404 on API call in Thinkster MEAN Stack Tutorial - express

Question

I'm following this Thinkster tutorial on building a reddit-esque web app using MEAN.
The tutorial instructs using curl to create a new post.
C:\root>curl --data "title=test&link=http://test.com" http://localhost:3000/posts
However, I get this error in response:
<h1>Not Found</h1>
<h2>404</h2>
<pre>Error: Not Found
at C:\root\app.js:30:13
at Layer.handle [as handle_request] (C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\layer.js:95:5)
at trim_prefix (C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:312:13)
at C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:280:7
at Function.process_params (C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:330:12)
at next (C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:271:10)
at C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:618:15
at next (C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:256:14)
at Function.handle (C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:176:3)
at router (C:\root\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:46:12)</pre>
I looked through those files, but all the references were just showing me what happens to the error...
Here's some code
/routes/index.js:
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
/* GET home page. */
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('index', { title: 'Express' });
});
module.exports = router;
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
var Post = mongoose.model('Post');
var Comment = mongoose.model('Comment');
router.get('/posts', function(req, res, next){
Post.find(function(err,posts){
if(err){ return next(err); }
res.json(posts);
})
})
router.post('/posts', function(req,res,next){
var post = new Post(req.body);
post.save(function(err, post){
if(err){ return next(err); }
res.json(post);
})
})
/models/Posts.js:
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
var PostSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
title: String,
link: String,
upvotes: {type: Number, default: 0},
comments: [{type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'Comment'}]
});
mongoose.model('Post', PostSchema);
app.js:
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('serve-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
var index = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
// uncomment after placing your favicon in /public
//app.use(favicon(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'favicon.ico')));
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
app.use('/', index);
app.use('/users', users);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
// error handler
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
// set locals, only providing error in development
res.locals.message = err.message;
res.locals.error = req.app.get('env') === 'development' ? err : {};
// render the error page
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error');
});
module.exports = app;
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
require('./models/Posts');
require('./models/Comments');
mongoose.connect('mongod:localhost/news');
I feel like I did everything correct, except I wasn't sure where to place the additional routes in the routes index file, and similarly in app.js. But this seems negligible to me. I performed all the debugging I could think of but am stuck.
It should also be noted that this tutorial was perhaps not intended for use on a Windows machine. I had to install curl and do a few other things that perhaps wouldn't be necessary on a Linux or Mac. I am using Windows 10.

Answer 1

Your module.exports is called prematurely in routes/index.js. Move module.exports = router; to the bottom of your file, recycle your service, and try again.
Also there are issues with app.js. See below:
app.js:
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var favicon = require('serve-favicon');
var logger = require('morgan');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var bodyParser = require('body-parser');
// Notice the differences starting here
var app = express();
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
// connect MongoDB
mongoose.connect('mongodb://localhost/news', function(err,db){
if (!err){
console.log('Connected to /news!');
} else{
console.dir(err); //failed to connect
}
});
require('./models/Posts');
require('./models/Comments');
var index = require('./routes/index');
var users = require('./routes/users');
// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');
// uncomment after placing your favicon in /public
//app.use(favicon(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'favicon.ico')));
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(bodyParser.json());
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
app.use('/', index);
app.use('/users', users);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var err = new Error('Not Found');
err.status = 404;
next(err);
});
// error handler
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
// set locals, only providing error in development
res.locals.message = err.message;
res.locals.error = req.app.get('env') === 'development' ? err : {};
// render the error page
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render('error');
});
module.exports = app;
routes/index.js:
var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
var Post = mongoose.model('Post');
var Comment = mongoose.model('Comment');
/* GET home page. */
router.get('/', function(req, res, next) {
res.render('index', { title: 'Express' });
});
router.get('/posts', function(req, res, next){
Post.find(function(err,posts){
if(err){
alert(err);
return next(err);
}
res.json(posts);
})
})
router.post('/posts', function(req,res,next){
var post = new Post(req.body);
post.save(function(err, post){
if(err){
alert(err);
return next(err);
}
res.json(post);
})
})
module.exports = router;