Nuxt•7d ago

Nuxt Server Middleware

I have a nuxt Server Middleware, that restricts site access by IP. The problem is that during SSR render, there are some calls as well, and this middleware runs 2-3 times. There is way to understand that the call is "internal"? Becuase during this internal call IP is not available.

8 Replies

kapa.ai•7d ago

Hi @Frox. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave: ---------------------- In Nuxt, server middleware runs for every incoming request, including both external (browser) requests and internal requests made during SSR (such as data fetching or API calls triggered by the Nuxt app itself). This can result in your IP-restricting middleware being executed multiple times per page load, especially during SSR, as you've observed. To distinguish between external and internal requests, you can inspect the request headers. Internal SSR calls made by Nuxt (for example, when using $fetch to call internal API routes) typically do not include the same headers as browser requests, and crucially, the client IP may not be present or may be missing in these internal calls. The knowledge sources do not provide a built-in Nuxt flag or header that explicitly marks a request as "internal" versus "external." However, they do mention that during SSR, internal API calls do not forward user headers like cookies or IP-related headers unless you manually proxy them using useRequestFetch or similar utilities. This means that if your middleware sees a missing or empty IP header (such as x-real-ip or x-forwarded-for), it's likely an internal SSR call rather than a direct browser request. You can use this as a heuristic to skip IP checks for such requests. Example (pseudo-code for server middleware):

export default defineEventHandler((event) => {
  const ip = getHeader(event, 'x-real-ip') || getHeader(event, 'x-forwarded-for');
  if (!ip) {
    // Likely an internal SSR call, skip IP restriction
    return;
  }
  // Proceed with IP restriction logic for external requests
});

export default defineEventHandler((event) => {
  const ip = getHeader(event, 'x-real-ip') || getHeader(event, 'x-forwarded-for');
  if (!ip) {
    // Likely an internal SSR call, skip IP restriction
    return;
  }
  // Proceed with IP restriction logic for external requests
});

This approach is supported by the way Nuxt handles headers during SSR and internal API calls, as described in the documentation for $fetch and useRequestHeaders, which notes that user headers are not forwarded by default during SSR internal calls Docs: $fetch Docs: useRequestHeaders. If you need to be more certain, you could also set a custom header in your internal calls and check for it in your middleware, but this would require you to update all internal requests accordingly. In summary: There is no built-in Nuxt flag for "internal" requests, but you can reliably detect them by checking for the presence of IP headers, as internal SSR calls typically lack these. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•7d ago

<@252212996334551040> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

FroxOP•7d ago

@kapa.ai any other solution?

kapa.ai•7d ago

Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! :books: ---------------------- Based on the provided knowledge sources, there is no explicit built-in Nuxt feature or flag to directly identify "internal" SSR calls versus external browser requests in server middleware. The main approach discussed is to check for the presence (or absence) of headers like x-real-ip or x-forwarded-for, since internal SSR calls typically do not include these headers unless you manually forward them Nuxt3: provide server evaluated variable to client at every request. Another related solution is to use the useRequestHeaders composable to access incoming request headers and proxy them if needed, but this is primarily for use within pages, components, and plugins—not directly in middleware Docs: useRequestHeaders. If you need to forward headers (including IP) for internal SSR calls, you can use useRequestFetch, which is designed to forward the request context and headers for server-side fetch requests. However, this is for when you want to ensure headers are present, not for distinguishing internal from external requests Docs: useRequestFetch. In summary, the knowledge sources do not mention any alternative or more direct solution than checking for the presence of IP headers or manually managing a custom header to distinguish internal calls. If you need more granular control, you would need to implement your own convention (such as setting a custom header on internal requests and checking for it in your middleware), but this is not covered in the official documentation or examples provided. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•7d ago

<@252212996334551040> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

FroxOP•7d ago

@kapa.ai how to implement then, basic auth? what to check to identify if request is made during SSR?

kapa.ai•7d ago

Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! :books: ---------------------- To implement basic authentication in Nuxt server middleware, you typically check for the Authorization header in the incoming request. You can use the useRequestHeader composable to access this header in your middleware. Here’s an example from the documentation:

export default defineNuxtRouteMiddleware((to, from) => {
  if (!useRequestHeader('authorization')) {
    return navigateTo('/not-authorized')
  }
})

export default defineNuxtRouteMiddleware((to, from) => {
  if (!useRequestHeader('authorization')) {
    return navigateTo('/not-authorized')
  }
})

This checks if the Authorization header is present; if not, it redirects the user to a "not authorized" page Docs: useRequestHeader. How to identify if a request is made during SSR? The knowledge sources do not provide a built-in flag or property to directly identify SSR-internal requests in middleware. However, they do mention that during SSR, internal fetches (such as those made with $fetch or useFetch) do not forward user headers like cookies or IP by default Docs: $fetch Docs: useRequestFetch. This means that if the Authorization header (or other identifying headers) is missing, it could indicate an internal SSR call. If you need to distinguish SSR-internal calls from external requests, you can use the absence of certain headers (like Authorization or IP headers) as a heuristic, but there is no official or guaranteed method described in the documentation. Summary:
- For basic auth, check the Authorization header using useRequestHeader. - There is no explicit way to detect SSR-internal requests in middleware, but missing headers can be used as an indicator Docs: useRequestHeader Docs: $fetch. If you need a more robust solution, you would need to implement a custom convention (such as setting a custom header on internal requests), but this is not covered in the official documentation. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•7d ago

<@252212996334551040> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

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