Parse body from GET request using nodejs, express, body-parser?

Question

Is it possible to retrieve the body contents using express?

I started by trying body-parser but that doesn't seem to work with GET. Are there any modules which would work?

var express = require('express'),
  bodyParser = require('body-parser'),
  PORT = process.env.PORT || 4101,
  app = express();

app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(bodyParser.json());

app.route('/')
  .get(function(req, res) {
    respond(req, res, 'GET body contents:\n');
  })
  .post(function(req, res) {
    respond(req, res, 'POST body contents:\n');
  });

app.listen(PORT, function(err) {
  if (err) {
    console.log('err on startup ' + err);
    return;
  }
  console.log('Server listening on port ' + PORT);
});

/*
 * Send a response back to client
 */
function respond(req, res, msg){
  res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
  res.write(msg);
  res.end(JSON.stringify(req.body, null, 2));
}

This is response from GET:

GET body contents:
{}

And from POST:

POST body contents:
{
    "gggg": ""
}

take a look at this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/978061/http-get-with-request-body — lauriys, Apr 05 '16 at 11:34
@bobbyrne01 While GETs can have a body, as per the HTTP spec, servers should ignore it, as it has no meaning. See [this answer](http://stackoverflow.com/a/983458/789529). What is the server going to do with all these UUIDs? It's probable that structuring the application differently is what's needed, an ultra-long URL is unlikely to be the right tool for the job... — Mark Hughes, Apr 05 '16 at 13:15

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 23 '18 at 14:09

5

GET requests don't have a body, they have query strings. In order to access a query string in expressJS you should use the req.query object.

res.end(JSON.stringify(req.query, null, 2));

edited Feb 23 '18 at 14:09

Björn Böing

1,469
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answered Apr 05 '16 at 11:33

Vsevolod Goloviznin

11,256
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The problem is, I'd like user to submit a list of `uuids` in the `GET` request body. I will lookup these `uuids` against a db. There could be hundreds of `uuids` passed, should these all be put into `query` string? – bobbyrne01 Apr 05 '16 at 11:44
@bobbyrne01 Why can't you use a POST request then? There is a limitation on the length of a query string, but it's fairly large – Vsevolod Goloviznin Apr 05 '16 at 11:47
I can use `POST`, but was trying to remain as RESTful as possible. I understand the limitation on length is large, but theres a possibility I could hit it. – bobbyrne01 Apr 05 '16 at 11:53
1

It all depends on architecture and requirements. For example you can limit the number of items that can be processed in a batch, or you can make the whole process async, where you post the batch and then check the status of the batch – Vsevolod Goloviznin Apr 05 '16 at 11:56
@bobbyrne01 If you want to remain RESTful, use GET headers. They achieve the same effect as POST (etc) body. Have a look at https://www.owasp.org/index.php/REST_Security_Cheat_Sheet#Sensitive_information_in_HTTP_requests – aggregate1166877 Feb 25 '18 at 05:06

Parse body from GET request using nodejs, express, body-parser?

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