Express req.originalUrl Property
What you’ll learn
- What
req.originalUrlstores during request handling. - How it differs from
req.urlandreq.path. - How to use it for logging and debug tracing.
- How mounted routers affect URL-related request properties.
Usage syntax
javascript
req.originalUrl
req.url
req.path1
Log original URL in middleware
javascript
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
console.log('Original URL:', req.originalUrl);
next();
});2
Compare URL values in mounted router
javascript
var adminRouter = express.Router();
adminRouter.get('/users', function (req, res) {
res.json({
originalUrl: req.originalUrl, // /admin/users?active=true
url: req.url, // /users?active=true
path: req.path // /users
});
});
app.use('/admin', adminRouter);❓ FAQ
It is the original request URL path and query string as received by Express before internal URL rewriting.
req.url can be modified during routing/middleware mounting, while req.originalUrl preserves the incoming value.
Yes. It includes the query string portion of the incoming URL.
Use it for logging, auditing, redirects, and debugging full request flow through middleware stacks.
It stays stable, while req.url may change as Express strips mount prefixes internally.
Did you know?
req.originalUrl keeps the original request path (including query string) before internal rewrites to req.url in mounted middleware.
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