Routing

Goal

This snapshot advances Glasspoint Notes by teaching you to organize page routes.

Every numbered folder is a complete app. Run this stage independently, then compare it with the previous folder.

Prerequisites

Use Node.js 20+, npm, and a terminal. No Docker is required — each snapshot uses a local SQLite file.

Port 3006 must be free. Copy .env.example before starting database stages.

• Node.js and npm
• A code editor and terminal

Concepts

Routes map URLs to Express handlers that return HTML or JSON.

Keep handlers thin: Express routes load data, Lit templates present escaped HTML, and mutations re-check authorization on the server.

Walkthrough

Add home, about, and health routes.

Read the example, then open the matching snapshot. The repository includes the surrounding setup and error handling.

app.get('/about', (_req, res) => res.send(renderPage(html`<p>About Glasspoint Notes</p>`)))

Run and verify

Enter 02-Routing, install dependencies, copy .env.example, and start Express on port 3006.

Open http://127.0.0.1:3006. Watch the terminal for validation and database errors.

git clone https://github.com/michaeldunga1/fcc-lit-blog.git
cd fcc-lit-blog/02-Routing
npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run dev

Troubleshooting

A missing route registration leaves the path undefined.

For database failures, delete glasspoint.db and restart so schema and seeds recreate. Never commit .env, *.db, or node_modules.

• Read the first error first
• Restart after environment changes
• Never commit secrets

Try this

Add a /contact plain-text route.

Test a happy path and one invalid or unauthorized request.

• Make one small change
• Test it in the browser
• Compare with the next snapshot only after it works