made a POST request to /add and it works. Then I call GET /all and also work. The error cannot GET / is because you are requesting an endpoint that not exists.
Just add a dummy data to your Fn() if you want to see some output on GET request wihtout making any post request
Here is my solution
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.redirect('/all');
})
we need this because you do not have any root URL set, so we set the root URL to redirect to /all
2nd step then we add a dummy data in the projectData
var projectData = {
date = new Date().getDate();,
temp = 10,
content="This is Test Content"
}
This way when you call 'http://localhost:8080/' you shall get redirected to http://localhost:8080/all and instead of empty {} you shall see the dummy data.
In NodeJS Express module, specifying path "/" will catch multiple HTTP requests like "/", "lib/main.js", "images/icon.gif", etc
var app = require('express')
app.use('/', authenticate);
In above example, if authenticate is defined as followed
var authenticate = function(request, response, next) {
console.log("=> path = " + request.path);
next()
}
Then you would see
=> path = /
=> path = /lib/main.js
=> path = /images/icon.gif
Could anyone advise how to define path in Express "app.use" that only catch "/"?
If you are trying to expose static files, people usually place those in a folder called public/. express has built-in middleware called static to handle all requests to this folder.
var express = require('express')
var app = express();
app.use(express.static('./public'));
app.use('/', authenticate);
app.get('/home', function(req, res) {
res.send('Hello World');
});
Now if you place images/css/javascript files in public you can access them as if public/ is the root directory
<script src="http://localhost/lib/main.js"></script>
As far as I understand, what you need to do is if you have '/' & '/abc' you need to catch it separately.
This will do the trick:
app.use('/abc', abc);
app.use('/', authenticate);
Means, register the /abc middleware first, then do the / middleware.
There is an issue with this solution also. Here we declared /abc only. So when user calls an unregistered path, then it will hit here.
You can make use of originalUrl property in request object to determine its / only or there is something else. Here is the documentation for this : http://expressjs.com/en/api.html#req.originalUrl
if(req.originalUrl !== '/'){
res.status(404).send('Sorry, we cannot find that!');
}
else{
/*Do your stuff*/
}
I'm making a nodeJS module, and I want to use expressJS as a framework for it.
I'm trying to see, how I could go by, including a function inside and app.get(); and call it via another file, such as the actual app.
var express = require("express");
var app = express();
app.get("/", function (req, res) {
exports.type = function (text) {
console.log(req.ip);
console.log(text);
}
});
now when I use this, and i call it on the actual app like:
var web = require("directory_to_file");
var express = require("express");
var app = express();
var http = require("http").Server(app);
app.get("/", function (req, res) {
web.type("Hello, world");
});
http.listen(10022, function () {
console.log("server is up");
});
I get an error:
TypeError: Property 'type' of object #<Object> is not a function
anyone know a way to make it so I can call the function?
There are generally two things you want to export as a module - an API and a Middleware. The classic example of middleware is an authentication module. To do the middleware, just export the middleware. I tend to do a little more than that so I can configure the middleware later. Something along the lines of this:
module.exports = exports = function(config) {
// Do something with config here
return function(req, res, next) {
// your middleware here
};
};
You can then use your middleware in your main program like this:
var app = require('express')(),
mymodule = require('./mymodule');
var config = {}; // replace with whatever config you need
app.use(mymodule(config));
app.listen(process.env.PORT || 3000);
To implement an API, you will create a Router object, then attach your routes to the Router object. You can then "mount" your router in your main program. For example, you could have a file called 'myroutes.js' with the following contents:
var express = require('express'),
myroutes = express.Router();
myroutes.get('/foo', (req, res) => {
res.status(200).type('application/json').send({ myparam: 'foo' });
});
module.exports = exports = myroutes;
Have the following in your main program:
var app = require('express')(),
myroutes = require('./myroutes');
app.use('/api', require('./myroutes'));
app.listen(process.env.PORT || 3000);
Here, in 'myroutes.js', I'm defining a sub-route of /foo and then in the main program, I'm mounting that on /api - so I would access /api/foo to access that API.
