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NestJS Controllers Guide

Learn how to build effective controllers in NestJS applications for handling HTTP requests and routing.

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NestJS Controllers Guide

Controllers are responsible for handling incoming requests and returning responses to the client in NestJS applications. This guide covers everything you need to know about creating and using controllers effectively.

Basic Controller

Here's a basic controller example:

typescript

import { Controller, Get, Post, Body, Param } from '@nestjs/common';
import { CreateUserDto } from './dto/create-user.dto';
import { UsersService } from './users.service';
 
@Controller('users')
export class UsersController {
  constructor(private readonly usersService: UsersService) {}
 
  @Get()
  findAll() {
    return this.usersService.findAll();
  }
 
  @Get(':id')
  findOne(@Param('id') id: string) {
    return this.usersService.findOne(id);
  }
 
  @Post()
  create(@Body() createUserDto: CreateUserDto) {
    return this.usersService.create(createUserDto);
  }
}

Request Object

You can access the request object directly:

typescript

import { Controller, Get, Req } from '@nestjs/common';
import { Request } from 'express';
 
@Controller('demo')
export class DemoController {
  @Get()
  findAll(@Req() request: Request) {
    console.log(request.headers);
    return 'This action returns all items';
  }
}

Response Status Codes

You can customize response status codes:

typescript

import { Controller, Post, HttpCode, HttpStatus } from '@nestjs/common';
 
@Controller('cats')
export class CatsController {
  @Post()
  @HttpCode(HttpStatus.CREATED)
  create() {
    return 'This action adds a new cat';
  }
}

Route Parameters

Route parameters can be accessed using the @Param() decorator:

typescript

@Get(':id')
findOne(@Param('id') id: string) {
  return `This action returns a #${id} item`;
}

Request Body

Use the @Body() decorator to access the request body:

typescript

@Post()
create(@Body() createItemDto: CreateItemDto) {
  return this.itemsService.create(createItemDto);
}

Query Parameters

Query parameters can be accessed using the @Query() decorator:

typescript

@Get()
findAll(@Query('sort') sort: string, @Query('page') page: number) {
  return `This action returns all items sorted by ${sort} on page ${page}`;
}

Basic Controller

Here's a basic controller example:

typescript

import { Controller, Get, Post, Body, Param } from '@nestjs/common';
import { CreateUserDto } from './dto/create-user.dto';
import { UsersService } from './users.service';
 
@Controller('users')
export class UsersController {
  constructor(private readonly usersService: UsersService) {}
 
  @Get()
  findAll() {
    return this.usersService.findAll();
  }
 
  @Get(':id')
  findOne(@Param('id') id: string) {
    return this.usersService.findOne(id);
  }
 
  @Post()
  create(@Body() createUserDto: CreateUserDto) {
    return this.usersService.create(createUserDto);
  }
}

Request Object

You can access the request object directly:

typescript

import { Controller, Get, Req } from '@nestjs/common';
import { Request } from 'express';
 
@Controller('demo')
export class DemoController {
  @Get()
  findAll(@Req() request: Request) {
    console.log(request.headers);
    return 'This action returns all items';
  }
}

import { Controller, Post, HttpCode, HttpStatus } from '@nestjs/common'; @Controller('cats') export class CatsController { @Post() @HttpCode(HttpStatus.CREATED) create() { return 'This action adds a new cat'; } }