Understanding AbortController in Node.js: A Complete Guide

In Node.js, canceling asynchronous operations like network requests and file system reads has always been tricky. The absence of a standardized interruption mechanism led to a host of issues, including race conditions where cancellation logic and operation completion could unpredictably interact. In addition, memory leaks from uncollected resources tied to uncanceled operations, complex error handling scenarios, and inefficient use of system and network resources further complicated matters..

To solve these issues, Node.js introduced the AbortController. This handy tool lets you signal cancellation to Promise-based APIs, like fetch, making it easier to cancel ongoing operations and improve your application's responsiveness.

This article will guide you through using the AbortController to simplify the cancellation of asynchronous operations.

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, ensure you have:

• The latest version of Node.js installed.
• Basic knowledge of asynchronous programming with Promises.

What is the AbortController API?

The AbortController is an API that enables you to cancel asynchronous operations before completion. This functionality is crucial for preventing tasks from running indefinitely, which can degrade application performance and expose it to resource exhaustion attacks like Event Handler Poisoning or Denial of Service (DoS).

Common use cases include:

• Terminating network requests that exceed reasonable time limits.
• Halting long-running database queries.
• Stopping resource-intensive computations.

The AbortController API creates an AbortSignal object, which can be passed to asynchronous operations like fetch or custom functions. When the abort() method is called on the AbortController, any asynchronous operation associated with its signal is terminated.

The AbortController API was initially introduced for browsers to allow cancellation of fetch requests. It was later implemented in Node.js. It was first introduced as an experimental feature in Node.js 14.17.0 and became stable with Node.js v15.4.0, expanding its utility across different JavaScript environments.

How does AbortController work in Node.js?

In this section, we'll explore how AbortController works in Node.js. To highlight its significance, let's first look at a common issue in asynchronous programming: a long-running operation that can't be interrupted once started.

Here’s an example demonstrating this problem:

import timersPromises from "node:timers/promises";

async function slowOperation() {
  // Resolve in 10 seconds
  return timersPromises.setTimeout(10000);
}

async function doSomethingAsync() {
  try {
    await slowOperation();
    console.log("Completed slow operation");
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("Failed to complete slow operation due to error:", err);
  }
}

doSomethingAsync();

The slowOperation function simulates a task taking 10 seconds to complete using Node.js's Promise-based timer. The main execution wraps this operation in a try-catch block, awaiting its completion and logging the result.

To run the code, enter the following command:

node slow-program.js

After ten seconds, the output will be:

Completed slow operation

Once initiated, this operation will always run for its full duration, regardless of whether the result is still needed. This lack of a cancellation mechanism can lead to wasted resources, decreased application responsiveness, and potential issues during shutdown or error scenarios.

To address the issue of uninterruptible long-running operations, you can implement AbortController as follows:

import timersPromises from "node:timers/promises";

async function slowOperation({ signal }) {
  return timersPromises.setTimeout(10000, null, { signal });
}

async function doSomethingAsync() {
  const controller = new AbortController();
  const signal = controller.signal;

  setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000); // Abort after 5 seconds

  try {
    await slowOperation({ signal });
    console.log("Completed slow operation");
  } catch (err) {
    if (err.name === "AbortError") {
      console.error("Operation aborted");
    } else {
      console.error("Failed to complete slow operation due to error:", err);
    }
  }
}
doSomethingAsync();

The slowOperation() function is modified to accept a signal parameter, which is then passed to the setTimeout() function, enabling the timer to be aborted.

In the doSomethingAsync function, an AbortController is created, and its associated signal is set up. A separate timer is configured to call controller.abort() after 5 seconds, which will trigger the abortion of the slow operation.

The signal is then passed to the slowOperation() function, establishing a connection to the AbortController. The catch block is enhanced with a specific check for AbortError, allowing distinct handling of aborted operations versus other types of errors.

Upon saving the changes and running the file again, you will see an output similar to this:

Operation aborted

With these changes, the asynchronous task can be aborted before its natural completion time, providing better control over long-running operations and improving resource management.

Now that you understand how the AbortController works, you can use it to cancel network requests in the next section.

Cancelling Network Requests

Applications often make network requests to APIs to fetch data, typically using built-in tools like fetch. Implementing timeout mechanisms is essential to prevent requests from hanging indefinitely. Although fetch has a default timeout of 300 seconds, the AbortController API offers a flexible way to cancel requests with shorter timeouts.

Here's an example of using AbortController with fetch:

const url = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1";

const controller = new AbortController();
const signal = controller.signal;

const fetchTodo = async () => {
  try {
    console.log("Fetching data...");
    const response = await fetch(url, { signal });
    const todo = await response.json();
    console.log("Todo:", todo);
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.name === "AbortError") {
      console.log("Operation aborted");
    } else {
      console.error("Error:", error);
    }
  }
};


 // Set a timeout to abort the fetch after 5 seconds
setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000);

fetchTodo();

In this example, an AbortController instance is created, and its signal is extracted to enable abort functionality.