In your directory_to_file you are only exporting on app.get('/') which will never be called.
You could add in your directory_to_file the following code
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
router.get('/', function(req, server) {
console.log(req.ip);
});
module.exports = router;
And in your main file you could use app.use('/', web)
A short explanation:
You are creating a new express app / config in your directory_to_file file which won't be launched or used. So your app.get event won't be fired once.
That's why web.type is not a function. You are not exporting anything.
Use the way I provided. This is a commonly used method.
You could call the code I provided a "route". Create multiple routes / route files and include them in your main method.
Your code just looks confused. If I understand you correctly, what you are really trying to do (at least in Node/express terminology) is write your own middleware.
Express is designed with this in mind and it's pretty straightforward e.g.
ipLogger.js
module.exports = function(req, res, next) {
console.log(req.ip);
next();
}
app.js
var http = require("http")
, express = require("express");
, app = express()
, server = http.Server(app)
, ipLogger = require("./ipLogger.js");
app.use(ipLogger()); // log IP of all requests
// handle routes
server.listen(10022, function() {
console.log("server is up");
});
Is there any way I can always serve the same file?
So, if they go to website.com/ajsdflkasjd it still serves the same file as website.com/asdnw
I would like to do this using express with node.
The file I have is a static html file, not a jade file.
By the way, the reason I'm wanting to do this, in case you were wondering, is I have an angularjs app that handles all the routing for me. So, all I need to do is serve that one page, and it will take care of the rest.
Thanks in advance!
new answer
const app= require('express')()
// static file serve
app.use(express.static(__dirname))
// not found in static files, so default to index.html
app.use((req, res) => res.sendFile(`${__dirname}/index.html`))
app.listen(3000)
old answer
var express = require('express');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser')
var path = require('path')
var app = express();
// url encoding
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({extended:false}));
// gzip
// redirect all html requests to `index.html`
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
if (path.extname(req.path).length > 0) {
// normal static file request
next();
}
else {
// should force return `index.html` for angular.js
req.url = '/index.html';
next();
}
});
// static file serve
app.use(express.static(__dirname))
app.listen(3000)
Below is what I'm using express with angularjs in my project. It will always send index.html unless the browser requests resource files (images, css, js, etc.) which contains extname.
var express = require('express');
var app = express();
app.configure(function () {
// url encoding
app.use(express.urlencoded());
// gzip
app.use(express.compress());
// redirect all html requests to `index.html`
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
if (path.extname(req.path).length > 0) {
// normal static file request
next();
}
else {
// should force return `index.html` for angular.js
req.url = '/index.html';
next();
}
});
// static file serve
app.use(express.static(__dirname));
});
Basic configuration for Express 4 is:
var express = require('express');
express()
.get(/.*/, function(req, res) {
res.sendFile('index.html', {
root: __dirname
});
})
.listen(8080);
Working example
Those snippets with GZip, BodyParser etc. are pretty cool, but I think over-complicated if you want to just test your single page app. Of course you can add all this "production stuff" when it starts to be needed.
Read more:
sending files
routing
Here a simple implementation with ExpressJs to create a virtual host and whenever return the index.html
var express = require('express');
var app = express();
var vhost = require('vhost');
// Function to create virtualhost
function createVhost(domain,rootDirectory){
var exp = express();
exp.use(express.static(rootDirectory));
exp.get(/.*/,function(req,res){
res.sendFile('index.html',{root:rootDirectory});
})
app.use(vhost(domain,exp));
}
// Virtual Host to create
createVhost('example.com','/home/[user]/[www]/[example.com]');
createVhost('othersite.com','/home/[user]/[www]/[othersite.com]');
// Start Server
app.listen(80,function(){
console.log('Node server on port 80');
});
Remember:
Add the domains in the "/etc/host" (in linux)
127.0.0.1 example.com
127.0.0.1 othersite.com
And run in the terminal the "app.js" with "sudo" for port 80
~/home/[server]$ sudo node app.js
You can do this in both angular as well as node side.
