chunk-loader

chunk-loader

Utility for sending files from a Node.js client to an Express server. Files are split into individual chunks and posted separately. Any failed chunk is automatically retried. Great for large files that are uploaded over inconsistent network connections. Built-in support for file encryption.

Installation

npm install chunk-loader

Client

var client = require('chunk-loader).Client;

var upload = client.uploadFile('../path/to/file.txt', /* options */);

upload.on('progress', function(p) {
  console.log('Progress:' + ((p.sent / p.total) * 100) + '%');
});

upload.on('complete', function() {
  console.log('Done!');
});

upload.on('error', function(err) {
  console.log('Upload error has occurred.');
});

Options

• chunkSize: defaults to 65536. The size of each individual chunk sent to the server.
• beginHost: defaults to http://localhost:80. The full host url used for the begin upload request. The tag option can be used to pass identifying information, in which case you may want this request to go over https while the file upload goes over http.
• uploadHost: defaults to http://localhost:80. The url where uploaded chunks are sent.
• retryLimit: defaults to 100. The number of time a failed chunk will retry.
• encrypted: defaults to false. Whether or not to encrypt the file before sending. Files are encrypted using the file-encryptor module. Unique encryption keys are automatically generated and supplied by the server for every file.
• debug: defaults to false. Enables debug console logging when troubleshooting upload issues.
• tag: defaults to null. Any custom data that should be sent to the server as part of the upload. This will typically be used to identify the image. Can also be used to supply credentials for server-side authentication.

Server

The server is designed to integrate into an existing Express application.

var express = require('express'),
    app = express(),
    server = require('chunk-loader').Server();

app.use(server.middleware(/* options */));

// Important! If you use bodyParser, chunk-loader must be applied first.
// app.use(express.bodyParser());

server.on('complete', function(file) {
  console.log(file.savePath);
});

Options

• saveDir: defaults to os.tmpDir(). Folder where uploaded files will be saved. Files will receive an automatically generated name.
• debug: defaults to false. Enables debug console logging when troubleshooting upload issues.

Server Authentication

The auth function can be overridden to prevent uploads based on custom criteria. If the callback is invoked with an error parameter, the upload will be cancelled. The tag property is custom data set by the chunk-loader client. It can be any arbitrary data.

server.auth = function(file, callback) {
  if(file.tag.username !== 'username' && file.tag.password !== 'password') {
    return callback(new Error('Invalid creds.');
  }
  callback();
};