Router.use requires middleware function?

Question

So I'm trying to seperate my login routes in a seperate JS file called login_routes.js

I keep getting this specific error:

TypeError: Router.use() requires middleware function but got a Object at Function. (/Users/ethanthomas/Desktop/mean-stuff/express-server/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:446:13)

Not entirely understanding what it's asking me to implement?

login_routes.js:

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

app.route('/login')

.get(function(req, res, next) {
    res.send('this is the login form');
})

.post(function(req, res, next) {
    console.log('processing');
    res.send('proccessing the login form!');
});

server.js:

var express = require('express');
var app = express();
var path = require('path');
var adminRoutes = require('./app/routes/admin_routes');
var loginRoutes = require('./app/routes/login_routes');

app.use('/admin', adminRoutes);
app.use('/login', loginRoutes);


//send our index.html file to the user for the home page
app.get('/', function(req, res) {
    res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname + '/index.html'));
});

//start the server
app.listen(1337);
console.log('leet is the magic port');

Solution 1

Your login_routes.js should look something like this (in the context of express):

var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();

// GET request to /login
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
    // do something
});

// POST request to /login
router.post('/', function(req, res, next) {
    // do something
});

module.exports = router;

In your app.js you use

var login_routes = require('./login_routes');
...
app.use('/login', login_routes);
...

Have a look at the code generated by the express-generator module. That is a starting point for express webserver apps.

Solution 2

People have already offered hints at the solution in comments.

The first issue is that you need to export your "sub" app from login_routes.js. To do so, change this:

var app = express();

Into this:

var app = module.exports = express();

Secondly, you are—probably unintentionally—creating routes for GET /login/login and POST /login/login. To solve this, use this in login_routes.js:

app.route('/').get(...).post(...);

This is because the root path in your sub app (the one in login_routes.js) will get mapped to the path used in app.use() in your main app (server.js).

Comments

[robertklep]

That doesn't do the same. For one, you're splitting the GET and POST into two separate routes, and instead of exporting two symbols it would suffice to export the app.

[user3649245]

I'd like to use get/post methods only on /login...any ideas?

[Jayesh Chandrapal]

@user3649245 I edited my answer for same /login route for both get and post.

[Jayesh Chandrapal]

@robertklep Please remove downvote. I have corrected it.

[optional]

The second statement helped me, thank you! I wasn't aware of the mapping :D