Author: John Au-Yeung

Hapi.js is a small Node framework for developing back end web apps.

In this article, we’ll look at how to create back end apps with Hapi.js.

Query Parameters

We can get query parameters in our route handler with the request.query property.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const Hoek = require('@hapi/hoek');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/',
    handler: function (request, h) {
      return `Hello ${request.query.name}!`;
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

In the route handler, we use the request.query.name property to get the name property value.

Then when we make a GET request to /?name=foo , we see:

Hello foo!

returned as the response.

We can parse query strings with the query string parser of our choice.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const Qs = require('qs');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
    query: {
      parser: (query) => Qs.parse(query)
    }
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/',
    handler: function (request, h) {
      return request.query;
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

We add the query property to the object we passed into the Hapi.server function.

Then we set the parser method to return the object parsed by the Qs.parse method.

Request Payload

We can get the request body with the request.payload property.

For instance, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0'
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'POST',
    path: '/',
    handler: function (request, h) {
      return request.payload;
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

We returned the request.payload property to return the request body as the response.

So when we make a POST request to the / route with the body:

{
    "foo": "bar"
}

Then we get the same thing back as the response.

Options

We can add some route options to configure our routes.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const Joi = require("@hapi/joi")

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0'
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'POST',
    path: '/',
    options: {
      auth: false,
      validate: {
        payload: Joi.object({
          username: Joi.string().min(1).max(20),
          password: Joi.string().min(7)
        })
      }
    },
    handler: function (request, h) {
      return request.payload;
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

We add the @hapi/joi module with the validate.payload property.

We set that to the Joi.object property with an object that has the fields for the object.

username field is a string with a min length of 1 and a max length of 20 as specified by:

Joi.string().min(1).max(20)

And password is a string with a min length of 7 as specified by:

Joi.string().min(7)

auth is set to false to disable auth on the route.

Conclusion

Hapi routes can accept query parameters and request bodies.

Hapi.js is a small Node framework for developing back end web apps.

In this article, we’ll look at how to create back end apps with Hapi.js.

Routing

We can add routes easily to our Hapi app.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/',
    handler (request, h) {
      return 'Hello World!';
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

to add a simple route with:

server.route({
  method: 'GET',
  path: '/',
  handler(request, h) {
    return 'Hello World!';
  }
});

The method has the request method the route accepts.

path has the route path.

handler has the route handler to handle the request.

request has the request data.

One route can handle multiple request methods.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  server.route({
    method: ['PUT', 'POST'],
    path: '/',
    handler (request, h) {
      return 'Hello World!';
    }
  });

await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

We have a route that handles both 'PUT' and 'POST' requests.

Path

A route can accept URL parameters if we put a parameter placeholder in our route path.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/hello/{user}',
    handler: function (request, h) {
      return `Hello ${request.params.user}!`;
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

We have a route that takes the user request parameter.

Then we can get the route parameter value from the request.params.user property.

Now if we make a GET request to the /hello/bob route, we get Hello bob! .

The parameter value isn’t escaped by default. We can escape the string that’s passed by writing:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const Hoek = require('@hapi/hoek');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/hello/{user}',
    handler: function (request, h) {
      return `Hello ${Hoek.escapeHtml(request.params.user)}!`;
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

We required the @hapi/hoek package and then call Hapi.escapeHtml on the request.params.user string to escape it.

This will prevent any cross-site scripting attacks since any code strings will be sanitized.

Optional Parameters

We can make a parameter optional with the ? .

For instance, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const Hoek = require('@hapi/hoek');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/hello/{user?}',
    handler: function (request, h) {
      const user = request.params.user || 'anonymous'
      return `Hello ${user}!`;
    }
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

We have {user?} in the route string to make the user parameter optional.

Then when we go to /hello , we get Hello anonymous!

And when we go to /hello/bob , we get Hello bob! .

Conclusion

We can add various kinds of routes with Hapi.

Hapi.js is a small Node framework for developing back end web apps.

In this article, we’ll look at how to create back end apps with Hapi.js.

Create a Plugin

We can create plugins and use them with Hapi.

