Node-Restify Validation

Common errors

• TypeError: server.use is not a function

  cause The `restify` server instance has not been properly created before attempting to attach middleware.
  fix Ensure `const server = restify.createServer();` is called before any `server.use()` statements.

• Error: InvalidArgumentError: Resource 'name' is required but was not found.

  cause A request parameter (path, query, body, or header) marked as `isRequired: true` in the validation schema was missing from the incoming request.
  fix Verify that the client request includes all required fields as defined in the route's `validation` object. Check the exact field name and location (resources, queries, content, headers).

• ReferenceError: restify is not defined

  cause The `restify` module was not imported or required at the top of the file.
  fix Add `const restify = require('restify');` to your file before using the `restify` variable.

• TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'validationPlugin')

  cause The `node-restify-validation` module was not correctly imported or `require`d, leading to `restifyValidation` being `undefined`.
  fix Ensure `const restifyValidation = require('node-restify-validation');` is correctly placed and executed.

Warnings

• breaking The project is explicitly marked as 'Maintener wanted' in its README. This indicates that the library is unmaintained, will not receive bug fixes, security patches, or new features. Using it in production carries significant risk.
  Fix: Consider migrating to an actively maintained validation library for Restify (if one exists) or forking the project and taking on maintenance responsibilities if continued use is critical. Restify itself has seen limited recent activity.
• gotcha This library has a strict dependency on `restify >= 2.6.0`. Using older versions of `restify` will lead to runtime errors due to changes in Restify's route object API that `node-restify-validation` relies upon.
  Fix: Ensure that your project's `package.json` specifies a `restify` dependency of version `2.6.0` or higher.
• gotcha The library is primarily designed for CommonJS (`require()`) environments. While Node.js offers some interoperability, using ES Module `import` syntax directly might cause issues without proper configuration or transpilation.
  Fix: Always use `const restifyValidation = require('node-restify-validation');` for importing the module in your Node.js applications.
• gotcha By default, validation failures trigger a `restify.errors.InvalidArgumentError`. Applications must implement appropriate error handling middleware in Restify to gracefully catch and respond to these validation errors, rather than letting them crash the server or return generic 500s.
  Fix: Implement a global error handler for your Restify server using `server.on('restifyError', function (req, res, err, next) { /* handle error */ });` to catch `InvalidArgumentError` and send appropriate HTTP responses (e.g., 400 Bad Request).

Install

• npm install node-restify-validation npm
• yarn add node-restify-validation yarn
• pnpm add node-restify-validation pnpm

Imports

• validationPlugin
  wrong:

  import { validationPlugin } from 'node-restify-validation';

  correct:

  const restifyValidation = require('node-restify-validation');
  // then use restifyValidation.validationPlugin

  This library is written for CommonJS (`require`) environments. Direct ESM `import` statements may not work without transpilation or specific Node.js configuration.
• validation route property

  server.get({ url: '/test', validation: { ... } }, handler)

  Validation rules are defined directly as a `validation` property within the route object passed to Restify methods like `server.get`, `server.post`, etc.

Quickstart

Initializes a Restify server with the validation plugin and defines a GET route with path, query, and header parameter validation rules, demonstrating how to attach validation schemas directly to routes.

const restify = require('restify');
const restifyValidation = require('node-restify-validation');

const server = restify.createServer();
server.use(restify.queryParser());
server.use(restify.bodyParser()); // Required for 'content' validation
server.use(restifyValidation.validationPlugin({
    errorsAsArray: false,
    forbidUndefinedVariables: false,
    errorHandler: restify.errors.InvalidArgumentError
}));

server.get({
    url: '/test/:name',
    validation: {
        resources: { // Path parameters
            name: { isRequired: true, isIn: ['foo', 'bar'] }
        },
        queries: { // Query parameters
            status: { isRequired: true, isIn: ['foo', 'bar'] },
            email: { isRequired: false, isEmail: true },
            age: { isRequired: true, isNatural: true }
        },
        headers: { // HTTP Headers
            requestid: { isRequired: true }
        }
    }
}, function (req, res, next) {
    res.send(200, { message: `Hello ${req.params.name}, your status is ${req.query.status}.` });
    return next();
});

server.listen(8001, function () {
    console.log('%s listening at %s', server.name, server.url);
});