express.js - single routing handler for multiple routes in a single line

Question

Is there a way to make this on a single function call?

var todo = function (req, res){};

app.get("/", todo);
app.get("/blabla", todo);
app.get("/blablablabla", todo);

Something like:

app.get("/", "/blabla", "/blablablabla", todo );

I know this is a syntax mess, but just for giving an idea of what I would like to achieve, an array of the routes would be awesome!

Anyone know how to do this?

Answer 1

I came across this question while looking for the same functionality.

@Jonathan Ong mentioned in a comment above that using arrays for paths is deprecated but it is explicitly described in Express 4, and it works in Express 3.x. Here's an example of something to try:

app.get(
    ['/test', '/alternative', '/barcus*', '/farcus/:farcus/', '/hoop(|la|lapoo|lul)/poo'],
    function ( request, response ) {

    }
);

From inside the request object, with a path of /hooplul/poo?bandle=froo&bandle=pee&bof=blarg:

"route": {
    "keys": [
        {
            "optional": false, 
            "name": "farcus"
        }
    ], 
    "callbacks": [
        null
    ], 
    "params": [
        null, 
        null, 
        "lul"
    ], 
    "regexp": {}, 
    "path": [
        "/test", 
        "/alternative", 
        "/barcus*", 
        "/farcus/:farcus/", 
        "/hoop(|la|lapoo|lul)/poo"
    ], 
    "method": "get"
}, 

Note what happens with params: It is aware of the capture groups and params in all of the possible paths, whether or not they are used in the current request.

So stacking multiple paths via an array can be done easily, but the side-effects are possibly unpredictable if you're hoping to pick up anything useful from the path that was used by way of params or capture groups. It's probably more useful for redundancy/aliasing, in which case it'll work very well.

Edit: Please also see @c24w's answer below.

Edit 2: This is a moderately popular answer. Please keep in mind that ExpressJS, as with most Node.js libraries, is a moveable feast. While the routing above does still work (I'm using it at the moment, a very handy feature), I cannot vouch for the output of the request object (it's certainly different from what I've described). Please test carefully to ensure you get the desired results.

Answer 2

app.get('/:var(bla|blabla)?', todo)

:var sets the req.param that you don't use. it's only used in this case to set the regex.

(bla|blabla) sets the regex to match, so it matches the strings bla and blablah.

? makes the entire regex optional, so it matches / as well.

Answer 3

You can actually pass in an array of paths, just like you mentioned, and it works great:

var a = ['/', '/blabla', '/blablablabla'];
app.get(a, todo);

Answer 4

Just to elaborate on Kevin's answer, this is from the 4.x docs:

The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of:

• A string representing a path.
• A path pattern.
• A regular expression pattern to match paths.
• An array of combinations of any of the above.

---

They have some examples, including:

This will match paths starting with /abcd, /xyza, /lmn, and /pqr:

app.use(['/abcd', '/xyza', /\/lmn|\/pqr/], function (req, res, next) {
  next();
});

Answer 5

I went for a:

['path', 'altPath'].forEach(function(path) {
  app.get(path, function(req, res) { etc. });
});

Answer 6

require the file of your original route and define the new route like this

var user = require('./users');
router.post('/login', user.post('/login'));