How to Parse URL in Node.js Using the URL Module

In Node.js, you can parse a URL using the built-in URL class from the url module. Create a new URL object with the URL string, then access parts like hostname, pathname, and searchParams easily.

Syntax

Use the URL class from the url module to parse URLs. You create a new URL object by passing the URL string. Then you can access properties like protocol, hostname, pathname, and searchParams.

• new URL(input[, base]): Creates a URL object from input string. base is optional for relative URLs.
• url.protocol: The protocol part (e.g., https:).
• url.hostname: The domain name or IP.
• url.pathname: The path after the domain.
• url.searchParams: An object to work with query parameters.

javascript

const { URL } = require('url');

const myUrl = new URL('https://example.com/path?name=value');

console.log(myUrl.protocol);    // 'https:'
console.log(myUrl.hostname);    // 'example.com'
console.log(myUrl.pathname);    // '/path'
console.log(myUrl.searchParams.get('name')); // 'value'

Output

https:
example.com
/path
value

Example

This example shows how to parse a full URL string and extract its parts like protocol, host, path, and query parameters using the URL class.

javascript

const { URL } = require('url');

const urlString = 'https://www.example.com:8080/products?id=123&category=books';
const parsedUrl = new URL(urlString);

console.log('Protocol:', parsedUrl.protocol);       // 'https:'
console.log('Host:', parsedUrl.host);               // 'www.example.com:8080'
console.log('Hostname:', parsedUrl.hostname);       // 'www.example.com'
console.log('Port:', parsedUrl.port);               // '8080'
console.log('Pathname:', parsedUrl.pathname);       // '/products'
console.log('Search Params:', parsedUrl.searchParams.toString()); // 'id=123&category=books'
console.log('Get id:', parsedUrl.searchParams.get('id'));        // '123'
console.log('Get category:', parsedUrl.searchParams.get('category')); // 'books'

Output

Protocol: https:
Host: www.example.com:8080
Hostname: www.example.com
Port: 8080
Pathname: /products
Search Params: id=123&category=books
Get id: 123
Get category: books

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when parsing URLs in Node.js include:

• Using url.parse() from older Node.js versions instead of the modern URL class.
• Not providing a base URL when parsing relative URLs, which causes errors.
• Trying to access query parameters as a string instead of using searchParams methods.

Always use the URL class for modern, reliable parsing.

javascript

const { URL } = require('url');

// Wrong: parsing relative URL without base
try {
  const badUrl = new URL('/path?name=value');
} catch (err) {
  console.log('Error:', err.message);
}

// Right: provide base URL for relative URLs
const goodUrl = new URL('/path?name=value', 'https://example.com');
console.log(goodUrl.href); // 'https://example.com/path?name=value'

Output

Error: Invalid URL
https://example.com/path?name=value

Quick Reference

Property/Method	Description	Example
protocol	The URL protocol scheme	'https:'
hostname	Domain name or IP address	'example.com'
port	Port number if specified	'8080'
pathname	Path after the domain	'/products'
searchParams.get(name)	Get query parameter value	searchParams.get('id') // '123'
searchParams.toString()	Get full query string	'id=123&category=books'
href	Full URL string	parsedUrl.href

Key Takeaways

Use the built-in URL class from the url module to parse URLs in Node.js.

Create a new URL object with the URL string to access parts like protocol, hostname, and query parameters.

Always provide a base URL when parsing relative URLs to avoid errors.

Use searchParams methods to work with query parameters easily.

Avoid legacy url.parse() method; prefer the modern URL class for better reliability.