The fetchTodo() function uses the abort signal with a fetch request. When you pass the signal to fetch as an option, the request is linked to the AbortController, allowing for external cancellation. Error handling within the fetchTodo() function checks for AbortError, which is thrown when the request is aborted.

To simulate a timeout scenario, setTimeout is used to call controller.abort() after 5 seconds. When abort() is called, it triggers an AbortError in the fetch operation, which is then caught and handled in the catch block.

Save the code in a file named fetch-data.js and execute it with the following command:

node fetch-data.js

The output will look similar to this if the request takes longer than 5 seconds:

Fetching data...
Aborting fetch...
Operation aborted

However, if the request completes in less than 5 seconds, the output will be:

Fetching data...
Todo: { userId: 1, id: 1, title: 'delectus aut autem', completed: false }
Aborting fetch...

While this method works, the AbortController API also provides an AbortSignal.timeout() method, which can further simplify and improve this example.

Using AbortSignal.timeout()

In previous sections, you created an AbortController instance and manually managed its signal and timeout. However, Node.js now offers AbortSignal.timeout(), which allows you to set a timeout for your network requests directly, reducing boilerplate code.

Here's how you can use AbortSignal.timeout() in practice:

const url = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1";

const fetchTodo = async () => {
  const timeoutMS = 5;

  try {
    console.log("Fetching data...");
    const response = await fetch(url, {
[higlight]
      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(timeoutMS),
    });
    const todo = await response.json();
    console.log("Todo:", todo);
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.name === "TimeoutError") {
      console.log(`Operation timed out after ${timeoutMS} milliseconds`);
    } else {
      console.error("Error:", error);
    }
  }
};

fetchTodo();

In this example, the timeout duration is set to 5 milliseconds using the variable timeoutMS to demonstrate the timeout in action. In a real-world scenario, you would have a much longer timeout.

The AbortSignal.timeout() method sets the fetch request's timeout. The error handling section explicitly checks for a TimeoutError and provides clear feedback when the operation runs out.

To save and run the program, save the code in a file named fetch-data-with-timeout.js and execute it with the following command:

node fetch-data-with-timeout.js

You will see the following output:

Fetching data...
Operation timed out after 5 milliseconds

To simplify even further, you can use fetch with a helper function like this:

async function fetchWithTimeout(url, options = {}) {
  const { timeoutMS = 3000 } = options;

  return await fetch(url, {
    ...options,
    signal: AbortSignal.timeout(timeoutMS),
  });
}

Now that you can easily set timeouts for fetch requests, you can combine multiple signals for more complex scenarios.

Combining Multiple Signals with AbortSignal.any()

Sometimes, you might have multiple reasons for aborting an asynchronous operation. For example, you might want to abort a network request due to a timeout or a user action. In such scenarios, AbortSignal.any() is invaluable. It allows you to combine multiple signals into a single signal that triggers if any provided signals are aborted.

Take the following example:

import readline from "readline";

const url = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1";

const timeoutMS = 5000;
const timeoutSignal = AbortSignal.timeout(timeoutMS);
const userAbortController = new AbortController();

const rl = readline.createInterface({
  input: process.stdin,
  output: process.stdout,
});

const fetchTodo = async () => {
  const combinedSignal = AbortSignal.any([
    timeoutSignal,
    userAbortController.signal,
  ]);
  try {
    console.log("Fetching data...");
    const response = await fetch(url, { signal: combinedSignal });
    const todo = await response.json();
    console.log("Todo:", todo);
  } catch (error) {
    if (timeoutSignal.aborted) {
      console.log(`Operation timed out after ${timeoutMS} ms`);
    } else if (userAbortController.signal.aborted) {
      console.log("Operation aborted by user");
    } else {
      console.error("Error:", error);
    }
  } finally {
    userAbortController.abort(); // Clean up
    rl.close();
  }
};

// Listen for user input to abort the operation
rl.question("Press Enter to abort the fetch operation:\n", () => {
  console.log("User initiated abort");
  userAbortController.abort();
});

fetchTodo();

This code demonstrates how to use AbortSignal.any() to combine multiple abort signals, allowing a network request to be cancelled either due to a timeout or user action. It sets a timeout of 5000 milliseconds and creates an AbortController for user-initiated aborts, combining these signals with AbortSignal.any().

The combined signal is then passed to a fetch request. If the fetch is aborted due to the timeout, it logs a timeout message; if aborted by the user, it logs that the user aborted the operation. Additionally, the code prompts the user to press Enter to abort the fetch operation manually. It listens to this user's input and handles the abort accordingly.

To save and run the program:

node use-multiple-signals.js

When it runs, if you immediately press Enter, you will see that it will be aborted because of your action:

Press Enter to abort the fetch operation:
Fetching data...

User initiated abort
Operation aborted by user

You can also modify the timeout to a short duration, like five milliseconds, to see the timeout in action:

...
const timeoutMS = 5;

After saving the changes, running the program will cause it to time out quickly:

Press Enter to abort the fetch operation:
Fetching data...
Operation timed out after 5 ms

As you can see, the program can now abort due to user input or timeout, which is incredibly useful.

Handling AbortErrors

Handling errors when using the AbortController is essential to maintaining your application's stability and reliability. This section briefly summarises error handling to ensure your application effectively manages these errors.

