AngularJS and ExpressJS session management?

angularjs, express, node.js

Solution

So i had the same problem and to be fair i might have read the approach somewhere i don't remember anymore.

Problem: Angular builds single page apps. After refresh, you loose scope and with it the authenticated user.

Approach

AngularJS modules offer a startup function called run which is called always when the page is loaded. Perfect for refresh/reload.

myApp.run(function ($rootScope, $location, myFactory) {
    $http.get('/confirm-login')
        .success(function (user) {
            if (user && user.userId) {
                $rootScope.user = user;
            }
        });
}

express-session saves the sessions for you and authenticates you with the sessionId your browser sends. So it always knows if you are authenticated or not.

router.get('/confirm-login', function (req, res) {
        res.send(req.user)
    }
);

All i had to do is, after refreshing and all dependencies were loaded, ask if i am authenticated and set $rootScope.user = authenticatedUserFromExpress;

Problem

I would like to keep session across all the page. For this project, I am using expressJs, nodeJS as server side. AngularJS in front end. I am not sure, how to handle session when view changes or url changes. Because I need to take care of both expressJS router or angularJs router. What approach should I follow? angularJS router ``` myApp.config(['$routeProvider', function($routeProvider) { $routeProvider.when('/welcome', {templateUrl: 'partials/welcome.html', controller: 'MyCtrl2'}); $routeProvider.when('/login', {templateUrl: 'partials/login.html', controller: 'MyCtrl2'}); $routeProvider.when('/signup', {templateUrl: 'partials/signup.html', controller: 'singupController'}); $routeProvider.otherwise({redirectTo: '/'}); }]); ``` Signup controller ``` myApp.controller('singupController',function($scope,$rootScope,$http){ $scope.doSingnup = function() { var formData = { 'username' : this.username, 'password' : this.password, 'email' : null }; var jdata = JSON.stringify(formData); $http({method:'POST',url:'/signup',data:jdata}) .success(function(data,status,headers,config){ console.log(data); }). error(function(data,status,headers,config){ console.log(data) }); } }) ``` ExpressJS router ``` module.exports = exports = function(app, db) { var sessionHandler = new SessionHandler(db); var contentHandler = new ContentHandler(db); // Middleware to see if a user is logged in app.use(sessionHandler.isLoggedInMiddleware); app.get('/', contentHandler.displayMainPage); app.post('/login', sessionHandler.handleLoginRequest); app.get('/logout', sessionHandler.displayLogoutPage); app.get("/welcome", sessionHandler.displayWelcomePage); app.post('/signup', sessionHandler.handleSignup); app.get('*', contentHandler.displayMainPage); // Error handling middleware app.use(ErrorHandler); } ``` After signup, I would like to redirect to the login page. How can I do that in the above router. which one of the following should I use to change the view of app 1) $location of angularJS 2) redirect of ExpressJS

Original source