"Error: Cannot find module html" when visiting HTML page

Question

When I started my application, and visited localhost:8333 in my browser, it threw an error:

Error: Cannot find module 'html'
  at Function.Module._resolveFilename (module.js:338:15)
  at Function.Module._load (module.js:280:25)
  at Module.require (module.js:364:17)
  at require (module.js:380:17)
  at new View (C:\Users\fr\node_modules\express\lib\view.js:42:49)
  at Function.app.render (C:\Users\fr\node_modules\express\lib\application.js:483:12)
  at ServerResponse.res.render (C:\Users\fr\node_modules\express\lib\response.js:755:7)
  at allClients (C:\Users\fr\node_modules\apps\chat.js:13:7)
  at callbacks (C:\Users\fr\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:161:37)
  at param (C:\Users\fr\node_modules\express\lib\router\index.js:135:11)

Here's my code:

var io = require('socket.io');
var express = require('express');

var app = express(),
http = require('http'),
server = http.createServer(app),
socket = require('socket.io').listen(server);

app.configure(function(){
    app.use(express.static(__dirname));
});
app.get('/', function(req, res, next){
    res.render('./test.html');
});

server.listen(8333);

This is my project folder structure:

node_modules/
    express/
    socket.io/
    apps/
        chat.js
        test.html

This is my new app.configure:

app.configure(function(){
    app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
});

But that code fails with this error:

path is not defined

Do not place your code inside node_modules! The folder contains dependencies and should be inside your application's folder. — jgillich, Apr 19 '13 at 18:43
I thought that all my modules files must be in the root folder ? — Madnx, Apr 19 '13 at 18:47
http://nodejs.org/docs/latest/api/modules.html#modules_loading_from_node_modules_folders — jgillich, Apr 19 '13 at 18:51

score 74 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:50

74

I am assuming that test.html is a static file. To render static files, use the static middleware like so:

app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));

This tells Express to look for static files in the public directory of the application.

Once you have specified this, simply point your browser to the location of the file and it should display.

If, however, you want to render the views, then you have to use the appropriate renderer for it. The list of renderers is defined in the consolidate.js library.

Once you have decided which library to use just install it. I use mustache so here is a snippet of my app file:

var engines = require('consolidate');

app.set('views', __dirname + '/views');
app.engine('html', engines.mustache);
app.set('view engine', 'html');

This tells Express to—

Look for files to render in the views directory
Render the files using mustache
The extension of the file is .html (you can use .mustache too).

edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:50

Community

1
1

answered Apr 19 '13 at 18:42

Akshat Jiwan Sharma

15,430
13
50
60

No problem.Hope you enjoy node js like I do! – Akshat Jiwan Sharma Apr 19 '13 at 19:15
1

I have used it for a chat 2 years ago ! I liked it ! – Madnx Apr 19 '13 at 19:39
`app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));` This might be a little confusing to some people. Don't point the browser to the `/public` directory. Point the browser to the `/` root directory and it will find the static files located in the `/public` directory. – DR01D Jan 07 '18 at 17:37
Beautiful Answer :) – Pawankumar Dubey Mar 13 '18 at 05:18
so does that mean expressjs has no default rendered for HTML? – Ayyash Jul 18 '22 at 05:44

score 34 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 13 '22 at 07:11

34

A simple way is to use the EJS template engine for serving .html files. Put this line right next to your view engine setup:

app.engine('html', require('ejs').renderFile);

edited Jun 13 '22 at 07:11

Community

1
1

answered Jun 10 '14 at 12:26

eagor

9,150
8
47
50

1

Thanks for a short answer! All I needed was that single line of code to fix the error. – Lukasz Wiktor Jul 17 '17 at 19:01

score 13 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:48

13

Install the ejs module from npm:

npm install ejs

Then just paste below two lines in your main file (app.js or main.js):

app.set('view engine', 'html');

app.engine('html', require('ejs').renderFile);

edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:48

Community

1
1

answered Jun 27 '20 at 14:42

vaibhav

199
1
3

score 3 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:48

3

Install consolidate and mustache by executing the below command in your project folder.

sudo npm install consolidate mustache --save

And make the following changes to your app.js file

var engine = require('consolidate');

app.set('views', __dirname + '/views');
app.engine('html', engine.mustache);
app.set('view engine', 'html');

And now HTML pages will be rendered properly.

edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:48

Community

1
1

answered Jun 13 '16 at 05:39

alam

302
2
14

score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 13 '22 at 04:41

2

I think you might need to declare a view engine. If you want to use a view/template engine:

app.set('view engine', 'ejs');

or

app.set('view engine', 'jade');

But to render plain HTML, see this post.

edited Jun 13 '22 at 04:41

Community

1
1

answered Apr 19 '13 at 18:43

User 1058612

3,739
1
27
33

score 2 · Answer 6 · edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:50

2

Use res.sendFile() instead of res.render(). What you're trying to do is send a whole file.

edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:50

Community

1
1

answered Dec 30 '20 at 02:41

Jeremy Johns

39
4

score 0 · Answer 7 · edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:51

0

Try installing the html module from npm:

npm i html

edited Jun 13 '22 at 08:51

Community

1
1

answered May 30 '22 at 00:26

Lucas Oliveira

1

2

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community May 30 '22 at 03:54
Incorrect, html doesn't provide an engine. – Lance Jun 08 '23 at 00:48

"Error: Cannot find module html" when visiting HTML page

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