FAQ: Setting up a Server with HTTP - Routing

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This community-built FAQ covers the “Routing” exercise from the lesson “Setting up a Server with HTTP”.

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This exercise can be found in the following Codecademy content:

Learn Node.js

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[bunturedempter]

I am getting the following error message after running $ node app.js

shell-init: error retrieving current directory: getcwd: cannot access parent directories: No such file or directory
internal/bootstrap/switches/does_own_process_state.js:130
    cachedCwd = rawMethods.cwd();
                           ^

Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, uv_cwd
    at process.wrappedCwd [as cwd] (internal/bootstrap/switches/does_own_process_state.js:130:28)
    at Object.resolve (path.js:1072:47)
    at resolveMainPath (internal/modules/run_main.js:16:40)
    at Function.executeUserEntryPoint [as runMain] (internal/modules/run_main.js:70:24)
    at internal/main/run_main_module.js:17:47 {
  errno: -2,
  code: 'ENOENT',
  syscall: 'uv_cwd'
}

[starisaura]

I get the same error message too, even though my code is the same as the solution. Seems that there is a bug that they need to fix it.

It will only work when I click 'Replace with solution’ button.

[migsotoa]

I have the same error, I don’t know why…

[xiaoxuecheng]

I am stuck with the step 5 in ROUTING . After I run the codes and then click the ‘check work’ button, there is nothing but only the busy animation on the square box before the “5.”. This can keep occurring numerous times. I shut the course and reopen it, but the issue persists.

[christophervelazquez]

So this thread was first opened in July 2021, nearly a year later I’m also having this same issue.

as a new user for a service that charges ~500 a year I gotta say I’m not too impressed.

[sdw1]

I’m also having the same issue with step 5 in Routing. My solution is identical to the given solution, but will only work if I use their solution

[erlendharden98281058]

const handleGetRequest = (req, res) => {
  const pathname = req.url;

  if (pathname === '/users') {
    res.end(JSON.stringify([]));
  }
}

This is the solution of the 4th ex. Pathname is only part of the URL why we assign full url to pathname?
PS: because req.url is the pathname part of url.!

Ok then I have another question))
Why in this part

function handleGetRequest(req, res) {
  const { pathname } = new URL(req.url);
  let data = {};
 
  if (pathname === '/projects') {
    data = await getProjects();
    res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/json');
    return res.end(JSON.stringify(data));
  }
 
  res.statusCode = 404;
  return res.end('Requested resource does not exist');
 
}

we use const { pathname } = new URL(req.url);
It’s wrong req.url - it’s only path of the url. And we get an error TypeError [ERR_INVALID_URL]: Invalid URL

[net5533575016]

Why does this exercise have us returning the function call to handleGetRequest? I redid this exercise without the two returns and it passed, and I can’t make any sense out of why would they would be there.

[system1969669563]

I copied all the code from “solution” manually, but it still doesn’t work correctly!
Then I clicked “Replace with solution” and only after that everything worked!

Are you kidding me?

[bss2]

If you want to see the output of a request (assuming your source code is correct), open another bash tab and input
curl http://localhost:4001/users
while your node app.js command is running / returning ‘listening for requests…’

[arc0466460415]

The solution in my case, is that I:

1. Did not write res.end ( JSON.stringify()) ; as my return argument –
2. Did not account for an error in the switch-case function.

In essence, it seems like this exercise does NOT actually account for any ‘/users’ pathname, it expects for it to be an error. So when we do not account for it, the server will do what it does – continue to listen, after it “swallowed” the method request that did not exist to begin with.
Problem is, that I did not manage to figure out which “METHOD” they used to begin with.

This is a poorly designed class in that sense, tbh…

[romnaviche]

Would love it if someone cleared this up. The exercise and the lesson seem to contradict each other.
Is req.url the whole URL or just part of the URL? If it is the whole URL then why don’t we destructure it like we did in the lesson with const { pathname } = new URL(req.url) ?