We Keep Coding

Error [ERR_HTTP_HEADERS_SENT]: Cannot set headers after they are sent to client [duplicate]

I'm facing this weird issue in NodeJS when using with Passport.js, Express and Mongoose. Basically, I get an error saying "Cannot set headers after they are sent to the client" even though I don't send more than one header.
I've read other posts and tried them out as well, and none of them worked.
app.get - is there any difference between res.send vs return res.send
Error [ERR_HTTP_HEADERS_SENT]: Cannot set headers after they are sent to the client
Cannot set headers after they are sent to the client
I've dug through github issues and I can't seem to find a solution. I get the problem that this error is triggered when I send multiple response headers, but the fact is that I am not sending multiple headers. It seems just weird.
This is my stack trace:
(node:9236) DeprecationWarning: current URL string parser is deprecated, and will be removed in a future version. To use the new parser, pass option { useNewUrlParser: true } to MongoClient.connect.
Server Running on port 5000
MongoDB Connected Error
[ERR_HTTP_HEADERS_SENT]: Cannot set headers after they are sent to the
client
at validateHeader (_http_outgoing.js:503:11)
at ServerResponse.setHeader (_http_outgoing.js:510:3)
at ServerResponse.header (/Users/lourdesroashan/code/github/devlog/node_modules/express/lib/response.js:767:10)
at ServerResponse.json (/Users/lourdesroashan/code/github/devlog/node_modules/express/lib/response.js:264:10)
at Profile.findOne.then.profile (/Users/lourdesroashan/code/github/devlog/routes/api/profile.js:27:30)
at <anonymous>
This is my server code:
router.get("/userprofile", passport.authenticate('jwt', { session: false }), (req, res) => {
Profile.findOne({ user: req.user.id }).then(profile => {
if (!profile) {
return res.status(404).json({ error: "No Profile Found" });
}
else {
res.json(profile);
}
}).catch(err => {
console.log(err);
})
});
I understand what the error means, but from what I know, I don't think I am sending multiple headers, I even checked by console.log that only one of the blocks is run.
Thank you so much in advance! :)
Full Code at: https://github.com/lourdesr/devlog
EDIT:
I figured it out. It was a problem in my passport.js while trying to get the authenticated user. I forgot to use 'return' on the 'done' method, which had caused it. Just added the return statement and it worked!

That particular error occurs whenever your code attempts to send more than one response to the same request. There are a number of different coding mistakes that can lead to this:
Improperly written asynchronous code that allows multiple branches to send a response.
Not returning from the request handler to stop further code in the request handler from running after you've sent a response.
Calling next() when you've already sent a response.
Improper logic branching that allows multiple code paths to execute attempt to send a response.
The code you show in your question does not appear like it would cause that error, but I do see code in a different route here that would cause that error.
Where you have this:
if (!user) {
errors.email = "User not found";
res.status(404).json({ errors });
}
You need to change it to:
if (!user) {
errors.email = "User not found";
res.status(404).json({ errors });
// stop further execution in this callback
return;
}
You don't want the code to continue after you've done res.status(404).json({ errors }); because it will then try to send another response.
In addition, everywhere you have this:
if (err) throw err;
inside an async callback, you need to replace that with something that actually sends an error response such as:
if (err) {
console.log(err);
res.sendStatus(500);
return;
}
throwing inside an async callback just goes back into the node.js event system and isn't thrown to anywhere that you can actually catch it. Further, it doesn't send a response to the http request. In otherwords, it doesn't really do what the server is supposed to do. So, do yourself a favor and never write that code in your server. When you get an error, send an error response.
Since it looks like you may be new here, I wanted to compliment you on including a link to your full source code at https://github.com/lourdesr/devlog because it's only by looking at that that I was able to see this place where the error is occuring.

I was receiving this error because of a foolish mistake on my part. I need to be more careful when referencing my other working code. The truly embarrassing part is how long I spent trying to figure out the cause of the error. Ouf!
Bad:
return res
.send(C.Status.OK)
.json({ item });
Good:
return res
.status(C.Status.OK)
.json({ item });

Use ctrl + F hotkey and find all 'res.' keywords
then replace them with 'return res.',
change all 'res.' to 'return res.'
something like this:
res.send() change to --> return res.send()
maybe you have 'res.' in some block, like if() statement

