express (master) doxdox documentation

Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework

# express()

Module dependencies.

# cookieSession()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# escapeHtml()

Module dependencies.

# db()

Module dependencies.

# db()

Module dependencies.

# db()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# app.get()

GET users online.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# list()

List helper.

# app.get()

GET index.

# app.get()

GET :user.

# app.get()

GET users :from - :to.

# createError()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# escapeHtml()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# app.get()

GET search for :query.

# app.get()

GET client javascript. Here we use sendFile() because serving __dirname with the static() middleware would also mean serving our server "index.js" and the "search.jade" template.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# GithubView()

Custom view that fetches and renders remove github templates. You could render templates from a database etc.

# GithubView.render()

Render the view.

# https()

Module dependencies.

# module.exports()

Expose GithubView.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# express()

Module dependencies.

# all(path, ...)

Special-cased "all" method, applying the given route path, middleware, and callback to every HTTP method.

Parameters

Name Types Description
path String
... Function

Returns

app

for chaining

# app()

Application prototype.

# defaultConfiguration()

private method

Initialize application configuration.

# disable(setting)

Disable setting.

Parameters

Name Types Description
setting String

Returns

app

for chaining

# disabled(setting)

Check if setting is disabled. app.disabled('foo') // => true app.enable('foo') app.disabled('foo') // => false

Parameters

Name Types Description
setting String

Returns

Boolean

# enable(setting)

Enable setting.

Parameters

Name Types Description
setting String

Returns

app

for chaining

# enabled(setting)

Check if setting is enabled (truthy). app.enabled('foo') // => false app.enable('foo') app.enabled('foo') // => true

Parameters

Name Types Description
setting String

Returns

Boolean

# engine(ext, fn)

Register the given template engine callback fn as ext. By default will require() the engine based on the file extension. For example if you try to render a "foo.ejs" file Express will invoke the following internally: app.engine('ejs', require('ejs').__express); For engines that do not provide .__express out of the box, or if you wish to "map" a different extension to the template engine you may use this method. For example mapping the EJS template engine to ".html" files: app.engine('html', require('ejs').renderFile); In this case EJS provides a .renderFile() method with the same signature that Express expects: (path, options, callback), though note that it aliases this method as ejs.__express internally so if you're using ".ejs" extensions you don't need to do anything. Some template engines do not follow this convention, the Consolidate.js library was created to map all of node's popular template engines to follow this convention, thus allowing them to work seamlessly within Express.

Parameters

Name Types Description
ext String
fn Function

Returns

app

for chaining

# finalhandler()

private method

Module dependencies.

# handle()

private method

Dispatch a req, res pair into the application. Starts pipeline processing. If no callback is provided, then default error handlers will respond in the event of an error bubbling through the stack.

# hasOwnProperty()

private method

Module variables.

# init()

private method

Initialize the server. - setup default configuration - setup default middleware - setup route reflection methods

# lazyrouter()

private method

lazily adds the base router if it has not yet been added. We cannot add the base router in the defaultConfiguration because it reads app settings which might be set after that has run.

# listen()

Listen for connections. A node http.Server is returned, with this application (which is a Function) as its callback. If you wish to create both an HTTP and HTTPS server you may do so with the "http" and "https" modules as shown here: var http = require('http') , https = require('https') , express = require('express') , app = express(); http.createServer(app).listen(80); https.createServer({ ... }, app).listen(443);

Returns

http.Server

# logerror(err)

private method

Log error using console.error.

Parameters

Name Types Description
err Error

# methods.forEach()

Delegate .VERB(...) calls to router.VERB(...).

# param(name, fn)

Proxy to Router#param() with one added api feature. The name parameter can be an array of names. See the Router#param() docs for more details.

Parameters

Name Types Description
name String Array
fn Function

Returns

app

for chaining

# path()

private method

Return the app's absolute pathname based on the parent(s) that have mounted it. For example if the application was mounted as "/admin", which itself was mounted as "/blog" then the return value would be "/blog/admin".

