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# Form-Data [](https://travis-ci.org/felixge/node-form-data) [](https://gemnasium.com/felixge/node-form-data) |
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A module to create readable ```"multipart/form-data"``` streams. Can be used to submit forms and file uploads to other web applications. |
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The API of this module is inspired by the [XMLHttpRequest-2 FormData Interface][xhr2-fd]. |
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[xhr2-fd]: http://dev.w3.org/2006/webapi/XMLHttpRequest-2/Overview.html#the-formdata-interface |
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[streams2-thing]: http://nodejs.org/api/stream.html#stream_compatibility_with_older_node_versions |
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## Install |
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``` |
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npm install form-data |
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``` |
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## Usage |
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In this example we are constructing a form with 3 fields that contain a string, |
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a buffer and a file stream. |
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``` javascript |
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var FormData = require('form-data'); |
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var fs = require('fs'); |
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var form = new FormData(); |
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form.append('my_field', 'my value'); |
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form.append('my_buffer', new Buffer(10)); |
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form.append('my_file', fs.createReadStream('/foo/bar.jpg')); |
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``` |
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Also you can use http-response stream: |
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``` javascript |
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var FormData = require('form-data'); |
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var http = require('http'); |
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var form = new FormData(); |
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http.request('http://nodejs.org/images/logo.png', function(response) { |
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form.append('my_field', 'my value'); |
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form.append('my_buffer', new Buffer(10)); |
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form.append('my_logo', response); |
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}); |
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``` |
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Or @mikeal's request stream: |
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``` javascript |
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var FormData = require('form-data'); |
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var request = require('request'); |
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var form = new FormData(); |
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form.append('my_field', 'my value'); |
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form.append('my_buffer', new Buffer(10)); |
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form.append('my_logo', request('http://nodejs.org/images/logo.png')); |
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``` |
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In order to submit this form to a web application, call ```submit(url, [callback])``` method: |
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``` javascript |
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form.submit('http://example.org/', function(err, res) { |
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// res – response object (http.IncomingMessage) // |
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res.resume(); // for node-0.10.x |
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}); |
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``` |
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For more advanced request manipulations ```submit()``` method returns ```http.ClientRequest``` object, or you can choose from one of the alternative submission methods. |
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### Alternative submission methods |
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You can use node's http client interface: |
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``` javascript |
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var http = require('http'); |
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var request = http.request({ |
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method: 'post', |
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host: 'example.org', |
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path: '/upload', |
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headers: form.getHeaders() |
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}); |
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form.pipe(request); |
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request.on('response', function(res) { |
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console.log(res.statusCode); |
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}); |
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``` |
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Or if you would prefer the `'Content-Length'` header to be set for you: |
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``` javascript |
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form.submit('example.org/upload', function(err, res) { |
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console.log(res.statusCode); |
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}); |
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``` |
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To use custom headers and pre-known length in parts: |
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``` javascript |
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var CRLF = '\r\n'; |
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var form = new FormData(); |
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var options = { |
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header: CRLF + '--' + form.getBoundary() + CRLF + 'X-Custom-Header: 123' + CRLF + CRLF, |
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knownLength: 1 |
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}; |
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form.append('my_buffer', buffer, options); |
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form.submit('http://example.com/', function(err, res) { |
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if (err) throw err; |
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console.log('Done'); |
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}); |
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``` |
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Form-Data can recognize and fetch all the required information from common types of streams (```fs.readStream```, ```http.response``` and ```mikeal's request```), for some other types of streams you'd need to provide "file"-related information manually: |
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``` javascript |
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someModule.stream(function(err, stdout, stderr) { |
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if (err) throw err; |
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var form = new FormData(); |
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form.append('file', stdout, { |
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filename: 'unicycle.jpg', |
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contentType: 'image/jpg', |
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knownLength: 19806 |
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}); |
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form.submit('http://example.com/', function(err, res) { |
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if (err) throw err; |
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console.log('Done'); |
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}); |
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}); |
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``` |
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For edge cases, like POST request to URL with query string or to pass HTTP auth credentials, object can be passed to `form.submit()` as first parameter: |
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``` javascript |
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form.submit({ |
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host: 'example.com', |
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path: '/probably.php?extra=params', |
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auth: 'username:password' |
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}, function(err, res) { |
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console.log(res.statusCode); |
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}); |
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``` |
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In case you need to also send custom HTTP headers with the POST request, you can use the `headers` key in first parameter of `form.submit()`: |
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``` javascript |
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form.submit({ |
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host: 'example.com', |
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path: '/surelynot.php', |
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headers: {'x-test-header': 'test-header-value'} |
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}, function(err, res) { |
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console.log(res.statusCode); |
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}); |
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``` |
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## Notes |
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- ```getLengthSync()``` method DOESN'T calculate length for streams, use ```knownLength``` options as workaround. |
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- If it feels like FormData hangs after submit and you're on ```node-0.10```, please check [Compatibility with Older Node Versions][streams2-thing] |
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## TODO |
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- Add new streams (0.10) support and try really hard not to break it for 0.8.x. |
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## License |
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Form-Data is licensed under the MIT license. |
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