Is It possible to use Passport.js without Expressjs?

Question

I have an app which uses nodejs but I don't serve my pages via ExpressJS. It is a simple http nodejs app which I will migrate to nodejs at some stage.

However, I am playing around with Passportjs and currently I am getting 'passport.intitalize() middleware not in use' errors which from the documentation mention 'connect' and 'Express' usage.

Can I use passportjs without Expressjs?

Answer 1

Passport Strategies expect inputs on certain channels (e.g. 'Local' looks for username and password fields on <OBJ>.body), but if you provide for these Strategy requirements directly you can use Passport just fine without Express/Connect.

Take a look directly at comments lifted from the relevant Passport code:

https://github.com/jaredhanson/passport/blob/master/lib/authenticator.js#L146

passport.authenticate('local', function(err, user) {
  if (!user) { return res.redirect('/login'); }
  res.end('Authenticated!');
})(req, res);

If you provide req and res as your own objects (paying attention to the requirements of the Strategy you're using and whatever you're using of req/res in authenticate), you have total control.

(Or just write a simple custom framework wrapper).

Answer 2

Short version: No, express is required for regular passport usage.

Long version: You could technically use a large portion of passport's code in a non-express application, but that could create all sorts of edge cases you don't want in your auth code. It'd also probably be easier just to convert your application to express.