In the realm of Node.js and JavaScript development, encountering errors is par for the course. One such hiccup, the PayloadTooLargeError, can throw developers for a loop, especially when dealing with custom objects that surpass body-parser limits.
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Understanding the PayloadTooLargeError
The PayloadTooLargeError surfaces when attempting to process a request exceeding the payload size limit set by body-parser. Typically, this error manifests when handling large custom objects or payloads. The culprit? Attempting to log or parse an object that surpasses the constraints set by the body-parser middleware. It is therefore difficult to pinpoint exactly where this issue occurs
Root Cause: Oversized Custom Objects
In my recent Node.js project, I encountered this issue firsthand. I attempted to log a custom object to be able to inspect its contents, only to find it ballooning beyond body-parser‘s threshold for request entity size. Often, javascript objects contain internal circular references that can go undetected., resulting in the payload too large error.
console.log("builder: ", builder)Error messages
PayloadTooLargeError: request entity too large
at readStream (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/raw-body/index.js:163:17)
at getRawBody (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/raw-body/index.js:116:12)
at read (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/body-parser/lib/read.js:79:3)
at jsonParser (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/body-parser/lib/types/json.js:138:5)
at call (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/connect/index.js:239:7)
at next (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/connect/index.js:183:5)
at remoteDevtoolsCorsMiddleware (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/@expo/dev-server/src/middleware/remoteDevtoolsCorsMiddleware.ts:31:3)
at call (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/connect/index.js:239:7)
at next (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/connect/index.js:183:5)
at serveStatic (/home/user/workspace/node_modules/serve-static/index.js:75:16)Managing the Error: Strategies and Solutions
To mitigate this error, you can optimise your object logging by using methods like console.dir() or custom logging functions to selectively log sections of the object. Secondly, review the kind of logging you are performing in your middlewares before requests hit your business logic as the error can sometimes be difficult to locate in such situations.
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Conclusion
This error stumped me because the stack trace did not show exactly what is happening and where the error was introduced in my code. After understanding more about the use of body-parse and it’s limitations it became clear what type of statements to watch out for. Then, it was a matter to selectively disabling code to pin-point where the problem has been introduced. Hopefully, this blog post helps you avoid this tedious process entirely.