Returns

String

# render(name, options, callback)

Render the given view name name with options and a callback accepting an error and the rendered template string. Example: app.render('email', { name: 'Tobi' }, function(err, html){ // ... })

Parameters

Name Types Description
name String
options Object Function
callback Function

# route()

Proxy to the app Router#route() Returns a new Route instance for the path. Routes are isolated middleware stacks for specific paths. See the Route api docs for details.

# set(setting, val)

Assign setting to val, or return setting's value. app.set('foo', 'bar'); app.set('foo'); // => "bar" Mounted servers inherit their parent server's settings.

Parameters

Name Types Description
setting String
val *

Returns

Server

for chaining

# trustProxyDefaultSymbol()

private method

Variable for trust proxy inheritance back-compat

# tryRender()

private method

Try rendering a view.

# use()

Proxy Router#use() to add middleware to the app router. See Router#use() documentation for details. If the fn parameter is an express app, then it will be mounted at the route specified.

# bodyParser()

Module dependencies.

# createApplication()

Create an express application.

Returns

Function

# exports.application()

Expose the prototypes.

# exports.json()

Expose middleware

# exports.Route()

Expose constructors.

# module.exports()

Expose createApplication().

# removedMiddlewares()

Replace removed middleware with an appropriate error message.

# exports.init(app)

private method

Initialization middleware, exposing the request and response to each other, as well as defaulting the X-Powered-By header field.

Parameters

Name Types Description
app Function

Returns

Function

# setPrototypeOf()

private method

Module dependencies.

# merge()

Module dependencies.

# query(options)

Parameters

Name Types Description
options Object

Returns

Function

# accepts()

private method

Module dependencies.

# defineGetter()

Check if the request is fresh, aka Last-Modified and/or the ETag still match.

Returns

Boolean

# defineGetter(obj, name, getter)

private method

Helper function for creating a getter on an object.

Parameters

Name Types Description
obj Object
name String
getter Function

# hostname()

Parse the "Host" header field to a hostname. When the "trust proxy" setting trusts the socket address, the "X-Forwarded-Host" header field will be trusted.

Returns

String

# ip()

Return the remote address from the trusted proxy. The is the remote address on the socket unless "trust proxy" is set.

Returns

String

# ips()

When "trust proxy" is set, trusted proxy addresses + client. For example if the value were "client, proxy1, proxy2" you would receive the array ["client", "proxy1", "proxy2"] where "proxy2" is the furthest down-stream and "proxy1" and "proxy2" were trusted.

Returns

Array

# is(types...)

Check if the incoming request contains the "Content-Type" header field, and it contains the given mime type. Examples: // With Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 req.is('html'); req.is('text/html'); req.is('text/'); // => true // When Content-Type is application/json req.is('json'); req.is('application/json'); req.is('application/'); // => true req.is('html'); // => false

Parameters

Name Types Description
types... String Array

Returns

String|false|null

# module.exports()

Module exports.

# param(name, defaultValue)

Return the value of param name when present or defaultValue. - Checks route placeholders, ex: /user/:id - Checks body params, ex: id=12, {"id":12} - Checks query string params, ex: ?id=12 To utilize request bodies, req.body should be an object. This can be done by using the bodyParser() middleware.

Parameters

Name Types Description
name String
defaultValue Mixed

Returns

String

# path()

Short-hand for url.parse(req.url).pathname.

Returns

String

# protocol()

Return the protocol string "http" or "https" when requested with TLS. When the "trust proxy" setting trusts the socket address, the "X-Forwarded-Proto" header field will be trusted and used if present. If you're running behind a reverse proxy that supplies https for you this may be enabled.

Returns

String

# range(size, options, options.combine)

Parse Range header field, capping to the given size. Unspecified ranges such as "0-" require knowledge of your resource length. In the case of a byte range this is of course the total number of bytes. If the Range header field is not given undefined is returned, -1 when unsatisfiable, and -2 when syntactically invalid. When ranges are returned, the array has a "type" property which is the type of range that is required (most commonly, "bytes"). Each array element is an object with a "start" and "end" property for the portion of the range. The "combine" option can be set to true and overlapping & adjacent ranges will be combined into a single range. NOTE: remember that ranges are inclusive, so for example "Range: users=0-3" should respond with 4 users when available, not 3.