In Node side you can do something like this:
res.sendfile('<ur html file path');
In Angular if you using ui-router you can make use of
$urlRouterProvider.otherwise('/otherwise');
and this otherwise state needs to be defined as well
$stateProvider
.state("otherwise", { url : '/urPage'...})
If you using ngRoute, you can do
$routeProvider.otherwise({redirectTo: '/urPage'});
UPDATE
Since your routers are not configured to show a default urPage, in the server you can have something as:
var app = express.createServer();
app.get('/urPage',function(req,res){
res.sendfile('<ur html page>');
});
How do i set a variable in app.js and have it be available in all the routes, atleast in the index.js file located in routes. using the express framework and node.js
It is actually very easy to do this using the "set" and "get" methods available on an express object.
Example as follows, say you have a variable called config with your configuration related stuff that you want to be available in other places:
In app.js:
var config = require('./config');
app.configure(function() {
...
app.set('config', config);
...
}
In routes/index.js
exports.index = function(req, res){
var config = req.app.get('config');
// config is now available
...
}
A neat way to do this is to use app.locals provided by Express itself.
Here is the documentation.
// In app.js:
app.locals.variable_you_need = 42;
// In index.js
exports.route = function(req, res){
var variable_i_needed = req.app.locals.variable_you_need;
}
To make a global variable, just declare it without the var keyword. (Generally speaking this isn't best practice, but in some cases it can be useful - just be careful as it will make the variable available everywhere.)
Here's an example from visionmedia/screenshot-app
file app.js:
/**
* Module dependencies.
*/
var express = require('express')
, stylus = require('stylus')
, redis = require('redis')
, http = require('http');
app = express();
//... require() route files
file routes/main.js
//we can now access 'app' without redeclaring it or passing it in...
/*
* GET home page.
*/
app.get('/', function(req, res, next){
res.render('index');
});
//...
To declare a global variable you need do use global object. Like global.yourVariableName. But it is not a true way. To share variables between modules try to use injection style like
someModule.js:
module.exports = function(injectedVariable) {
return {
somePublicMethod: function() {
},
anotherPublicMethod: function() {
},
};
};
app.js
var someModule = require('./someModule')(someSharedVariable);
Or you may use surrogate object to do that. Like hub.
someModule.js:
var hub = require('hub');
module.somePublicMethod = function() {
// We can use hub.db here
};
module.anotherPublicMethod = function() {
};
app.js
var hub = require('hub');
hub.db = dbConnection;
var someModule = require('./someModule');
the easiest way is to declare a global variable in your app.js, early on:
global.mySpecialVariable = "something"
then in any routes you can get it:
console.log(mySpecialVariable)
This was a helpful question, but could be more so by giving actual code examples. Even the linked article does not actually show an implementation. I, therefore, humbly submit:
In your app.js file, the top of the file:
var express = require('express')
, http = require('http')
, path = require('path');
app = express(); //IMPORTANT! define the global app variable prior to requiring routes!
var routes = require('./routes');
app.js will not have any reference to app.get() method. Leave these to be defined in the individual routes files.
routes/index.js:
require('./main');
require('./users');
and finally, an actual routes file, routes/main.js:
function index (request, response) {
response.render('index', { title: 'Express' });
}
app.get('/',index); // <-- define the routes here now, thanks to the global app variable
Here are explain well, in short:
http://www.hacksparrow.com/global-variables-in-node-js.html
So you are working with a set of Node modules, maybe a framework like Express.js, and suddenly feel the need to make some variables global. How do you make variables global in Node.js?
The most common advice to this one is to either "declare the variable without the var keyword" or "add the variable to the global object" or "add the variable to the GLOBAL object". Which one do you use?
First off, let's analyze the global object. Open a terminal, start a Node REPL (prompt).
