I'm using express 4 with body-parser like so
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
...
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({
extended: true
}));
When I added dicer it's like body parser stops working. I no longer have any post params in req.params or req.body or req.query.
Is there a way to use body parser manually? Does body parser check for multipart forms data and just do nothing ... assume another lib will handle it?
Also, I feel I should note, that I am using dicer to parse the multipart form data for a reason and I don't want to use busboy or multer or xyz if possible.
To answer your question "Is there a way to use body-parser manually?"
the answer is yes and it is the recommended way of using it. Referring to the body-parser documentation:
express route-specific
This example demonstrates adding body parsers specifically to the routes that need them. In general, this is the most recommend way to use body-parser with express.
(I added some semi-colons because they would keep me up at night)
var express = require('express');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var app = express();
// create application/json parser
var jsonParser = bodyParser.json();
// create application/x-www-form-urlencoded parser
var urlencodedParser = bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false });
// POST /login gets urlencoded bodies
app.post('/login', urlencodedParser, function (req, res) {
if (!req.body) return res.sendStatus(400);
res.send('welcome, ' + req.body.username);
})
// POST /api/users gets JSON bodies
app.post('/api/users', jsonParser, function (req, res) {
if (!req.body) return res.sendStatus(400);
// create user in req.body
})
So depending on which routes you need body-parser for, you can implement it with some custom middleware. Now, I have not tested this, but I'm assuming you could also implement it in the same way as other express middleware:
// URL encoded bodies
app.use('/api/url/encoded/endpoint', bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
// JSON encoded bodies
app.use('/api/json/encoded/endpoint', bodyParser.json());
Where any routes that match the above endpoints, such as
app.use('/api/url/encoded/endpoint/test', function (req, res) { ... });
would be parsed using the appropriate middleware as long as they are below the middleware declarations in your code.
To try to answer your whole question, I would say that it would be safe to try not using either parser globally. Keep your parsers api endpoint specific and you shouldn't run into any problems.
Edit:
So your question is a little unclear. You would like to use body parser for multipart/form-data? "Body-parser does not handle multipart bodies, due to their complex and typically large nature." Again, I haven't tried it but maybe you could give the bodyParser.raw({ type: ... }) function a try if that's the case. If not, then you need to use dicer in a custom middleware function in which you check for the correct content type.
I am going through the book Web Development with Node and Express and have hit a snag.
I was instructed to put the below in my application file, but it looks like body-parser is deprecated and will not work. How can I achieve the same functionality?
This is my current code:
app.use(require('body-parser')());
app.get('/newsletter', function(req, res){
// we will learn about CSRF later...for now, we just
// provide a dummy value
res.render('newsletter', { csrf: 'CSRF token goes here' });
});
app.post('/process', function(req, res){
console.log('Form (from querystring): ' + req.query.form);
console.log('CSRF token (from hidden form field): ' + req.body._csrf);
console.log('Name (from visible form field): ' + req.body.name);
console.log('Email (from visible form field): ' + req.body.email); res.redirect(303, '/thank-you');
});
Just wanted to update this thread because I tried the solution above and received undefined. Express 4.16+ has implemented their own version of body-parser so you do not need to add the dependency to your project. You can run it natively in express as follows:
app.use(express.json()); // Used to parse JSON bodies
app.use(express.urlencoded()); // Parse URL-encoded bodies using query-string library
// or
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true })); // Parse URL-encoded bodies using qs library
Source: Express JS — body-parser and why may not need it
See also: query-string vs qs
From: bodyParser is deprecated express 4
It means that using the bodyParser() constructor has been deprecated, as of 2014-06-19.
app.use(bodyParser()); //Now deprecated
You now need to call the methods separately
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded());
app.use(bodyParser.json());
And so on.
Do not use body-parser anymore
Since Express 4.16+ the body parsing functionality has become builtin with express
So, you can simply do
app.use(express.urlencoded({extended: true}));
app.use(express.json()) // To parse the incoming requests with JSON payloads
from directly express, without having to install body-parser.
you can now uninstall body-parser using npm uninstall body-parser
And to get the POST data content, you can use req.body
app.post("/yourpath", (req, res)=>{
var postData = req.body;
//Or if body comes as string,
var postData = JSON.parse(req.body);
});
I am new to node JS.
