CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptnode.jsexpress
user3510821
user3510821

Reputation: 123

Express parent folder access

Hi guys I am working on this express aplication. In the top of my express file I wrote this line since all my static files are located in my working directory:

app.use(express.static(__dirname));

Now I want to send a file that exist in a parent folder of the current folder:

app.get('/test', function(req, res) {
res.sendFile("../../test.html");
});

It didn't work for me, Normally because all static files must exist in the directory defind above, Could I make an exception and make my code work?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 1209

Answers (1)

Evan Hahn
Evan Hahn

Reputation: 12712

express.static and res.sendFile don't know anything about each other. They happen to share a lot of the same internals but aren't really related.

You can put test.html wherever you want and then reference it using Node's built-in path module. For example, if your file structure looks like this:

test.html
real-app/
├── app.js
├── node_modules/
└── package.json

Then you can send test.html like this:

var path = require('path');

// ...

app.get('/test', function(req, res) {
  var testHtmlPath = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', '..', 'test.html');
  res.sendFile(testHtmlPath);
});

PS: I wouldn't recommend the way you're sending static files. Serving files from the same directory as your app code (which is what __dirname means) can cause code disclosure, which hackers can use to exploit problems in your code. For example, if a hacker visited this URL:

http://yourapp.com/app.js

They would be able to see app.js, which has all of your application's code. You don't want to reveal that to a hacker! They could also navigate to routes like /secret-passwords.json or other similar files.

Typically, static files are placed into a special directory, often called static or public. You can serve files from this directory like this:

var path = require('path');

// ...

var staticFilesPath = path.resolve(__dirname, 'public');
app.use(express.static(staticFilesPath));

In general, you should be pretty careful about sending files that live outside of your app's code.

Hope this helps!

Upvotes: 6

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