Error Handling

Part of the Express Basics section of Coddy's Node.js journey. Lesson 15 of 20.

When a route throws, Express answers with its own error page, which is not JSON and shows details meant for you.

app.get('/api/fines/:member', (req, res) => {
    throw new Error('Fines database is down');
});

app.use((err, req, res, next) => {
    console.error(err);
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Try again later' });
});

A middleware with four arguments, (err, req, res, next), is an error handler. Express counts the arguments: with three it is ordinary middleware, and errors skip it. When a route throws, Express skips the ordinary middleware and calls the error handler with the error. Add it last, after the 404 handler. Log the details for yourself; send the client a short message.

A bad ?by= is the visitor's mistake, so it still gets a 400. An error is for what the visitor cannot fix, like a recipe saved without its servings.

Challenge

Easy

GET /api/recipes/:id/scale?by=2 answers { "title", "servings" }, servings multiplied.
A factor that is not a positive number: 400 with { "error": "Scale by a positive number" }.
A recipe with no servings throws Recipe <id> has no servings.
An error handler logs the error and answers 500 with { "error": "Something went wrong" }.

Send ?by=2 and ?by=lots. Then post { "title": "Toast" } to /api/recipes and scale recipe 5.

Try it yourself

import express from 'express';
import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto';
import { recipes } from './data.js';

const app = express();

app.use((req, res, next) => {
    console.log(`${req.method} ${req.url}`);
    next();
});

app.use((req, res, next) => {
    res.set('X-Request-Id', randomUUID());
    next();
});

app.use(express.json());

app.use(express.static('public'));

const escapeHtml = (text) =>
    text
        .replaceAll('&', '&amp;')
        .replaceAll('<', '&lt;')
        .replaceAll('>', '&gt;')
        .replaceAll('"', '&quot;');

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    const items = recipes.map((r) => `<li><a href="/recipes/${r.id}">${escapeHtml(r.title)}</a></li>`);
    res.send(`<link rel="stylesheet" href="/style.css"><h1>Recipe Box</h1><ul>${items.join('')}</ul>`);
});

// type('text') sends plain text, so each title shows on its own line.
app.get('/recipes', (req, res) => {
    const { tag } = req.query;
    const list = tag ? recipes.filter((recipe) => recipe.tags.includes(tag)) : recipes;
    res.type('text').send(list.map((recipe) => recipe.title).join('\n'));
});

app.get('/recipes/:id', (req, res) => {
    const recipe = recipes.find((r) => r.id === Number(req.params.id));
    if (!recipe) {
        res.status(404).send('No such recipe');
        return;
    }
    res.send(recipe.title);
});

app.get('/api/recipes', (req, res) => {
    res.json(recipes);
});

app.get('/api/recipes/:id', (req, res) => {
    const recipe = recipes.find((r) => r.id === Number(req.params.id));
    if (!recipe) {
        res.status(404).json({ error: 'No such recipe' });
        return;
    }
    res.json(recipe);
});

app.post('/api/recipes', (req, res) => {
    const { title, tags } = req.body;
    if (!title) {
        res.status(400).json({ error: 'A recipe needs a title' });
        return;
    }
    const recipe = { id: recipes.length + 1, title, tags: tags ?? [] };
    recipes.push(recipe);
    res.status(201).json(recipe);
});

app.get('/about', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Recipe Box collects family recipes.');
});

app.get('/menu', (req, res) => {
    res.redirect(301, '/recipes');
});

app.get('/menu/:id', (req, res) => {
    res.redirect(301, `/recipes/${req.params.id}`);
});

app.use((req, res) => {
    if (req.path.startsWith('/api/')) {
        res.status(404).json({ error: 'Not found' });
        return;
    }
    res.status(404).send('<h1>Page not found</h1><p><a href="/">Back to Recipe Box</a></p>');
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log('Recipe Box is running on port 3000');
});