Parameters

Name Types Description
size number
options object
options.combine boolean

Returns

number|array

# req()

Request prototype.

# req.accepts(type(s))

To do: update docs. Check if the given type(s) is acceptable, returning the best match when true, otherwise undefined, in which case you should respond with 406 "Not Acceptable". The type value may be a single MIME type string such as "application/json", an extension name such as "json", a comma-delimited list such as "json, html, text/plain", an argument list such as "json", "html", "text/plain", or an array ["json", "html", "text/plain"]. When a list or array is given, the best match, if any is returned. Examples: // Accept: text/html req.accepts('html'); // => "html" // Accept: text/, application/json req.accepts('html'); // => "html" req.accepts('text/html'); // => "text/html" req.accepts('json, text'); // => "json" req.accepts('application/json'); // => "application/json" // Accept: text/, application/json req.accepts('image/png'); req.accepts('png'); // => undefined // Accept: text/*;q=.5, application/json req.accepts(['html', 'json']); req.accepts('html', 'json'); req.accepts('html, json'); // => "json"

Parameters

Name Types Description
type(s) String Array

Returns

String|Array|Boolean

# req.acceptsCharsets(...charset)

Check if the given charsets are acceptable, otherwise you should respond with 406 "Not Acceptable".

Parameters

Name Types Description
...charset String

Returns

String|Array

# req.acceptsEncodings(...encoding)

Check if the given encodings are accepted.

Parameters

Name Types Description
...encoding String

Returns

String|Array

# req.acceptsLanguages(...lang)

Check if the given langs are acceptable, otherwise you should respond with 406 "Not Acceptable".

Parameters

Name Types Description
...lang String

Returns

String|Array

# req.get(name)

Return request header. The Referrer header field is special-cased, both Referrer and Referer are interchangeable. Examples: req.get('Content-Type'); // => "text/plain" req.get('content-type'); // => "text/plain" req.get('Something'); // => undefined Aliased as req.header().

Parameters

Name Types Description
name String

Returns

String

# secure()

Short-hand for: req.protocol === 'https'

Returns

Boolean

# stale()

Check if the request is stale, aka "Last-Modified" and / or the "ETag" for the resource has changed.

Returns

Boolean

# subdomains()

Return subdomains as an array. Subdomains are the dot-separated parts of the host before the main domain of the app. By default, the domain of the app is assumed to be the last two parts of the host. This can be changed by setting "subdomain offset". For example, if the domain is "tobi.ferrets.example.com": If "subdomain offset" is not set, req.subdomains is ["ferrets", "tobi"]. If "subdomain offset" is 3, req.subdomains is ["tobi"].

Returns

Array

# xhr()

Check if the request was an XMLHttpRequest.

Returns

Boolean

# append(field, val)

Append additional header field with value val. Example: res.append('Link', ['http://localhost/', 'http://localhost:3000/']); res.append('Set-Cookie', 'foo=bar; Path=/; HttpOnly'); res.append('Warning', '199 Miscellaneous warning');

Parameters

Name Types Description
field String
val String Array

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# attachment(filename)

Set Content-Disposition header to attachment with optional filename.

Parameters

Name Types Description
filename String

Returns

ServerResponse

# Buffer()

private method

Module dependencies.

# charsetRegExp()

private method

Module variables.

# clearCookie(name, options)

Clear cookie name.

Parameters

Name Types Description
name String
options Object

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# download()

Transfer the file at the given path as an attachment. Optionally providing an alternate attachment filename, and optional callback callback(err). The callback is invoked when the data transfer is complete, or when an error has occurred. Be sure to check res.headersSent if you plan to respond. Optionally providing an options object to use with res.sendFile(). This function will set the Content-Disposition header, overriding any Content-Disposition header passed as header options in order to set the attachment and filename. This method uses res.sendFile().

# json(obj)

Send JSON response. Examples: res.json(null); res.json({ user: 'tj' });

Parameters

Name Types Description
obj string number

# location(url)

Set the location header to url. The given url can also be "back", which redirects to the Referrer or Referer headers or "/". Examples: res.location('/foo/bar').; res.location('http://example.com'); res.location('../login');

Parameters

Name Types Description
url String

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# module.exports()

Module exports.

