Why is my client receiving a null session using a Hono (Node) backend with Next.js?

Frontend and Backend Development
1

Attempting to fetch a user session leads to a null response on the client, despite middleware logging valid session data. See alternative code examples for troubleshooting.

// File: server/mainApp.js
import { createApp } from 'hono-framework';
import { logRequest, sessionInjector } from './middlewares.js';
import { initializeDB } from './dbConnector.js';
import { sessionRouter } from './routes.js';

const app = createApp();
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;

app.use(logRequest);
app.use(sessionInjector);

initializeDB();

app.get('/', (ctx) => ctx.send('Welcome to the API!'));
app.use('/session', sessionRouter);

app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server listening on port ${PORT}`));

// File: middlewares.js
export async function sessionInjector(ctx, next) {
  const sessionInfo = await authModule.retrieveSession({ headers: ctx.req.headers });
  console.log('Middleware session data:', sessionInfo);
  ctx.req.sessionData = sessionInfo;
  return next();
}

export function logRequest(ctx, next) {
  console.log('Accessing:', ctx.req.url);
  return next();
}

// File: routes.js
import { createRouter } from 'hono-framework';

export const sessionRouter = createRouter();

sessionRouter.get('/', (ctx) => {
  const session = ctx.req.sessionData;
  if (!session) return ctx.respond({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, 401);
  return ctx.respond({ session }, 200);
});

// Axios configuration example
import axios from 'axios';

const clientApi = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://my-backend.example.com',
  withCredentials: true
});

export default clientApi;
2

hey, i faced a simlar issue. check if authmodule.retrieveSession really returns a valid obj before seting it in middleware. sometimes a slight delay messes up async logic and causes sessionData to be lost. try adding extra logging in your route.

3

hey all, i think the issue might be in how cookies are handlded. have u checked if req headers and cookie propogation are working as expected? curious if a different middleware ordering changed anything. anyone else see this?

4

Based on my experience, another potential cause could be differences in cross-origin and cookie configuration between the server and client. Although middleware logs valid session data, the session might not be reattached correctly if cookies are not properly transmitted. This issue may also arise from asynchronous timing errors, where the session is being fetched before it is fully available. It is worthwhile to verify that your cookie attributes, such as domain, path, and security flags, are aligned between your Hono backend and the Next.js client.