Node.js utilities

The @universal-middleware/node package provides low-level Node.js HTTP utilities for converting between Node.js IncomingMessage/ServerResponse objects and the standard fetch API Request/Response objects.

These utilities are split into two tree-shakable entry points so that bundlers targeting non-Node.js environments (edge runtimes, browsers) can exclude the Node.js stream dependencies when only the request adapter is needed.

Installation

npm install @universal-middleware/node

Entry points

Import path	Exports	node: imports
@universal-middleware/node	All utilities	—
@universal-middleware/node/request	createRequestAdapter	❌ none
@universal-middleware/node/response	sendResponse, responseAdapter	✅ node:stream

createRequestAdapter

Converts a Node.js IncomingMessage (or Express-compatible request) into a fetch API Request object.

import { createRequestAdapter } from "@universal-middleware/node/request";
import * as http from "node:http";

const requestAdapter = createRequestAdapter({
  // Optional: set the origin explicitly instead of inferring from headers
  origin: "https://example.com",
  // Optional: trust X-Forwarded-* headers (useful behind a reverse proxy)
  trustProxy: true,
});

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  const request = requestAdapter(req);
  // `request` is now a standard fetch API Request
  console.log(request.url, request.method);
  res.end();
});

Options

Option	Type	Description
origin	string	Sets the origin part of the URL. Defaults to process.env.ORIGIN. If not set, the origin is inferred from protocol and hostname headers.
trustProxy	boolean	Trust X-Forwarded-Proto, X-Forwarded-Host, and X-Forwarded-For headers. Defaults to true if process.env.TRUST_PROXY === "1".

sendResponse

Sends a fetch API Response into a Node.js ServerResponse stream, including status code, headers, and body.

import { createRequestAdapter } from "@universal-middleware/node/request";
import { sendResponse } from "@universal-middleware/node/response";
import * as http from "node:http";

const requestAdapter = createRequestAdapter();

const server = http.createServer(async (req, res) => {
  const request = requestAdapter(req);
  const response = new Response("Hello, world!", { status: 200 });
  await sendResponse(response, res);
});

responseAdapter

Converts a Node.js ServerResponse into a fetch API Response object. This is useful for reading the response that a Node.js handler has prepared, e.g. to apply post-processing middleware.

import { responseAdapter } from "@universal-middleware/node/response";
import * as http from "node:http";

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.statusCode = 200;
  res.setHeader("content-type", "text/plain");
  // Convert to a fetch Response for further processing
  const response = responseAdapter(res, "Hello, world!");
  console.log(response.status, response.headers.get("content-type"));
  res.end("Hello, world!");
});