# redirect()

Redirect to the given url with optional response status defaulting to 302. The resulting url is determined by res.location(), so it will play nicely with mounted apps, relative paths, "back" etc. Examples: res.redirect('/foo/bar'); res.redirect('http://example.com'); res.redirect(301, 'http://example.com'); res.redirect('../login'); // /blog/post/1 -> /blog/login

# render()

Render view with the given options and optional callback fn. When a callback function is given a response will not be made automatically, otherwise a response of 200 and text/html is given. Options: - cache boolean hinting to the engine it should cache - filename filename of the view being rendered

# res()

Response prototype.

# res.contentType(type)

Set Content-Type response header with type through mime.lookup() when it does not contain "/", or set the Content-Type to type otherwise. Examples: res.type('.html'); res.type('html'); res.type('json'); res.type('application/json'); res.type('png');

Parameters

Name Types Description
type String

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# res.cookie(name, value, options)

Set cookie name to value, with the given options. Options: - maxAge max-age in milliseconds, converted to expires - signed sign the cookie - path defaults to "/" Examples: // "Remember Me" for 15 minutes res.cookie('rememberme', '1', { expires: new Date(Date.now() + 900000), httpOnly: true }); // same as above res.cookie('rememberme', '1', { maxAge: 900000, httpOnly: true })

Parameters

Name Types Description
name String
value String Object
options Object

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# res.format(obj)

Respond to the Acceptable formats using an obj of mime-type callbacks. This method uses req.accepted, an array of acceptable types ordered by their quality values. When "Accept" is not present the first callback is invoked, otherwise the first match is used. When no match is performed the server responds with 406 "Not Acceptable". Content-Type is set for you, however if you choose you may alter this within the callback using res.type() or res.set('Content-Type', ...). res.format({ 'text/plain': function(){ res.send('hey'); }, 'text/html': function(){ res.send('

hey

'); }, 'application/json': function () { res.send({ message: 'hey' }); } }); In addition to canonicalized MIME types you may also use extnames mapped to these types: res.format({ text: function(){ res.send('hey'); }, html: function(){ res.send('

hey

'); }, json: function(){ res.send({ message: 'hey' }); } }); By default Express passes an Error with a .status of 406 to next(err) if a match is not made. If you provide a .default callback it will be invoked instead.

Parameters

Name Types Description
obj Object

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# res.get(field)

Get value for header field.

Parameters

Name Types Description
field String

Returns

String

# res.links(links)

Set Link header field with the given links. Examples: res.links({ next: 'http://api.example.com/users?page=2', last: 'http://api.example.com/users?page=5' });

Parameters

Name Types Description
links Object

Returns

ServerResponse

# res.sendfile()

Transfer the file at the given path. Automatically sets the Content-Type response header field. The callback callback(err) is invoked when the transfer is complete or when an error occurs. Be sure to check res.headersSent if you wish to attempt responding, as the header and some data may have already been transferred. Options: - maxAge defaulting to 0 (can be string converted by ms) - root root directory for relative filenames - headers object of headers to serve with file - dotfiles serve dotfiles, defaulting to false; can be "allow" to send them Other options are passed along to send. Examples: The following example illustrates how res.sendfile() may be used as an alternative for the static() middleware for dynamic situations. The code backing res.sendfile() is actually the same code, so HTTP cache support etc is identical. app.get('/user/:uid/photos/:file', function(req, res){ var uid = req.params.uid , file = req.params.file; req.user.mayViewFilesFrom(uid, function(yes){ if (yes) { res.sendfile('/uploads/' + uid + '/' + file); } else { res.send(403, 'Sorry! you cant see that.'); } }); });

# res.set(field, val)

Set header field to val, or pass an object of header fields. Examples: res.set('Foo', ['bar', 'baz']); res.set('Accept', 'application/json'); res.set({ Accept: 'text/plain', 'X-API-Key': 'tobi' }); Aliased as res.header().

Parameters

Name Types Description
field String Object
val String Array

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# res.vary(field)

Add field to Vary. If already present in the Vary set, then this call is simply ignored.

