| # cors |
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| [![NPM Version][npm-image]][npm-url] |
| [![NPM Downloads][downloads-image]][downloads-url] |
| [![Build Status][github-actions-ci-image]][github-actions-ci-url] |
| [![Test Coverage][coveralls-image]][coveralls-url] |
|
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| CORS is a [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en/) middleware for [Express](https://expressjs.com/)/[Connect](https://github.com/senchalabs/connect) that sets [CORS](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Guides/CORS) response headers. These headers tell browsers which origins can read responses from your server. |
|
|
| > [!IMPORTANT] |
| > **How CORS Works:** This package sets response headers—it doesn't block requests. CORS is enforced by browsers: they check the headers and decide if JavaScript can read the response. Non-browser clients (curl, Postman, other servers) ignore CORS entirely. See the [MDN CORS guide](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Guides/CORS) for details. |
|
|
| * [Installation](#installation) |
| * [Usage](#usage) |
| * [Simple Usage](#simple-usage-enable-all-cors-requests) |
| * [Enable CORS for a Single Route](#enable-cors-for-a-single-route) |
| * [Configuring CORS](#configuring-cors) |
| * [Configuring CORS w/ Dynamic Origin](#configuring-cors-w-dynamic-origin) |
| * [Enabling CORS Pre-Flight](#enabling-cors-pre-flight) |
| * [Customizing CORS Settings Dynamically per Request](#customizing-cors-settings-dynamically-per-request) |
| * [Configuration Options](#configuration-options) |
| * [Common Misconceptions](#common-misconceptions) |
| * [License](#license) |
| * [Original Author](#original-author) |
|
|
| ## Installation |
|
|
| This is a [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en/) module available through the |
| [npm registry](https://www.npmjs.com/). Installation is done using the |
| [`npm install` command](https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-packages-locally): |
|
|
| ```sh |
| $ npm install cors |
| ``` |
|
|
| ## Usage |
|
|
| ### Simple Usage (Enable *All* CORS Requests) |
|
|
| ```javascript |
| var express = require('express') |
| var cors = require('cors') |
| var app = express() |
| |
| // Adds headers: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * |
| app.use(cors()) |
| |
| app.get('/products/:id', function (req, res, next) { |
| res.json({msg: 'Hello'}) |
| }) |
| |
| app.listen(80, function () { |
| console.log('web server listening on port 80') |
| }) |
| ``` |
|
|
| ### Enable CORS for a Single Route |
|
|
| ```javascript |
| var express = require('express') |
| var cors = require('cors') |
| var app = express() |
| |
| // Adds headers: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * |
| app.get('/products/:id', cors(), function (req, res, next) { |
| res.json({msg: 'Hello'}) |
| }) |
| |
| app.listen(80, function () { |
| console.log('web server listening on port 80') |
| }) |
| ``` |
|
|
| ### Configuring CORS |
|
|
| See the [configuration options](#configuration-options) for details. |
|
|
| ```javascript |
| var express = require('express') |
| var cors = require('cors') |
| var app = express() |
| |
| var corsOptions = { |
| origin: 'http://example.com', |
| optionsSuccessStatus: 200 // some legacy browsers (IE11, various SmartTVs) choke on 204 |
| } |
| |
| // Adds headers: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: http://example.com, Vary: Origin |
| app.get('/products/:id', cors(corsOptions), function (req, res, next) { |
| res.json({msg: 'Hello'}) |
| }) |
| |
| app.listen(80, function () { |
| console.log('web server listening on port 80') |
| }) |
| ``` |
|
|
| ### Configuring CORS w/ Dynamic Origin |
|
|
| This module supports validating the origin dynamically using a function provided |
| to the `origin` option. This function will be passed a string that is the origin |
| (or `undefined` if the request has no origin), and a `callback` with the signature |
| `callback(error, origin)`. |
|
|
| The `origin` argument to the callback can be any value allowed for the `origin` |
| option of the middleware, except a function. See the |
