session-pouchdb-store

A PouchDB session store for express.js.

Features

• Compatible with PouchDB and CouchDB (or any database that uses the CouchDB API).
• Realtime session data synchronization between processes (if PouchDB/CouchDB server is used)
• Default in-memory PouchDB instance.
• Custom PouchDB instance.
• Scavenge and purge invalid/expired sessions.

Installation

npm install session-pouchdb-store --save

This will install session-pouchdb-store and add it to your application's package.json file.

Important Notes

If you use a remote PouchDB server, make sure the database exists prior to start your application/s

Basic Usage

Use with your express session middleware, like this:

const 
    express = require("express"),
    session = require("express-session"),
    PouchSession = require("session-pouchdb-store");
 
let app = express();
 
app.use(session({
  secret: 'thisismysecret',
  resave: false,
  saveUninitialized: true,
    store : new PouchSession()
}));
 
app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log(`Server ${process.pid} started on port 3000`);
});

By default, PouchSession creates an in-memory database for testing purposes. You can pass your own instance or connect to a remote PouchDB/CouchDB server:

Remote PouchDB server

app.use(session({
  secret: 'thisismysecret',
  resave: false,
  saveUninitialized: true,
    store : new PouchSession('http://pouchdbserver:port/sessions')
}));

Custom instance

const PouchDB = require('pouchdb');
 
let db = new PouchDB("sessions",{adapter:'leveldb'});
app.use(session({
  secret: 'thisismysecret',
  resave: false,
  saveUninitialized: true,
    store : new PouchSession(db)
}));

Realtime synchronization

In order to synchronize session data, the current version of the store requires a remote PouchDB server, so multiple express processes can connect to the same database and perform synchronization.

API

new PouchSession(pouchInstance, options)

Creates a new store instance. The first argument can be one of the following:

• undefined If no arguments is passed, a default in-memory instance is created.
• PouchDB instance The PouchDB instance that will be used by the store.
• URL string A URL string to a remote PouchDB/CouchDB server.
• string A simple string is used as a file path for leveldb storage

Options is an object that allows overriding some store behaviours:

• maxIdle Max time in ms a session can go idle. When this time exceeds, the session is remove from the store cache. Note that a session can be idle and still be a valid session; session expiration is defined by the express-session module. The purpose of this parameter is to release from memory sessions that are not being used.
• scavenge Interval time in ms that the store will search and release maxIdle sessions.
• purge Interval time in ms that the the store will remove expired sessions from the database.

Default options are as follows:

Here is a list of all available options:

var options = {
    // Max idle time in ms
    maxIdle : 5*60*1000,
    // Scavenge period in ms
    scavenge : 1000,
    // Database purge period in ms					
    purge : 5*60*1000			
};