When working with AbortController, you will encounter two main types of errors:

• TimeoutError: This error occurs when an operation exceeds the specified time limit and is aborted due to a timeout.
• AbortError: This error is raised when an asynchronous operation has been aborted using an AbortController.

To handle these errors, you can use a try-catch block as demonstrated below:

const fetchDataMethod = async () => {;

  try {
    const response = await fetch(url, {
      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(3000),
    });
    ...
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.name === "TimeoutError") {
      console.log(`your error message here`);
    } else {
      console.error("Error:", error);
    }
  }
}

When you are not using the timeout signal, you will often encounter AbortErrors. The handling process is similar, but you will check for the AbortError name instead:

const fetchDataMethod = async () => {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(url, { signal });
    ...
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.name === "AbortError") {
      console.log("your error messsage here");
    } else {
      console.error("Error:", error);
    }
  }
};

With these approaches, you should now be able to handle errors confidently when using AbortController in your applications.

Cancelling streams with AbortController

Streams are essential in Node.js, allowing your programs to consume large files in smaller chunks without using too much memory. Often, once a stream operation starts, it is difficult to stop it, but with AbortController, you can cancel streams anytime.

The stream methods stream.Writable() and stream.Readable() accept abort signals, and you can also use them with methods like fs.createReadStream as demonstrated below:

import fs from "fs";
import { addAbortSignal } from "stream";
import { setTimeout as delay } from "timers/promises";

const controller = new AbortController();
setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 50);

const inputStream = addAbortSignal(
  controller.signal,
  fs.createReadStream("text.txt")
);
const outputStream = fs.createWriteStream("output.txt");

async function process(chunk) {
  console.log(`Processing chunk: ${chunk.length} bytes`);
  // Simulating some async processing
  await delay(10);
  return chunk;
}

(async () => {
  try {
    for await (const chunk of inputStream) {
      const processedChunk = await process(chunk);
      if (!outputStream.write(processedChunk)) {
        // Handle backpressure
        await new Promise((resolve) => outputStream.once("drain", resolve));
      }
    }
    console.log("Stream processing completed");
  } catch (e) {
    if (e.name === "AbortError") {
      console.log("The operation was cancelled");
    } else {
      console.error("An error occurred:", e);
      throw e;
    }
  } finally {
    outputStream.end();
    await new Promise((resolve) => outputStream.once("finish", resolve));
    console.log("Output stream closed");
  }
})();

This code demonstrates stream processing with an abort mechanism in Node.js, focusing on reading from one file and writing to another while handling potential timeouts. It creates a readable stream from text.txt and a writable stream to output.txt, setting up an AbortController that triggers after 50 milliseconds (for demonstration purposes). The main operation asynchronously reads chunks from the input stream, processes them with a simulated delay, and writes them to the output stream. If the abort signal is triggered during this process, it catches the AbortError and logs a cancellation message.

To test this, create a text.txt file containing "This is a message" repeated three hundred thousand times with the following command:

yes "This is a message" | head -n 300000 > text.txt

Once the file has been created, you can run the script:

node streams.js

It will show output similar to this:

Processing chunk: 65536 bytes
Processing chunk: 65536 bytes
Processing chunk: 65536 bytes
Processing chunk: 65536 bytes
The operation was cancelled
Output stream closed

This output shows that the stream can be successfully cancelled.

With this, you can now cancel streams using AbortController in Node.js.

Exploring support for AbortSignal in Node.js core methods

When Node.js introduced the AbortController API, many built-in methods were enhanced to accept an AbortSignal. You have seen how to use this with fetch and streams. This section covers some of the APIs that can be passed a signal. This is a partial list but is meant to get you started.

In the child_process module, you can pass an AbortSignal to the following methods:

• child_process.exec
• child_process.execFile
• child_process.fork
• child_process.spawn

Here is an example inspired by the documentation on how to use AbortSignal with child_process.spawn:

const controller = new AbortController();
const { signal } = controller;
const grep = spawn("grep", ["ssh"], { signal });
grep.on("error", (err) => {
  // This will be called with err being an AbortError if the controller aborts
});
controller.abort(); // stops the process

The fs module, commonly used for interacting with the file system, also supports AbortSignal. You can pass an abort signal to the following methods:

• fs.readFile
• fs.watch
• fs.writeFile

The readline module can also accept an AbortSignal. You can pass an abort signal to the following methods:

• readline.Interface
• readline.createInterface

Final thoughts

This guide explored various techniques for using AbortController in Node.js, from cancelling network requests to managing streams. We covered how to implement abort signals to ensure that your applications can handle long-running operations gracefully and remain responsive under different conditions.

This approach will help ensure your applications provide a great user experience and remain reliable even when facing unexpected issues such as slow API services.

Thank you for reading, and happy coding!

Article by

Stanley Ulili

Stanley Ulili is a technical educator at Better Stack based in Malawi. He specializes in backend development and has freelanced for platforms like DigitalOcean, LogRocket, and AppSignal. Stanley is passionate about making complex topics accessible to developers.

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