Sorry for the Late response,
As per the mongoose documentation "Mongoose queries are not promises. They have a .then() function for co and async/await as a convenience. However, unlike promises, calling a query's .then() can execute the query multiple time"
so to use promises
mongoose.Promise = global.Promise //To use the native js promises
Then
var promise = Profile.findOne({ user: req.user.id }).exec()
promise.then(function (profile){
if (!profile) {
throw new Error("User profile not found") //reject promise with error
}
return res.status(200).json(profile) //return user profile
}).catch(function (err){
console.log(err); //User profile not found
return res.status(404).json({ err.message }) //return your error msg
})
here is an nice article about switching out callbacks with promises in Mongoose
and this answer on mongooses promise rejection handling Mongoose right promise rejection handling

There is a simple fix for the node error [ERR_HTTP_HEADERS_SET]. You need to add a return statement in front of your responses to make sure your router exits correctly on error:
router.post("/", async (req, res) => {
let user = await User.findOne({email: req.body.email});
if (!user) **return** res.status(400).send("Wrong user");
});

Because of multiple response sending in your request. if you use return key word in your else condition your code will run properly
if (!profile) {
return res.status(404).json({ error: "No Profile Found" });
}
else {
**return** res.json(profile);
}

This also happen when you tries to send the multiple response for a same request !!
So make sure you always use return keyword to send response to client inorder to stop the further processing !!

Where you have this:
if (!user) { errors.email = "User not found"; res.status(404).json({ errors }); }
You need to change it to:
if (!user) { errors.email = "User not found"; return res.status(404).json({ errors }); }

I got the same error using express and mongoose with HBS template engine. I went to Expressjs and read the docs for res.render, and it says // if a callback is specified, the rendered HTML string has to be sent explicitly. So I wasnt originally sending my html explicitly in the callback,. This is only for a contact form btw, not login info, albeit GET
//Original
let { username, email } = req.query; //My get query data easier to read
res.status(200).render('index', { username, email });
//Solution without error. Second param sending data to views, Third param callback
res.status(200).render('index', { username, email }, (err, html)=>{
res.send(html);
});

In react, if your are calling the function in useEffect hook, make sure to add a dependency to the dependency Array.

I had this error from an if statement not having an else block.
if(someCondition) {
await () => { }
}
await () => { }
I changed the above to this below and solved my issue
if(someCondition) {
await () => { }
} else {
await () => { }
}

For me, I accidentally put a res.status inside of a for loop. So my server would trigger the error the second time a res.status was returned. I needed to put the res.status outside of the for loop so it would only trigger once within the function.

First of all : make sure you didn't miss any asynchronous action without an async/await or use promises/callbacks.
Then attach any res with the return keyword : return res.status(..).json({});
And finally which was my problem: don't use return res.sendStatus if you always have some return res... inside a callback function, but you can always do a retun res.status();
in my case it was :
users.save((err,savedDoc){
if(err) return res.status(501).json({})
res.status(200).json({});
});
return res.status(500); // instead ofdoing return res.sendStatus(500)

you have to enable Promises in your programm, in my case i enabled it in my mongoose schema by using mongoose.Promise = global.Promise .
This enables using native js promises.
other alternatives to this soloution is :
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
// set Promise provider to bluebird
mongoose.Promise = require('bluebird');
and
// q
mongoose.Promise = require('q').Promise;
but you need to install these packages first.

My problem besides not returning, i was forgetting to await an asynchronous function in the handler. So handler was returning and after a bit the async function did its thing. 🤦🏻‍♀️
Before:
req.session.set('x', {...});
req.session.save();
return req.status(200).end();
When i needed to await:
req.session.set('x', {...});
await req.session.save();
return req.status(200).end();

I'm putting this here for anyone else who has the same problem as me- this happened to me because I'm using the next() function without a return preceding it. Just like a lot of the other answers state, not using return with your response will / can cause / allow other code in the function to execute. In my case, I had this:
app.get("/customerDetails", async (req, res, next) => {
// check that our custom header from the app is present
if (req.get('App-Source') !== 'A Customer Header') next();
var customerID = req.query.CustomerID
var rows = await get_customer_details(customerID);
return res.json(rows);
});
In my case, I forgot to include the header in my request, so the conditional statement failed and next() was called. Another middleware function must have then been executed. After the middleware finishes, without a return, the rest of the code in the original middleware function is then executed. So I simply added a return before my next() call:
// serve customer details payload
app.get("/customerDetails", async (req, res, next) => {
// check that our custom header from the app is present
if (req.get('App-Source') !== 'A Customer Header') return next();
var customerID = req.query.CustomerID
var rows = await get_customer_details(customerID);
return res.json(rows);
});

