Question 1

How do I add query parameters with URI.js?

Accepted Answer

Use the addQuery() method on a URI instance, e.g., new URI('http://example.com').addQuery('foo', 'bar'). It automatically handles encoding and appends parameters, eliminating manual string work like in the bad code example from the README.

Question 2

URI.js vs native URL API: which should I use?

Accepted Answer

URI.js provides a more fluent API and extra features like URI templates, but for basic URL manipulation in modern browsers, the native URL and URLSearchParams APIs are sufficient and reduce dependency on external libraries. Consider your project's cross-browser needs and feature requirements.

Question 3

Does URI.js work in Node.js?

Accepted Answer

Yes, URI.js is fully compatible with Node.js. Install it via npm with 'npm install urijs' and require it in your code—the API remains consistent, allowing seamless URL handling in server-side environments as documented.

Question 4

How to normalize a messy query string with URI.js?

Accepted Answer

Call the normalizeQuery() method on a URI object to clean up query strings by removing duplicates and empty parameters. For example, URI('?&foo=bar&&foo=baz').normalizeQuery() results in '?foo=bar&foo=baz', as shown in the API examples.

Question 5

What are good alternatives to URI.js for simple URL parsing?

Accepted Answer

For lightweight parsing, consider libraries like 'url-toolkit' or using the native URL API directly. The README lists several parser-only alternatives, such as 'uri-parser' or 'jurlp', which are smaller and focused on basic operations.

Question 6

How do I handle relative URLs in URI.js?

Accepted Answer

Use the relativeTo() method to compute relative paths between URLs, e.g., URI('/foo/bar/baz.html').relativeTo('/foo/bar/world.html') returns './baz.html'. For absolute paths, absoluteTo() converts them back, as demonstrated in the documentation.

Question 7

Does URI.js support URI templates for dynamic URLs?

Accepted Answer

Yes, URI.js includes URITemplate support per RFC 6570, allowing expansion with variables. For example, URI.expand('/foo/{dir}/{file}', {dir: 'bar', file: 'world.html'}) generates '/foo/bar/world.html', useful for dynamic URL generation.

URI.js

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