body is empty when parsing DELETE request with express and body-parser

Question

I'm using expressjs and the body-parser middleware.

This is how I initiate it:

app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
app.use(bodyParser.json());

From the client I'm sending a DELETE request and when I try to pick it up from the server side I get an empty object:

app.delete('/', function(req, res) {
    console.log(util.inspect(req.body)); //outputs {}
    //some more code
});

however when I send it with a POST I get what I need:

app.post('/delete', function(req, res) {
    console.log(util.inspect(req.body)); //outputs { mid: 'ffw1aNh2' }
    //some more code
});

It is worth noting that I don't change anything on the client side (angularjs) but the method and the url and the firefox network debugger shows the data being sent in both situations.

What am missing here? Why am I getting an empty body object on a delete method?

Flank

This may be of interest. – Vengeful

It doesn't really help me understand. It says there that DELETE requests have a body, and moreso, that it is not discourged or disallowed. So it's even more of a reason to think that the body object should not be empty, no? – Flank

body-parser doesn't care about the HTTP method being used AFAIK, and it should work just fine with DELETE. Does the Content-Type header of the request look okay? – Nuthouse

Now that I check, there is a difference. When I'm using POST the content-type is application/json and when using DELETE it is text/plain – Flank

@TomKlino that's your problem :) body-parser is only looking for JSON or URL-encoded body data, not text/plain. – Nuthouse

BTW, although I don't want to start a too long discussion in the comment section, does angualr's behaviour implies that a best practice would have been to send that id via the url (like $http.delete("/mid/" + mid))? – Flank

Answer 1

The $http service source code, a DELETE request using $http does not allow for data to be sent in the body of the request.

The spec for a DELETE request is somewhat vague on whether or not a request body should be allowed, but Angular does not support it.

The only methods that allow for request bodies are POST, PUT, and PATCH. So the problem is not anywhere in your code, its in Angular's $http service.

Use this

$httpProvider.defaults.headers.delete = { "Content-Type": "application/json;charset=utf-8" };

and then

$http.delete(url, { data: data })

Kerril

I respectfully disagree on the base of plain facts. as I stated in my question, the Firefox network debugger clearly shows my data being sent. – Flank

...But with the wrong header! That did fix it. Although, I had to drop the "Provider" just $http.defaults... – Flank

$httpProvider is to be used in your config this way it is in a central place for your app – Janettejaneva