| [configuration options](#configuration-options) section for more information on all |
| the possible value types. |
|
|
| This function is designed to allow the dynamic loading of allowed origin(s) from |
| a backing datasource, like a database. |
|
|
| ```javascript |
| var express = require('express') |
| var cors = require('cors') |
| var app = express() |
| |
| var corsOptions = { |
| origin: function (origin, callback) { |
| // db.loadOrigins is an example call to load |
| // a list of origins from a backing database |
| db.loadOrigins(function (error, origins) { |
| callback(error, origins) |
| }) |
| } |
| } |
| |
| // Adds headers: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: <matched origin>, Vary: Origin |
| app.get('/products/:id', cors(corsOptions), function (req, res, next) { |
| res.json({msg: 'Hello'}) |
| }) |
| |
| app.listen(80, function () { |
| console.log('web server listening on port 80') |
| }) |
| ``` |
|
|
| ### Enabling CORS Pre-Flight |
|
|
| Certain CORS requests are considered 'complex' and require an initial |
| `OPTIONS` request (called the "pre-flight request"). An example of a |
| 'complex' CORS request is one that uses an HTTP verb other than |
| GET/HEAD/POST (such as DELETE) or that uses custom headers. To enable |
| pre-flighting, you must add a new OPTIONS handler for the route you want |
| to support: |
|
|
| ```javascript |
| var express = require('express') |
| var cors = require('cors') |
| var app = express() |
| |
| app.options('/products/:id', cors()) // preflight for DELETE |
| app.del('/products/:id', cors(), function (req, res, next) { |
| res.json({msg: 'Hello'}) |
| }) |
| |
| app.listen(80, function () { |
| console.log('web server listening on port 80') |
| }) |
| ``` |
|
|
| You can also enable pre-flight across-the-board like so: |
|
|
| ```javascript |
| app.options('*', cors()) // include before other routes |
| ``` |
|
|
| NOTE: When using this middleware as an application level middleware (for |
| example, `app.use(cors())`), pre-flight requests are already handled for all |
| routes. |
|
|
| ### Customizing CORS Settings Dynamically per Request |
|
|
| For APIs that require different CORS configurations for specific routes or requests, you can dynamically generate CORS options based on the incoming request. The `cors` middleware allows you to achieve this by passing a function instead of static options. This function is called for each incoming request and must use the callback pattern to return the appropriate CORS options. |
|
|
| The function accepts: |
| 1. **`req`**: |
| - The incoming request object. |
|
|
| 2. **`callback(error, corsOptions)`**: |
| - A function used to return the computed CORS options. |
| - **Arguments**: |
| - **`error`**: Pass `null` if there’s no error, or an error object to indicate a failure. |
| - **`corsOptions`**: An object specifying the CORS policy for the current request. |
|
|
| Here’s an example that handles both public routes and restricted, credential-sensitive routes: |
|
|
| ```javascript |
| var dynamicCorsOptions = function(req, callback) { |
| var corsOptions; |
| if (req.path.startsWith('/auth/connect/')) { |
| // Access-Control-Allow-Origin: http://mydomain.com, Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true, Vary: Origin |
| corsOptions = { |
| origin: 'http://mydomain.com', |
| credentials: true |
| }; |
| } else { |
| // Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * |
| corsOptions = { origin: '*' }; |
| } |
| callback(null, corsOptions); |
| }; |
| |
| app.use(cors(dynamicCorsOptions)); |
| |
| app.get('/auth/connect/twitter', function (req, res) { |
| res.send('Hello'); |
| }); |
| |
| app.get('/public', function (req, res) { |
| res.send('Hello'); |
| }); |
| |
| app.listen(80, function () { |
| console.log('web server listening on port 80') |
| }) |
| ``` |
|
|
| ## Configuration Options |
|
|
| * `origin`: Configures the **Access-Control-Allow-Origin** CORS header. Possible values: |
| - `Boolean` - set `origin` to `true` to reflect the [request origin](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-abarth-origin-09), as defined by `req.header('Origin')`, or set it to `false` to disable CORS. |
