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responder/docs/source/tutorial-middleware.rst
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Writing Middleware
==================
Middleware sits between the server and your route handlers, processing
every request and response that flows through your application. It's the
right tool for cross-cutting concerns — things that apply to *all*
requests, not just specific routes.
Common middleware use cases:
- Request logging and timing
- Authentication and authorization
- Adding security headers
- Request ID generation
- Rate limiting
- Response compression (built-in)
Hooks vs. Middleware
--------------------
Responder gives you two levels of request processing:
**Hooks** (``before_request`` / ``after_request``) run inside Responder's
routing layer. They receive Responder's ``req`` and ``resp`` objects and
are the simplest way to add behavior::
@api.route(before_request=True)
def add_header(req, resp):
resp.headers["X-Powered-By"] = "Responder"
@api.after_request()
def log_request(req, resp):
print(f"{req.method} {req.url.path} -> {resp.status_code}")
**Middleware** runs at the ASGI level, wrapping the entire application.
It's more powerful but more complex — you work with raw ASGI scopes
instead of Responder objects. Use middleware when you need to process
requests *before* they reach Responder's routing, or when you need to
integrate with Starlette middleware.
Using Starlette Middleware
--------------------------
Responder is built on Starlette, so any Starlette middleware works
out of the box::
from starlette.middleware.base import BaseHTTPMiddleware
class TimingMiddleware(BaseHTTPMiddleware):
async def dispatch(self, request, call_next):
import time
start = time.time()
response = await call_next(request)
duration = time.time() - start
response.headers["X-Response-Time"] = f"{duration:.3f}s"
return response
api.add_middleware(TimingMiddleware)
The ``dispatch`` method receives a Starlette ``Request`` and a
``call_next`` function. Call ``call_next(request)`` to pass the request
to the next middleware (or to your route handler). The return value is
a Starlette ``Response`` that you can modify before it's sent.
Built-in Middleware
-------------------
Responder configures several middleware components automatically:
- **GZipMiddleware** — compresses responses larger than 500 bytes
- **TrustedHostMiddleware** — validates the ``Host`` header
- **ServerErrorMiddleware** — catches unhandled exceptions
- **ExceptionMiddleware** — routes exceptions to your handlers
- **SessionMiddleware** — manages signed cookie sessions
Optional middleware you can enable:
- **CORSMiddleware**``api = responder.API(cors=True)``
- **HTTPSRedirectMiddleware**``api = responder.API(enable_hsts=True)``
Adding Third-Party Middleware
-----------------------------
Any ASGI middleware can be added with ``api.add_middleware()``::
from some_package import SomeMiddleware
api.add_middleware(SomeMiddleware, option1="value", option2=True)
Keyword arguments are passed to the middleware's constructor.
Middleware Order
----------------
Middleware wraps your application like layers of an onion. The *last*
middleware added is the *outermost* layer — it sees the request first
and the response last.
Responder's built-in middleware stack (from outermost to innermost):
1. SessionMiddleware
2. ServerErrorMiddleware
3. CORSMiddleware (if enabled)
4. TrustedHostMiddleware
5. HTTPSRedirectMiddleware (if enabled)
6. GZipMiddleware
7. ExceptionMiddleware
8. Your routes
When you call ``api.add_middleware()``, your middleware is added *outside*
the existing stack. Keep this in mind for ordering dependencies — if
middleware A depends on middleware B having run first, add B before A.
When to Use What
-----------------
- **Simple header additions, logging, auth checks** → use hooks
- **Response transformation, timing, third-party integrations** → use middleware
- **Rate limiting** → use the built-in ``RateLimiter`` (it uses hooks internally)
- **Request ID** → use ``api = responder.API(request_id=True)``
Start with hooks. They're simpler and cover most cases. Graduate to
middleware when hooks aren't enough.