I am getting undefined for post request. My express version is 4.10.
I think I am missing something.
var express = require('express');
var http = require('http');
var app = express();
app.use(express.static(__dirname + '/public'));
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({extended: true}));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.post('/test',function(req,res){
var color1 = req.body.color;
console.log(req.headers);
console.log("Color : "+color1);
});
In content-length I am getting 234.
Thanks!!
For future visitors - it seems that #mscdex's suggestion lead #Rahul to change the client calling his API so that it passed application/json as the value for the Content-Type header. Another option is to change the Content-Type header that body-parser attempts to parse.
You can configure body-parser to accept a different Content-Type by specifying the type it accepts as follows:
app.use(bodyParser.json({ type: 'application/vnd.api+json' }));
This is the solution that worked for me in order to parse the JSON sent from an Ember app. I felt it was better to change the default Content-Type header accepted by body-parser than changing the rest of the tooling around my application.
The correct answer is to change the default Content-Type as described above:
app.use(bodyParser.json({
type: 'application/vnd.api+json',
strict: false
}));
strict:false gets around some bugs in bodyParser rejecting valid JSON objects.
npm install body-parser
However, if you are running a version of Express that is 4.16+, it now includes the same functionality inside of Express.
Instead of adding these lines in the code to get req.body:
app.use(bodyparser.urlencoded({extended: false}));
app.use(bodyparser.json());
If you are using Express 4.16+ you can now replace that with:
app.use(express.urlencoded({extended: false}));
app.use(express.json());
I have this as configuration of my Express server
app.use(app.router);
app.use(express.cookieParser());
app.use(express.session({ secret: "keyboard cat" }));
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
app.set("view options", { layout: true });
//Handles post requests
app.use(express.bodyParser());
//Handles put requests
app.use(express.methodOverride());
But still when I ask for req.body.something in my routes I get some error pointing out that body is undefined. Here is an example of a route that uses req.body :
app.post('/admin', function(req, res){
console.log(req.body.name);
});
I read that this problem is caused by the lack of app.use(express.bodyParser()); but as you can see I call it before the routes.
Any clue?
UPDATE July 2020
express.bodyParser() is no longer bundled as part of express. You need to install it separately before loading:
npm i body-parser
// then in your app
var express = require('express')
var bodyParser = require('body-parser')
var app = express()
// create application/json parser
var jsonParser = bodyParser.json()
// create application/x-www-form-urlencoded parser
var urlencodedParser = bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false })
// POST /login gets urlencoded bodies
app.post('/login', urlencodedParser, function (req, res) {
res.send('welcome, ' + req.body.username)
})
// POST /api/users gets JSON bodies
app.post('/api/users', jsonParser, function (req, res) {
// create user in req.body
})
See here for further info
original follows
You must make sure that you define all configurations BEFORE defining routes. If you do so, you can continue to use express.bodyParser().
An example is as follows:
var express = require('express'),
app = express(),
port = parseInt(process.env.PORT, 10) || 8080;
app.configure(function(){
app.use(express.bodyParser());
});
app.listen(port);
app.post("/someRoute", function(req, res) {
console.log(req.body);
res.send({ status: 'SUCCESS' });
});
Latest versions of Express (4.x) has unbundled the middleware from the core framework. If you need body parser, you need to install it separately
npm install body-parser --save
and then do this in your code
var bodyParser = require('body-parser')
var app = express()
// parse application/x-www-form-urlencoded
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }))
// parse application/json
app.use(bodyParser.json())
Express 4, has built-in body parser. No need to install separate body-parser. So below will work:
export const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
No. You need to use app.use(express.bodyParser()) before app.use(app.router). In fact, app.use(app.router) should be the last thing you call.
The Content-Type in request header is really important, especially when you post the data from curl or any other tools.
Make sure you're using some thing like application/x-www-form-urlencoded, application/json or others, it depends on your post data. Leave this field empty will confuse Express.
