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bjohansebas merged 3 commits into from
Oct 24, 2026
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docs: clarify route and middleware path matching #2444

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9fc1285
docs: clarify route path matching
vibhor-aggr Jul 11, 2026
f83f83a
docs: clarify regular expression route matching
bjohansebas Oct 24, 2026
93a73b9
docs: simplify route matching explanations
bjohansebas Oct 24, 2026
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47 changes: 23 additions & 24 deletions src/content/api/4x/api/application/index.mdx
View file
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -264,9 +264,8 @@ app.use('/admin', admin);
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -337,9 +336,8 @@ app.all('/api/*', requireAuthentication);
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -568,9 +566,8 @@ app.get('title');
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -719,9 +716,8 @@ All the forms of Node's [http.Server.listen()](https://nodejs.org/api/http.html#
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand All @@ -741,6 +737,12 @@ Routes an HTTP request, where METHOD is the HTTP method of the request, such as
PUT, POST, and so on, in lowercase. Thus, the actual methods are `app.get()`,
`app.post()`, `app.put()`, and so on. See [Routing methods](#routing-methods) below for the complete list.

String route patterns match the whole request path. For example, `app.get('/apple', ...)` matches
`/apple`, but not `/apple/images`. With the same path, [app.use()](#appuse) matches both.

Regular expressions can match part of the path. `app.get(/apple/, ...)` matches `/apple/images`.
Use `^` and `$` for a full match: `app.get(/^\/apple$/, ...)` matches only `/apple`.

#### Routing methods

Express supports the following routing methods corresponding to the HTTP methods of the same names:
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -830,9 +832,8 @@ For more information on routing, see the [routing guide](/guide/routing/).
<Signature runtime={{ 'Node.js': '>=20.19.3 <21 || >=22.2.0' }}>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1203,9 +1204,8 @@ it is usually better to use [req.baseUrl](/api/request/#reqbaseurl) to get the c
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1245,9 +1245,8 @@ app.post('/', function (req: Request, res: Response) {
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1651,9 +1650,9 @@ the middleware function is executed when the base of the requested path matches

#### Description

A route will match any path that follows its path immediately with a "`/`".
For example: `app.use('/apple', ...)` will match "/apple", "/apple/images",
"/apple/images/news", and so on.
With a string path, `app.use()` matches that path and its subpaths. For example,
`app.use('/apple', ...)` matches `/apple`, `/apple/images`, and `/apple/images/news`,
but not `/apples`.

Since `path` defaults to "/", middleware mounted without a path will be executed for every request to the app.
For example, this middleware function will be executed for _every_ request to the app:
Expand Down
47 changes: 23 additions & 24 deletions src/content/api/5x/api/application/index.mdx
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -312,9 +312,8 @@ app.use('/admin', admin);
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -385,9 +384,8 @@ app.all('/api/{*splat}', requireAuthentication);
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -593,9 +591,8 @@ app.get('title');
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -763,9 +760,8 @@ actually supported.
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand All @@ -785,6 +781,12 @@ Routes an HTTP request, where METHOD is the HTTP method of the request, such as
PUT, POST, and so on, in lowercase. Thus, the actual methods are `app.get()`,
`app.post()`, `app.put()`, and so on. See [Routing methods](#routing-methods) below for the complete list.

String route patterns match the whole request path. For example, `app.get('/apple', ...)` matches
`/apple`, but not `/apple/images`. With the same path, [app.use()](#appuse) matches both.

Regular expressions can match part of the path. `app.get(/apple/, ...)` matches `/apple/images`.
Use `^` and `$` for a full match: `app.get(/^\/apple$/, ...)` matches only `/apple`.

#### Routing methods

Express supports the following routing methods corresponding to the HTTP methods of the same names:
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1041,9 +1043,8 @@ it is usually better to use [req.baseUrl](/api/request/#reqbaseurl) to get the c
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1083,9 +1084,8 @@ app.post('/', (req: Request, res: Response) => {
<Signature>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1124,9 +1124,8 @@ app.put('/', (req: Request, res: Response) => {
<Signature runtime={{ 'Node.js': '>=20.19.3 <21 || >=22.2.0' }}>
<Fragment slot="attributes">
<Param name="path" type="String | RegExp | Array">
The path for which the middleware function is invoked; can be any of: a string representing a
path, a path pattern, a regular expression pattern to match paths, or an array of combinations
of any of the above. For examples, see [Path examples](#path-examples).
The path to match for this route: a string, a regular expression, or an array of either.
String patterns match the whole request path. See [Path examples](#path-examples) for syntax.
</Param>
<Param name="callback" type="Function | Function[]">
Callback functions; can be: a middleware function, a series of middleware functions (separated
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1560,9 +1559,9 @@ the middleware function is executed when the base of the requested path matches

#### Description

A route will match any path that follows its path immediately with a "`/`".
For example: `app.use('/apple', ...)` will match "/apple", "/apple/images",
"/apple/images/news", and so on.
With a string path, `app.use()` matches that path and its subpaths. For example,
`app.use('/apple', ...)` matches `/apple`, `/apple/images`, and `/apple/images/news`,
but not `/apples`.

Since `path` defaults to "/", middleware mounted without a path will be executed for every request to the app.
For example, this middleware function will be executed for _every_ request to the app:
Expand Down
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