res.send()

Send a string response in a format other than JSON (XML, CSV, plain text, etc.).

This method is used in the underlying implementation of most of the other terminal response methods.

Usage

return res.send([string]);

Details

This method can be used to send a string of XML.

If no argument is provided, no response body is sent back—just the status code.

Examples

To allow users to export their own data, while complying with Europe's GDPR regulations, you might send back some dynamic CSV-formatted data, like this:

// Send back some dynamic CSV-formatted data.
return res.set('text/csv').send(`
some,csv,like,this
or,,like,this
`);

Or, to respond with XML (e.g. for a sitemap):

// Send down some dynamic XML-formatted data.
return res.set('application/xml').send(`<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>http://sailsjs.com</loc>
    <lastmod>2018-03-28T17:02:23.688Z</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
  </url>
</urlset>
`);

You can also send arbitrary plain text and use any status code you like:

// You can use any status code you like.
// (Defaults to 200 unless you specify something else.)
return res.status(420).send('Hello world!');

Notes

• This method is terminal, meaning that it's generally the last line of code your app should run for a given request (hence the advisory usage of return throughout these docs).
• If you want to send a dictionary or JSON, use res.json().
• If you want to send a stream, use actions2(preferably) or .pipe(res) (if you absolutely must).
• If you want to send a custom status code, call req.status() first.