First make sure , you have installed npm module named 'body-parser' by calling :
npm install body-parser --save
Then make sure you have included following lines before calling routes
var express = require('express');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var app = express();
app.use(bodyParser.json());
As already posted under one comment, I solved it using
app.use(require('connect').bodyParser());
instead of
app.use(express.bodyParser());
I still don't know why the simple express.bodyParser() is not working...
Add in your app.js
before the call of the Router
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());
The question is answered. But since it is quite generic and req.body undefined is a frequent error, especially for beginners, I find this is the best place to resume all that I know about the problem.
This error can be caused by the following reasons:
1. [SERVER side] [Quite often] Forget or misused parser middleware
You need to use appropriate middleware to parse the incoming requests. For example, express.json() parses request in JSON format, and express.urlencoded() parses request in urlencoded format.
const app = express();
app.use(express.urlencoded())
app.use(express.json())
You can see the full list in the express documentation page
If you can't find the right parser for your request in Express (XML, form-data...), you need to find another library for that. For example, to parse XML data, you can use this library
You should use the parser middleware before the route declaration part (I did a test to confirm this!). The middleware can be configured right after the initialization express app.
Like other answers pointed out, bodyParser is deprecated since express 4.16.0, you should use built-in middlewares like above.
2. [CLIENT side] [Rarely] Forget to send the data along with the request
Well, you need to send the data...
To verify whether the data has been sent with the request or not, open the Network tabs in the browser's devtools and search for your request.
It's rare but I saw some people trying to send data in the GET request, for GET request req.body is undefined.
3. [SERVER & CLIENT] [Quite often] Using different Content-Type
Server and client need to use the same Content-Type to understand each other. If you send requests using json format, you need to use json() middleware. If you send a request using urlencoded format, you need to use urlencoded()...
There is 1 tricky case when you try to upload a file using the form-data format. For that, you can use multer, a middleware for handling multipart/form-data.
What if you don't control the client part? I had a problem when coding the API for Instant payment notification (IPN). The general rule is to try to get information on the client part: communicate with the frontend team, go to the payment documentation page... You might need to add appropriate middleware based on the Content-Type decided by the client part.
Finally, a piece of advice for full-stack developers :)
When having a problem like this, try to use some API test software like Postman. The object is to eliminate all the noise in the client part, this will help you correctly identify the problem.
In Postman, once you have a correct result, you can use the code generation tool in the software to have corresponded code. The button </> is on the right bar. You have a lot of options in popular languages/libraries...
app.use(express.json());
It will help to solve the issue of req.body undefined
// Require body-parser (to receive post data from clients)
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }))
// parse application/json
app.use(bodyParser.json())
Looks like the body-parser is no longer shipped with express. We may have to install it separately.
var express = require('express')
var bodyParser = require('body-parser')
var app = express()
// parse application/x-www-form-urlencoded
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }))
// parse application/json
app.use(bodyParser.json())
// parse application/vnd.api+json as json
app.use(bodyParser.json({ type: 'application/vnd.api+json' }))
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
console.log(req.body) // populated!
Refer to the git page https://github.com/expressjs/body-parser for more info and examples.
In case anyone runs into the same issue I was having; I am using a url prefix like
http://example.com/api/
which was setup with router
app.use('/api', router);
and then I had the following
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
What fixed my issue was placing the bodyparser configuration above app.use('/api', router);
Final
// setup bodyparser
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
//this is a fix for the prefix of example.com/api/ so we dont need to code the prefix in every route
app.use('/api', router);
Most of the time req.body is undefined due to missing JSON parser
const express = require('express');
app.use(express.json());
could be missing for the body-parser
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({extended: true}));
and sometimes it's undefined due to cros origin so add them
const cors = require('cors');
app.use(cors())
The middleware is always used as first.
//MIDDLEWARE
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(cors());
app.use(cookieParser());
before the routes.
//MY ROUTES
app.use("/api", authRoutes);
express.bodyParser() needs to be told what type of content it is that it's parsing. Therefore, you need to make sure that when you're executing a POST request, that you're including the "Content-Type" header. Otherwise, bodyParser may not know what to do with the body of your POST request.