Node: Wait for python script to run

I have the following code. Where i upload the file first and then i read the file and console the output like console.log(obj). But the response comes first and the python scripts runs behind the scene. How can i make code to wait for the python script to run then proceed?
router.post(`${basePath}/file`, (req, res) => {
//Upload file first
PythonShell.run('calculations.py', { scriptPath: '/Path/to/python/script' }, function (err) {
console.log(err);
let obj = fs.readFileSync('Path/to/file', 'utf8');
console.log(obj);
});
return res.status(200).send({
message : 'Success',
});
});
I cannot get console.log(obj); output because it runs after the response. How can i make it wait for the python script to run and get console.log(obj) output on console.

To return the result after some async operation, you should call res.send inside the done-callback.
router.post(`${basePath}/file`, (req, res) => {
//Upload file first
PythonShell.run('calculations.py', { scriptPath: '/Path/to/python/script' }, function (err) {
console.log('The script work has been finished.'); // (*)
if(err) {
res.status(500).send({
error: err,
});
console.log(err);
return;
}
let obj = fs.readFileSync('Path/to/file', 'utf8');
console.log(obj); // (**)
res.status(200).send({
message : 'Success',
});
});
});
Then if you will not see the log (*) in the console, then it would mean that the script does not work or works improperly. The callback is not being called. First of all, you need to be sure that the script (PythonShell.run) works and the callback is being called. The POST handler will wait until you call res.send (with no matter of delay value), so that callback is the main point.
Also readFileSync could fail. In case of readFileSync failure you should see an exception. If it's ok then you'll see the next log (**) and the response will be sent.
I see PythonShell in your code. I have no experience with it, but after some reading I think that the problem could be in how you are using it. It seems the python-shell npm package, so following it's documentation you may try to to instantiate a python shell for your script and then to use listeners:
let pyshell = new PythonShell('calculations.py');
router.post(`${basePath}/file`, (req, res) => {
pyshell.send(settings); // path, args etc
pyshell.end(function (err) {
console.log('The script work has been finished.');
if(err) { res.status(200).send({ error: err }); }
else { res.status(200).send({ message : 'Success' }); }
});
});
This approach could be more appropriate because the pyton shell is kept open between different POST requests. This depends on your needs. But I guess it does not solve the problem of script running. If you are sure that the script itself is fine, then you need just to run it properly in the Node environment. There are some points:
path to script
arguments
other settings
Try to remove all arguments (create some new test script), cleanup settings object (keep only path) and execute it from Node. Handle its result in Node. You should be able to run the simplest script by correct path! Research how to setup correct scriptPath. Then add an argument to your script and run it with an argument. Hanlde the result again. There are not so many options, but each of them could be the cause of improper call.

Not able to respond to custom error message sent from express

This problem annoys me, because I know it has something to do with me not understanding the issue properly - which makes it really hard to track down answers for, despite spending hours reading and trying different things.
My question/problem is this, I am saving a user to a mongodb database when they signup, my schema doesn't allow for duplicate emails, and sends me back an error. I am able to console log the error in the terminal, but I am having problems sending it back to the client. Or I'm having a problem doing something with it, if it comes back, I'm not too sure where in those two steps I am losing access to the error message.
Here is my POST route for saving the user:
router.post('/users', (req, res) => {
let body = _.pick(req.body, ['email', 'password']);
let user = new User(body);
user.save().then(() => { // this all works and will save the user, if there are no errors
return user.generateAuthToken();
}).then((token) => {
res.header('Authorization', `Bearer ${token}`).send(user);
}).catch((err) => { // This is where my problem is
console.log(err); // This will log the mongodb error here, about duplicate emails
res.status(500).send(err); // I'm trying to send the mongodb error message back to the client to display it on the screen (I will handle making the message friendly to read, once I can get this to work)
});
});
So my catch is getting the mongo error, and then I try to respond with it, by sending it to the client.
Here is my client side code:
axios({
method: 'post',
url: '/auth/users',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
data: {
email,
password
}
}).then((res) => {
console.log('this is the response', res);
if (res.status === 200) {
var authToken = res.headers.authorization.split(' ')[1];
authenticateUser(authToken);
this.props.history.replace('/dashboard');
} // This all works fine for a signup with no errors
}).catch((err) => {
console.log('Signup error:', err);
// I am expecting the above line of code to log the long Mongodb
// error message that I am sending back in my res.status(500).send(err)
// catch call from the server, but instead all I am getting is
// "Signup error: Error: Request failed with status code 500"
});
Either I'm not sending the error correctly, or I'm not handling it correctly when it comes back, but I have no idea which it is or why.
I can't even send back res.status(500).send('some string here') and access that string.
Thanks
Update
So I just checked in postman, by sending a POST that could cause the error, and I am getting the correct response sent through.
My server catch actually looks like this:
.catch((err) => {
res.status(500).send({message: err.message});
});
And the postman response body looks like this:
{
"message": "E11000 duplicate key error collection: authBoilerplate.users index: email_1 dup key: { : \"email#example.com\" }"
}
So I'm just not handling it correctly in my client side code, still at a loss though.

