I can use app.locals directly in templates but not res.locals

Question

In my Express application, I'm able to set app.locals and use them directly in my templates (rendered using express-handlebars). However, when I set res.locals in middleware, they are not available unless I pass them in. Am I doing something wrong?

Server

app.locals.foo = "foo";
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
  res.locals.bar = "bar";
  next();
});

Template

{{foo}} {{bar}}

Test 1

app.get("/", function(req, res) {
  app.render("template.html", {}, function(error, html) {
    res.send(html);
  });
});

Result

foo

Test 2

app.get("/", function(req, res) {
  app.render("template.html", {bar: res.locals.bar}, function(error, html) {
    res.send(html);
  });
});

Result

foo bar

Possible duplicate of [ExpressJS 3.0 How to pass res.locals to a jade view?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12550067/expressjs-3-0-how-to-pass-res-locals-to-a-jade-view) — Robert Moskal, Feb 21 '16 at 20:10

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 21 '16 at 20:14

8

res.locals is available in res.render. I suspect you are calling app.render by mistake, and should be calling res.render.

answered Feb 21 '16 at 20:14

bolav

6,938
2
18
42

That's it! I didn't realize there was a difference between using `app.render` and `res.render`. – David Jones Feb 21 '16 at 20:16

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 21 '16 at 20:08

0

The app.locals are available in the entire application as long as the application is up. The res.locals only exists during the request.

answered Feb 21 '16 at 20:08

tomtom

642
7
12

Correct, which is why I set them in the middleware. – David Jones Feb 21 '16 at 20:09

I can use app.locals directly in templates but not res.locals

2 Answers2