> global.name
undefined
> global.name = 'El Capitan'
> global.name
'El Capitan'
> GLOBAL.name
'El Capitan'
> delete global.name
true
> GLOBAL.name
undefined
> name = 'El Capitan'
'El Capitan'
> global.name
'El Capitan'
> GLOBAL.name
'El Capitan'
> var name = 'Sparrow'
undefined
> global.name
'Sparrow'
My preferred way is to use circular dependencies*, which node supports
in app.js define var app = module.exports = express(); as your first order of business
Now any module required after the fact can var app = require('./app') to access it
app.js
var express = require('express');
var app = module.exports = express(); //now app.js can be required to bring app into any file
//some app/middleware, config, setup, etc, including app.use(app.router)
require('./routes'); //module.exports must be defined before this line
routes/index.js
var app = require('./app');
app.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('index');
});
//require in some other route files...each of which requires app independently
require('./user');
require('./blog');
this is pretty easy thing, but people's answers are confusing and complex at the same time.
let me show you how you can set global variable in your express app. So you can access it from any route as needed.
Let's say you want set a global variable from your main / route
router.get('/', (req, res, next) => {
req.app.locals.somethingNew = "Hi setting new global var";
});
So you'll get req.app from all the routes. and then you'll have to use the locals to set global data into. like above show you're all set. now
I will show you how to use that data
router.get('/register', (req, res, next) => {
console.log(req.app.locals.somethingNew);
});
Like above from register route you're accessing the data has been set earlier.
This is how you can get this thing working!
As others have already shared, app.set('config', config) is great for this. I just wanted to add something that I didn't see in existing answers that is quite important. A Node.js instance is shared across all requests, so while it may be very practical to share some config or router object globally, storing runtime data globally will be available across requests and users. Consider this very simple example:
var express = require('express');
var app = express();
app.get('/foo', function(req, res) {
app.set('message', "Welcome to foo!");
res.send(app.get('message'));
});
app.get('/bar', function(req, res) {
app.set('message', "Welcome to bar!");
// some long running async function
var foo = function() {
res.send(app.get('message'));
};
setTimeout(foo, 1000);
});
app.listen(3000);
If you visit /bar and another request hits /foo, your message will be "Welcome to foo!". This is a silly example, but it gets the point across.
There are some interesting points about this at Why do different node.js sessions share variables?.
const app = require('express')();
app.set('globalvar', "xyz");
app.get('globalvar');
I used app.all
The app.all() method is useful for mapping “global” logic for specific
path prefixes or arbitrary matches.
In my case, I'm using confit for configuration management,
app.all('*', function (req, res, next) {
confit(basedir).create(function (err, config) {
if (err) {
throw new Error('Failed to load configuration ', err);
}
app.set('config', config);
next();
});
});
In routes, you simply do req.app.get('config').get('cookie');
I solved the same problem, but I had to write more code.
I created a server.js file, that uses express to register routes.
It exposes a function,register , that can be used by other modules to register their own routes.
It also exposes a function, startServer , to start listening to a port
server.js
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const register = (path,method,callback) => methodCalled(path, method, callback)
const methodCalled = (path, method, cb) => {
switch (method) {
case 'get':
app.get(path, (req, res) => cb(req, res))
break;
...
...
default:
console.log("there has been an error");
}
}
const startServer = (port) => app.listen(port, () => {console.log(`successfully started at ${port}`)})
module.exports = {
register,
startServer
}
In another module, use this file to create a route.
help.js
const app = require('../server');
const registerHelp = () => {
app.register('/help','get',(req, res) => {
res.send("This is the help section")
}),
app.register('/help','post',(req, res) => {
res.send("This is the help section")
})}
module.exports = {
registerHelp
}
In the main file, bootstrap both.
app.js
require('./server').startServer(7000)
require('./web/help').registerHelp()
John Gordon's answer was the first of dozens of half-explained / documented answers I tried, from many, many sites, that actually worked. Thank You Mr Gordon. Sorry I don't have the points to up-tick your answer.
I would like to add, for other newbies to node-route-file-splitting, that the use of the anonymous function for 'index' is what one will more often see, so using John's example for the main.js, the functionally-equivalent code one would normally find is:
app.get('/',(req, res) {
res.render('index', { title: 'Express' });
});