Reading AJAX post variables in Node.JS (with Express)

Question

I'm trying to get the values I'm sending for an ajax post in my node application. Using this post as a guide, I have this so far:

In Node:

 var express = require('express');
 var app = express();

 var db = require('./db');

 app.get('/sender', function(req, res) {
    res.sendfile('public/send.html');
 });

 app.post('/send_save', function(req, res) {
  console.log(req.body.id)
  console.log(req.body.title);
  console.log(req.body.content);
  res.contentType('json');
  res.send({ some: JSON.stringify({response:'json'}) });
});

app.listen(3000);

On on the AJAX side:

$('#submit').click(function() {
            alert('clicked')
            console.log($('#guid').val())
            console.log($('#page_title').val())
            console.log($('#page-content').val())
            $.ajax({
                url: "/send_save",
                type: "POST",
                dataType: "json",
                data: {
                    id: $('#guid').val(),
                    title: $('#page_title').val(),
                    content: $('#page-content').val()
                },
                contentType: "application/json",
                cache: false,
                timeout: 5000,
                complete: function() {
                  //called when complete
                  console.log('process complete');
                },

                success: function(data) {
                  console.log(data);
                  console.log('process sucess');
               },

                error: function() {
                  console.log('process error');
                },
              });
        })

This issue is that I can't req.body.id (and any other value like title or content), I'm getting this error in node:

 TypeError: Cannot read property 'id' of undefined

If I comment those calls out though, the ajax is successful. I am lost. Am I forgetting something?

I have the same problem - try use param('postVariableName') — fider
– fider, Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 23:58

thejh · Accepted Answer · 2013-02-23 15:42:47Z

9

The req object you have there has no body property. Have a look at http://expressjs.com/api.html#req.body:

This property is an object containing the parsed request body. This feature is provided by the bodyParser() middleware, though other body parsing middleware may follow this convention as well. This property defaults to {} when bodyParser() is used.

So, you need to add the bodyParser middleware to your express webapp like this:

var app = express();
app.use(express.bodyParser());

answered Feb 23, 2013 at 15:42

thejh

45.7k18 gold badges100 silver badges109 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

streetlight Over a year ago

Ahh, I knew I was missing something important! However, when I include this I started getting a 'Bad Request: Bad Request' response. Is this related in any way? Do I have to install this via npm?

thejh Over a year ago

@streetlight: I don't think you have to install anything, but I don't know what might be causing that error.

streetlight Over a year ago

Ahh okay, thanks though for your help! There's almost nothing to this app so I have no idea what's going on with this bad request!

Lex L. · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-27 15:45:26Z

The issue was indeed resolved by including the bodyParser middleware as suggested by thejh.

Just make sure to visit the url provided in that answer as to visit Express updated specification: http://expressjs.com/api.html#req.body

The documentation provides this example (Express 4.x):

var app = require('express')();
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var multer = require('multer'); 

app.use(bodyParser.json()); // for parsing application/json
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true })); // for parsing application/x-www-form-urlencoded
app.use(multer()); // for parsing multipart/form-data

app.post('/', function (req, res) {
  console.log(req.body);
  res.json(req.body);
})

For this to work the body-parser module needs to be installed separately:

https://www.npmjs.com/package/body-parser

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Reading AJAX post variables in Node.JS (with Express)

2 Answers 2

3 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

3 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related