For example, we can write:

index.js

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  await server.register(require('./myPlugin'));

  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    handler(request, h) {
      return h.response('hello')
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

myPlugin.js

const myPlugin = {
  name: 'myPlugin',
  version: '1.0.0',
  register: async function (server, options) {
    server.route({
        method: 'GET',
        path: '/test',
        handler: function (request, h) {
          return 'hello, world';
        }
    });
  }
};

module.exports = myPlugin

We have the myPlugin object with the register method to add the routes we want in the plugin.

We specify the name and version of the plugin to set the metadata.

Then in index.js , we have:

await server.register(require('./myPlugin'));

to register the plugin we added.

We can pass in some options by writing:

index.js

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  await server.register({
    plugin: require('./myPlugin'),
    options: {
      name: 'Bob'
    }
  });

  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    handler(request, h) {
      return h.response('hello')
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

myPlugin.js

const myPlugin = {
  name: 'myPlugin',
  version: '1.0.0',
  register: async function (server, options) {
    server.route({
      method: 'GET',
      path: '/test',
      handler: function (request, h) {
        return options.name;
      }
    });
  }
};

module.exports = myPlugin

We get the option.name to get the name option in myPlugin.js .

Then to register the plugin, we write:

await server.register({
  plugin: require('./myPlugin'),
  options: {
    name: 'Bob'
  }
});

to register it with the plugins property to require the plugin file.

options lets us pass in the options.

We can also set a route prefix for the plugin.

For instance, we can write:

index.js

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  });

  await server.register(require('./myPlugin'),{
    routes: {
      prefix: '/plugins'
    }
  });

  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    handler(request, h) {
      return h.response('hello')
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});

init();

myPlugin.js

const myPlugin = {
  name: 'myPlugin',
  version: '1.0.0',
  register: async function (server, options) {
    server.route({
      method: 'GET',
      path: '/test',
      handler: function (request, h) {
        return 'hello world'
      }
    });
  }
};

module.exports = myPlugin

We create the plugin the same way as in the first plugin example.

Then in index.js , we write:

await server.register(require('./myPlugin'), {
  routes: {
    prefix: '/plugins'
  }
});

to set the route prefix.

Now when we go to the /plugins/test route, we see hello world as the response.

Conclusion

We can create plugins to modularize our Hapi app code.

Hapi.js is a small Node framework for developing back end web apps.

In this article, we’ll look at how to create back end apps with Hapi.js.

Getting Cookies

We can get cookies with the reques.state property.

For instance, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0'
  });
  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    handler(request, h) {
      const value = request.state.data;
      return h.response(value);
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};
process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});
init();

We get the data cookie with the request.state.data property.

When we send the Cookie request header with data=foo as the value, then we see foo in the response.

Clearing a Cookie

We can clear a cookie by calling the unstate method.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0'
  });
  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    handler(request, h) {
      return h.response('hello').unstate('data');
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};
process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});
init();

We call unstate with the 'data' key to clear the cookie with the key data .

Logging

We can use the server.log or request.log method to log data.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0'
  });
  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    handler(request, h) {
      request.log('error', 'something wrong');
      return h.response('hello')
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};
process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});
init();

to call request.log with the tag to log and the log content respectively.

The first argument can be a string or an array of strings.

The 2nd argument is optional.

If we want to log something outside a request handler, we can use the server.log method.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0'
  });

  server.log(['test', 'error'], 'Test event');

  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    handler(request, h) {
      return h.response('hello')
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};
process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});
init();

Retrieving and Displaying Logs

To get the log data and display it, we listen to the log event.

For example, we can write:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');
const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
    debug: { request: ['error'] }
  });

  server.route({
    path: '/',
    method: 'GET',
    options: {
      log: {
        collect: true
      }
    },
    handler(request, h) {
      request.log('error', 'Event error');
      return h.response('hello')
    },
  });
  await server.start();
  console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

process.on('unhandledRejection', (err) => {
  console.log(err);
  process.exit(1);
});
init();

We add the debug property to the object in Hapi.server to display the logs.

Then we add options.log.collect property in the route handler object and set that to true .

And then we call request.log to log the event in the request handler.

Then we get the event logged.

Conclusion

We can get and clear cookies and log data with Hapi.