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Overview

Ship uses middlewares for authentication, error handling, and request processing. Middlewares are applied in two ways:
  • Global Middlewares — Run for all routes in a specific order
  • Route-Specific Middlewares — Applied only to private or admin routes

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Execution Order

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Global Middlewares

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1. attachCustomErrors

Adds custom error handling methods to the context (ctx). Available methods: 
// Throw simple error
ctx.throwError('User not found', 404);

// Conditional error
ctx.assertError(user.isActive, 'User account is disabled', 403);

// Field-level validation errors
ctx.throwClientError({
  email: 'Email is required',
  password: 'Password must be at least 8 characters'
});

// Conditional client error
ctx.assertClientError(!existingUser, { email: 'Email already exists' });

// Redirect with error message
ctx.throwGlobalErrorWithRedirect('Authentication failed', 'https://example.com/login');

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2. attachCustomProperties

Initializes ctx.validatedData = {} which is later populated by the validate middleware.

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3. routeErrorHandler

Catches and formats errors from route handlers. Logs errors with request context and hides sensitive details in production. Error response format: 
{
  "errors": {
    "email": ["Email is required"],
    "password": ["Password must be at least 8 characters"]
  }
}

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4. extractTokens

Extracts access tokens from requests and stores in ctx.state.accessToken. Token sources (checked in order):
  1. ACCESS_TOKEN cookie
  2. Authorization: Bearer <token> header

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5. tryToAttachUser

Validates the access token and attaches the user to ctx.state.user if valid. Also updates the user’s last request timestamp.
This middleware doesn’t block requests if the token is invalid. Use the auth middleware to enforce authentication.

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Route-Specific Middlewares

Applied to specific route types for authentication and authorization.

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auth

Ensures user is authenticated by checking if ctx.state.user exists. Returns 401 if not authenticated. Usage: 
app.use(mount('/account', compose([auth, accountRoutes.privateRoutes])));

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adminAuth

Validates admin access by checking the x-admin-key header against the ADMIN_KEY environment variable. Returns 401 if invalid. Usage: 
app.use(mount('/admin/users', compose([adminAuth, userRoutes.adminRoutes])));
Making admin requests: 
curl -X GET https://api.example.com/admin/users \
  -H "x-admin-key: your-admin-key-here"

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Summary

Execution order:
  1. attachCustomErrors - Adds error methods
  2. attachCustomProperties - Initializes properties
  3. routeErrorHandler - Wraps in error handler
  4. extractTokens - Extracts token from cookie/header
  5. tryToAttachUser - Validates token, attaches user
  6. auth or adminAuth (if applicable)
  7. Route handler

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See Also