| - `String` - set `origin` to a specific origin. For example, if you set it to |
| - `"http://example.com"` only requests from "http://example.com" will be allowed. |
| - `"*"` for all domains to be allowed. |
| - `RegExp` - set `origin` to a regular expression pattern which will be used to test the request origin. If it's a match, the request origin will be reflected. For example the pattern `/example\.com$/` will reflect any request that is coming from an origin ending with "example.com". |
| - `Array` - set `origin` to an array of valid origins. Each origin can be a `String` or a `RegExp`. For example `["http://example1.com", /\.example2\.com$/]` will accept any request from "http://example1.com" or from a subdomain of "example2.com". |
| - `Function` - set `origin` to a function implementing some custom logic. The function takes the request origin as the first parameter and a callback (called as `callback(err, origin)`, where `origin` is a non-function value of the `origin` option) as the second. |
| * `methods`: Configures the **Access-Control-Allow-Methods** CORS header. Expects a comma-delimited string (ex: 'GET,PUT,POST') or an array (ex: `['GET', 'PUT', 'POST']`). |
| * `allowedHeaders`: Configures the **Access-Control-Allow-Headers** CORS header. Expects a comma-delimited string (ex: 'Content-Type,Authorization') or an array (ex: `['Content-Type', 'Authorization']`). If not specified, defaults to reflecting the headers specified in the request's **Access-Control-Request-Headers** header. |
| * `exposedHeaders`: Configures the **Access-Control-Expose-Headers** CORS header. Expects a comma-delimited string (ex: 'Content-Range,X-Content-Range') or an array (ex: `['Content-Range', 'X-Content-Range']`). If not specified, no custom headers are exposed. |
| * `credentials`: Configures the **Access-Control-Allow-Credentials** CORS header. Set to `true` to pass the header, otherwise it is omitted. |
| * `maxAge`: Configures the **Access-Control-Max-Age** CORS header. Set to an integer to pass the header, otherwise it is omitted. |
| * `preflightContinue`: Pass the CORS preflight response to the next handler. |
| * `optionsSuccessStatus`: Provides a status code to use for successful `OPTIONS` requests, since some legacy browsers (IE11, various SmartTVs) choke on `204`. |
|
|
| The default configuration is the equivalent of: |
|
|
| ```json |
| { |
| "origin": "*", |
| "methods": "GET,HEAD,PUT,PATCH,POST,DELETE", |
| "preflightContinue": false, |
| "optionsSuccessStatus": 204 |
| } |
| ``` |
|
|
| ## Common Misconceptions |
|
|
| ### "CORS blocks requests from disallowed origins" |
|
|
| **No.** Your server receives and processes every request. CORS headers tell the browser whether JavaScript can read the response—not whether the request is allowed. |
|
|
| ### "CORS protects my API from unauthorized access" |
|
|
| **No.** CORS is not access control. Any HTTP client (curl, Postman, another server) can call your API regardless of CORS settings. Use authentication and authorization to protect your API. |
|
|
| ### "Setting `origin: 'http://example.com'` means only that domain can access my server" |
|
|
| **No.** It means browsers will only let JavaScript from that origin read responses. The server still responds to all requests. |
|
|
| ## License |
|
|
| [MIT License](http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php) |
|
|
| ## Original Author |
|
|
| [Troy Goode](https://github.com/TroyGoode) ([troygoode@gmail.com](mailto:troygoode@gmail.com)) |
|
|
| [coveralls-image]: https://img.shields.io/coveralls/expressjs/cors/master.svg |
| [coveralls-url]: https://coveralls.io/r/expressjs/cors?branch=master |
| [downloads-image]: https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/cors.svg |
| [downloads-url]: https://npmjs.com/package/cors |
| [github-actions-ci-image]: https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/expressjs/cors/ci.yml?branch=master&label=ci |
| [github-actions-ci-url]: https://github.com/expressjs/cors?query=workflow%3Aci |
| [npm-image]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/cors.svg |
| [npm-url]: https://npmjs.com/package/cors |
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