If you're using curl to execute a POST request containing some JSON object in the body, it would look something like this:
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d #your_json_file http://localhost:xxxx/someRoute
If using another method, just be sure to set that header field using whatever convention is appropriate.
Use app.use(bodyparser.json()); before routing. // .
app.use("/api", routes);
History:
Earlier versions of Express used to have a lot of middleware bundled with it. bodyParser was one of the middleware that came with it. When Express 4.0 was released they decided to remove the bundled middleware from Express and make them separate packages instead. The syntax then changed from app.use(express.json()) to app.use(bodyParser.json()) after installing the bodyParser module.
bodyParser was added back to Express in release 4.16.0, because people wanted it bundled with Express like before. That means you don't have to use bodyParser.json() anymore if you are on the latest release. You can use express.json() instead.
The release history for 4.16.0 is here for those who are interested, and the pull request is here.
Okay, back to the point,
Implementation:
All you need to add is just add,
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true}));
app.use(app.router); // Route will be at the end of parser
And remove bodyParser (in newer version of express it is not needed)
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
And Express will take care of your request. :)
Full example will looks like,
const express = require('express')
const app = express()
app.use(express.json())
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true}));
app.post('/test-url', (req, res) => {
console.log(req.body)
return res.send("went well")
})
app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log("running on port 3000")
})
You can try adding this line of code at the top, (after your require statements):
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({extended: true}));
As for the reasons as to why it works, check out the docs: https://www.npmjs.com/package/body-parser#bodyparserurlencodedoptions
Firsl of all, ensure you are applying this middleware (express.urlencoded) before routes.
let app = express();
//response as Json
app.use(express.json());
//Parse x-www-form-urlencoded request into req.body
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
app.post('/test',(req,res)=>{
res.json(req.body);
});
The code express.urlencoded({extended:true}) only responds to x-www-form-urlencoded posts requests, so in your ajax/XMLHttpRequest/fetch, make sure you are sending the request.setRequestHeader('Content-type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'); header.
Thats it !
in Express 4, it's really simple
const app = express()
const p = process.env.PORT || 8082
app.use(express.json())
This occured to me today. None of above solutions work for me. But a little googling helped me to solve this issue. I'm coding for wechat 3rd party server.
Things get slightly more complicated when your node.js application requires reading streaming POST data, such as a request from a REST client. In this case, the request's property "readable" will be set to true and the POST data must be read in chunks in order to collect all content.
http://www.primaryobjects.com/CMS/Article144
Wasted a lot of time:
Depending on Content-Type in your client request
the server should have different, one of the below app.use():
app.use(bodyParser.text({ type: 'text/html' }))
app.use(bodyParser.text({ type: 'text/xml' }))
app.use(bodyParser.raw({ type: 'application/vnd.custom-type' }))
app.use(bodyParser.json({ type: 'application/*+json' }))
Source: https://www.npmjs.com/package/body-parser#bodyparsertextoptions
Example:
For me,
On Client side, I had below header:
Content-Type: "text/xml"
So, on the server side, I used:
app.use(bodyParser.text({type: 'text/xml'}));
Then, req.body worked fine.
To work, you need to app.use(app.router) after app.use(express.bodyParser()), like that:
app.use(express.bodyParser())
.use(express.methodOverride())
.use(app.router);
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
app.use(bodyParser.json());
This saved my day.
I solved it with:
app.post('/', bodyParser.json(), (req, res) => {//we have req.body JSON
});
In my case, it was because of using body-parser after including the routes.
The correct code should be
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({extended:true}));
app.use(methodOverride("_method"));
app.use(indexRoutes);
app.use(userRoutes);
app.use(adminRoutes);
As I get the same problem, although I know BodyParser is no longer used
and I already used the app.use(express.json())
the problem was {FOR ME}:
I was placing
app.use(express.json())
after
app.use('api/v1/example', example) => { concerns the route }
once I reorder those two lines;
1 - app.use(express.json())
2 - app.use('api/v1/example', example)
It worked perfectly
If you are using some external tool to make the request, make sure to add the header:
Content-Type: application/json
This is also one possibility: Make Sure that you should write this code before the route in your app.js(or index.js) file.
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
app.use(bodyParser.json());