Nitro returns error differently for /api and /routes

[enkot]

Environment

Operating System: Linux
Node Version: v18.18.0
CLI Version: 3.10.1
Nitro Version: 2.9.1
Package Manager: [email protected]

Reproduction

https://stackblitz.com/edit/github-zyt6se?file=routes%2Ffoo.ts,api%2Ffoo.ts,public%2Findex.html

Describe the bug

Check the response for /api/foo and /foo endpoints. Each of them throws same 404 error in the handler, but:

• /foo -> returns error as html page
• /api/foo -> returns error as json object as expected

Additional context

No response

Logs

No response

[manniL]

Your repo link is just the starter project? 🤔

I'd argue that this makes sense as server routes rather return "markup" by default while an API returns JSON by default.

[enkot]

@manniL Fixed the link 🙈

Based on the docs /api is just a convenient way to create routes and automatically prefix them with /api - https://nitro.unjs.io/guide#api.

This PR partially fixes the problem by allowing to rename the route prefix #1763
But some projects may want to have multiple "api" endpoints (f.e. /api, /cms, /commerce etc), so they should have possibility to response with JSON when throwing errors.

[MickL]

@pi0 Is it intentional that /routes returns an html page and /api a json response? If yes, can this be unified so both act the same? And at the same time add a config option to nitro.config.ts to enable/disable html responses?

Personally I dont want the /api prefix but also I dont want any html responses in my rest api at all.

[MickL]

@pi0 Just ran into this again. What is the purpose of current /routes directory?

My suggestion:

• There should be just routesDir, not routeDir and apiDir (IMO naming "routes" is preferable Router -> routes)
• This means Nitro will always return html response OR json response
• A new config variable to enable/disabled html responses for full app (IMO html responses should be disabled by default because an API should return json)

[MickL]

Additionally I found a bug for current latest v2 as well as v3 nightly:
When changing apiBaseURL to any other URL, it returns html pages.

Reproduction:
https://github.com/MickL/nitro-apibaseurl-bug

• GET localhost:3000/api2 -> Should return JSON, not html page
• GET localhost:3000/api2/not-found -> Should return JSON, not html page