Thanks everyone, I was able to find the answer to my question, so I'm posting it here in the hope that it might help someone else.
I was definitely sending my custom error message back, I just wasn't handling it properly on the client side.
When I was using a catch call on the client and logging the error, I was expecting to see everything included in the error. It turns out that the error comes back with a response property error.response, and that is where all the messaging is.
So changing my catch call to this:
axios(//... send post in here)
.then(// ... same as in my question)
.catch((err) => {
console.log('error', err);
console.log('error response', err.response); // this is where the actual error response message is error.response.message
});
resulted in logging the stack trace and the error response:
error Error: Request failed with status code 500
at createError (eval at <anonymous> (bundle.js:541), <anonymous>:16:15)
at settle (eval at <anonymous> (bundle.js:847), <anonymous>:18:12)
at XMLHttpRequest.handleLoad (eval at <anonymous> (bundle.js:520), <anonymous>:77:7)
error response Object {data: Object, status: 500, statusText: "Internal Server Error", headers: Object, config: Object…}
I was still expecting to be able to see that I had access to that 'response' property by logging just the error, so if anyone has any insight into that, it would be great to include in the comments.

Another way of solving this is by converting the error to string.
.catch((err) => {
res.status(500).send(err.toString());
});

AngularJS Get not working

I am new to AngularJS. I have a .net MVC WebAPI Restful app running on a IIS server. When I query the api with http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/api/project I get:
[{"Id":1,"Name":"Glenn Block","Created":"0001-01-01T00:00:00"},{"Id":2,"Name":"Dan Roth","Created":"0001-01-01T00:00:00"}]
I created a ProjectCtrl (in a separate empty project) that looks like this:
angular.module('Project', ['ngResource']);
function ProjectCtrl($scope, $resource) {
$scope.project = $resource('http://192.168.1.221/api/project'
);
$scope.project.get(function (data) {
console.log('success, got data: ', data);
}, function (err) {
alert('request failed');
});
}
I always get a failure. I addressed CORS issues on the server and the request header contains
Access-Control-Request-He... x-requested-with
Access-Control-Request-Me... GET
What I find odd is that when I look in firebug it does NOT do a get but rather shows Option project with a status of 200
I am not sure what I missing.

The error mentioned in your comment, "Error: a.push is not a function", is because your response is an array. With $resource, use the query function when your response is an array.

I think the first parameter of the resource call should be resource-based params. If you have none, pass an empty object {} as the first parameter:
$scope.project.get({},function (data) {
console.log('success, got data: ', data);
}, function (err) {
alert('request failed');
});
My guess is that your err object is actually the successfully returned data. If I'm wrong, tell me and I'll delete!

Backbone model.create not calling any callback

I have the following code to create a new model to a collection. The underlying datastore is a remote API:
var postCreationStatus = this.model.create(newPostModel, {
wait : true // waits for server to respond with 200 before adding newly created model to collection
}, {
success : function(resp){
console.log('success callback');
console.log(resp);
},
error : function(err) {
console.log('error callback');
console.log(err);
}
});
The new model gets created, and I can confirm this from the database, but neither the success nor the error callbacks get called.
After the creation has been completed, I want to redirect the user. Redirecting prematurely kills the AJAX request, which is why it is important I use the success callback.
The server responds with a JSON response { id : 11 } and an HTTP status of 200 OK.

Looking into the backbone code, I realized my call to the create() function was incorrect. The success and error callbacks needed to be within the object being passed in as the second argument, and not as a third argument. The changed, and working snippet is this:
var postCreationStatus = this.model.create(newPostModel, {
wait : true, // waits for server to respond with 200 before adding newly created model to collection
success : function(resp){
console.log('success callback');
console.log(resp);
that.redirectHomePage();
},
error : function(err) {
console.log('error callback');
// this error message for dev only
alert('There was an error. See console for details');
console.log(err);
}
});