Parameters

Name Types Description
field Array String

Returns

ServerResponse

for chaining

# send(body)

Send a response. Examples: res.send(Buffer.from('wahoo')); res.send({ some: 'json' }); res.send('

some html

');

Parameters

Name Types Description
body string number

# sendFile()

Transfer the file at the given path. Automatically sets the Content-Type response header field. The callback callback(err) is invoked when the transfer is complete or when an error occurs. Be sure to check res.headersSent if you wish to attempt responding, as the header and some data may have already been transferred. Options: - maxAge defaulting to 0 (can be string converted by ms) - root root directory for relative filenames - headers object of headers to serve with file - dotfiles serve dotfiles, defaulting to false; can be "allow" to send them Other options are passed along to send. Examples: The following example illustrates how res.sendFile() may be used as an alternative for the static() middleware for dynamic situations. The code backing res.sendFile() is actually the same code, so HTTP cache support etc is identical. app.get('/user/:uid/photos/:file', function(req, res){ var uid = req.params.uid , file = req.params.file; req.user.mayViewFilesFrom(uid, function(yes){ if (yes) { res.sendFile('/uploads/' + uid + '/' + file); } else { res.send(403, 'Sorry! you cant see that.'); } }); });

# status(code)

Set status code.

Parameters

Name Types Description
code Number

Returns

ServerResponse

# stringify(value, replacer, spaces, escape)

private method

Stringify JSON, like JSON.stringify, but v8 optimized, with the ability to escape characters that can trigger HTML sniffing.

Parameters

Name Types Description
value *
replacer function
spaces number
escape boolean

# handle()

private method

Dispatch a req, res into the router.

# matchLayer(layer, path)

private method

Match path to a layer.

Parameters

Name Types Description
layer Layer
path string

# objectRegExp()

private method

Module variables.

# param(name, fn)

Map the given param placeholder name(s) to the given callback. Parameter mapping is used to provide pre-conditions to routes which use normalized placeholders. For example a :user_id parameter could automatically load a user's information from the database without any additional code, The callback uses the same signature as middleware, the only difference being that the value of the placeholder is passed, in this case the id of the user. Once the next() function is invoked, just like middleware it will continue on to execute the route, or subsequent parameter functions. Just like in middleware, you must either respond to the request or call next to avoid stalling the request. app.param('user_id', function(req, res, next, id){ User.find(id, function(err, user){ if (err) { return next(err); } else if (!user) { return next(new Error('failed to load user')); } req.user = user; next(); }); });

Parameters

Name Types Description
name String
fn Function

Returns

app

for chaining

# process_params()

private method

Process any parameters for the layer.

# proto(options)

Initialize a new Router with the given options.

Parameters

Name Types Description
options Object

Returns

Router

which is a callable function

# Route()

private method

Module dependencies.

# route(path)

Create a new Route for the given path. Each route contains a separate middleware stack and VERB handlers. See the Route api documentation for details on adding handlers and middleware to routes.

Parameters

Name Types Description
path String

Returns

Route

# use()

Use the given middleware function, with optional path, defaulting to "/". Use (like .all) will run for any http METHOD, but it will not add handlers for those methods so OPTIONS requests will not consider .use functions even if they could respond. The other difference is that route path is stripped and not visible to the handler function. The main effect of this feature is that mounted handlers can operate without any code changes regardless of the "prefix" pathname.

# decode_param(val)

private method

Decode param value.

Parameters

Name Types Description
val string

Returns

string

# handle(req, res, next)

private method

Handle the request for the layer.

Parameters

Name Types Description
req Request
res Response
next function

# handle_error(error, req, res, next)

private method

Handle the error for the layer.

Parameters

Name Types Description
error Error
req Request
res Response
next function

# hasOwnProperty()

private method

Module variables.

# match(path)

private method

Check if this route matches path, if so populate .params.

Parameters

Name Types Description
path String

Returns

Boolean

# module.exports()

Module exports.

# pathRegexp()

private method

Module dependencies.

# _handles_method()

private method

Determine if the route handles a given method.

