Downloading video file from local NodeJS server

Question

I have a function NodeJS application which converts video files and puts them in a 'converted' directory. I am using the express, http and multer modules. The problem I'm having is downloading the completed videos. Shouldn't I be able to see, load the completed video in a browser if I simply point to it?

ie when I enter the following

http://localhost:8080/converted/converted.avi

I get

Cannot GET /converted/converted.avi

The complete header portion of my node app is

var express = require('express');
var app = express();
    var multer  = require('multer'),
           fs = require('fs'),
       ffmpeg =  require('./lib/fluent-ffmpeg');

    var server = require('http').createServer(app);
    var io = require('socket.io').listen(server,{transports:['flashsocket', 'websocket', 'htmlfile', 'xhr-polling', 'jsonp-polling']});

    var port = Number(8080);
    server.listen(port);

    app.use(multer({ dest: './uploads/'}));

Probably not relevant since there are other issues at play but this is the actual code I am using for an Adobe AIR client to do the actual downloading
(reference http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/flash/net/URLLoader.html)

 _urlLoader = new URLLoader();
                _urlLoader.dataFormat = URLLoaderDataFormat.BINARY;
                _urlLoader.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE,
                    function(e:Event):void
                    {
                        var air:File = File.desktopDirectory.resolvePath("converted.mp4");
                        //var file:File = File.desktopDirectory.resolvePath("AIR Test");
                        var fs:FileStream = new FileStream();
                        fs.open(air, FileMode.WRITE);
                        fs.writeBytes(_urlLoader.data);
                        fs.close();
                        air.downloaded = true;
                    });

Using the following simple setup for express to serve a static directory SHOULD work but

var express = require('express');
var app = express();

console.log('static and __dirname = '+__dirname)
app.use(express.static(__dirname+'/public'));

app.listen(process.env.PORT || 3000);

when i drop a simple index.html in the server public folder I still only get the following in a browser...

Cannot GET /public/index.html

Why do you expect your server to know how to handle that request? — SLaks, Feb 04 '15 at 16:26

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 04 '15 at 16:25

2

Node.js web servers do not serve directories unless you explicitly tell them to.

If you're using Express, use the static() middleware to tell it to serve that directory.

answered Feb 04 '15 at 16:25

SLaks

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should work but even when I try setting up a static directory I see Cannot GET /public/index.html. See my edited question above... – Bachalo Feb 04 '15 at 16:44
@eco_bach just access `/index.html` – laggingreflex Feb 04 '15 at 16:58
@eco_bach: `static()` will serve files directly in the root (unless you tell it otherwise). There is no reason for `public` to appear in the URL. – SLaks Feb 04 '15 at 17:16

Downloading video file from local NodeJS server

1 Answers1