# Middleware

Introduction
Writing middleware
Applying Middleware
Built-in middleware
- Trim
- Gzip

# Introduction

Middleware are handlers executed before the controller handler. They are a convenient way to filter, intercept or alter HTTP requests entering your application. For example, middleware can be used to authenticate users. If the user is not authenticated, a message is sent to the user even before the controller handler is reached. However, if the user is authenticated, the middleware will pass to the next handler. Middleware can also be used to sanitize user inputs, by trimming strings for example, to log all requests into a log file, to automatically add headers to all your responses, etc.

Writing middleware is as easy as writing standard handlers. In fact, middleware are handlers, but they have an additional responsibility: when they are done, they may or may not pass to the next handler, which is either another middleware or a controller handler.

# Writing middleware

Each middleware is written in its own file inside the http/middleware directory. A Middleware is a function returning a Handler.

TIP

goyave.Middleware is an alias for func(goyave.Handler) goyave.Handler

Example:

func MyCustomMiddleware(next goyave.Handler) goyave.Handler {
	return func(response *goyave.Response, request *goyave.Request) {
        // Do something
        next(response, request) // Pass to the next handler
    }
}

When implementing middleware, keep in mind that the request has not been validated yet! Manipulating unvalidated data can be dangerous, especially in form-data where the data types are not converted by the validator yet. In middleware, you should always check if the request has been parsed correctly before trying to access its data:

if request.Data != nil {
    // Parsing OK
}

If you want your middleware to stop the request and respond immediately before reaching the controller handler, simply don't call the next handler. In the following example, consider that you developed a custom authentication system:

func CustomAuthentication(next goyave.Handler) goyave.Handler {
	return func(response *goyave.Response, request *goyave.Request) {
        if !auth.Check(request) {
            response.Status(http.StatusUnauthorized)
            return
        }

        next(response, request)
    }
}

TIP

When a middleware stops a request, following middleware are not executed neither.

# Applying Middleware

When your middleware is ready, you will need to apply it to a router or a specific route. When applying a middleware to a router, all routes and subrouters will execute this middleware when matched.

router.Middleware(middleware.MyCustomMiddleware)

router.Get("/products", product.Index).Middleware(middleware.MyCustomMiddleware)

You can also apply your middleware globally so it is executed for every request, even if it doesn't match any route.

router.GlobalMiddleware(middleware.MyCustomMiddleware)

# Built-in middleware

Built-in middleware is located in the middleware package.

import "goyave.dev/goyave/v4/middleware"

# Trim

Since v2.0.0

Trim removes all leading and trailing white space from string fields.

For example, " \t trimmed\n \t" will be transformed to "trimmed".

router.Middleware(middleware.Trim)

# Gzip

Since v2.7.0

Gzip compresses HTTP responses with default compression level for clients that support it via the Accept-Encoding header.

router.Middleware(middleware.Gzip())

The compression level can be specified using GzipLevel(level). The compression level should be gzip.DefaultCompression, gzip.NoCompression, or any integer value between gzip.BestSpeed and gzip.BestCompression inclusive. gzip.HuffmanOnly is also available.

router.Middleware(middleware.GzipLevel(gzip.BestCompression))

← Routing Requests →