# _options()

private method

Returns

Array

supported HTTP methods

# all(handler)

Add a handler for all HTTP verbs to this route. Behaves just like middleware and can respond or call next to continue processing. You can use multiple .all call to add multiple handlers. function check_something(req, res, next){ next(); }; function validate_user(req, res, next){ next(); }; route .all(validate_user) .all(check_something) .get(function(req, res, next){ res.send('hello world'); });

Parameters

Name Types Description
handler function

Returns

Route

for chaining

# debug()

private method

Module dependencies.

# dispatch()

private method

dispatch req, res into this route

# module.exports()

Module exports.

# Route(path)

Initialize Route with the given path,

Parameters

Name Types Description
path String

# slice()

private method

Module variables.

# acceptParams(str)

private method

Parse accept params str returning an object with .value, .quality and .params.

Parameters

Name Types Description
str String

Returns

Object

# Buffer()

private method

Module dependencies.

# compileQueryParser(val)

private method

Compile "query parser" value to function.

Parameters

Name Types Description
val String Function

Returns

Function

# createETagGenerator(options)

private method

Create an ETag generator function, generating ETags with the given options.

Parameters

Name Types Description
options object

Returns

function

# exports.compileETag(val)

private method

Compile "etag" value to function.

Parameters

Name Types Description
val Boolean String

Returns

Function

# exports.compileTrust(val)

private method

Compile "proxy trust" value to function.

Parameters

Name Types Description
val Boolean String

Returns

Function

# exports.contentDisposition(filename)

private method

Generate Content-Disposition header appropriate for the filename. non-ascii filenames are urlencoded and a filename* parameter is added

Parameters

Name Types Description
filename String

Returns

String

# exports.etag(body, encoding)

private method

Return strong ETag for body.

Parameters

Name Types Description
body String Buffer
encoding String

Returns

String

# exports.flatten(arr)

private method

Flatten the given arr.

Parameters

Name Types Description
arr Array

Returns

Array

# exports.isAbsolute(path)

private method

Check if path looks absolute.

Parameters

Name Types Description
path String

Returns

Boolean

# exports.normalizeType(type)

private method

Normalize the given type, for example "html" becomes "text/html".

Parameters

Name Types Description
type String

Returns

Object

# exports.normalizeTypes(types)

private method

Normalize types, for example "html" becomes "text/html".

Parameters

Name Types Description
types Array

Returns

Array

# exports.wetag(body, encoding)

private method

Return weak ETag for body.

Parameters

Name Types Description
body String Buffer
encoding String

Returns

String

# newObject()

private method

Return new empty object.

Returns

Object

# parseExtendedQueryString(str)

private method

Parse an extended query string with qs.

Parameters

Name Types Description
str String

Returns

Object

# setCharset(type, charset)

private method

Set the charset in a given Content-Type string.

Parameters

Name Types Description
type String
charset String

Returns

String

# debug()

private method

Module dependencies.

# dirname()

private method

Module variables.

# lookup(name)

private method

Lookup view by the given name

Parameters

Name Types Description
name string

# module.exports()

Module exports.

# render(options, callback)

private method

Render with the given options.

Parameters

Name Types Description
options object
callback function

# resolve(dir, file)

private method

Resolve the file within the given directory.

Parameters

Name Types Description
dir string
file string

# tryStat(path)

private method

Return a stat, maybe.

Parameters

Name Types Description
path string

Returns

fs.Stats

# View(name, options)

Initialize a new View with the given name. Options: - defaultEngine the default template engine name - engines template engine require() cache - root root path for view lookup

Parameters

Name Types Description
name string
options object

# getExpectedClientAddress()

Get the local client address depending on AF_NET of server

# assert()

private method

Module dependencies.

# exports.shouldHaveBody()

Module exports.

# shouldHaveBody(buf)

Assert that a supertest response has a specific body.

Parameters

Name Types Description
buf Buffer

# shouldHaveHeader(header)

Assert that a supertest response does have a header.

Parameters

Name Types Description
header string Header name to check

# shouldNotHaveBody()

Assert that a supertest response does not have a body.

# shouldNotHaveHeader(header)

Assert that a supertest response does not have a header.

Parameters

Name Types Description
header string Header name to check