uri-js vs url-parse vs query-string vs url-join vs url-template
URL Manipulation Libraries Comparison
1 Year
uri-jsurl-parsequery-stringurl-joinurl-templateSimilar Packages:
What's URL Manipulation Libraries?

URL manipulation libraries are essential tools in web development that help developers parse, construct, and manipulate URLs effectively. They provide functionalities to handle query strings, manage URL components, and facilitate the creation of URLs in a structured manner. These libraries simplify the process of working with URLs, making it easier to build web applications that require dynamic routing, API calls, and navigation.

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uri-js55,353,376309-304 years agoBSD-2-Clause
url-parse24,935,7551,03763 kB13-MIT
query-string13,159,1026,82851.6 kB316 months agoMIT
url-join10,141,4153624.74 kB5-MIT
url-template4,286,8221847.99 kB0a year agoBSD-3-Clause
Feature Comparison: uri-js vs url-parse vs query-string vs url-join vs url-template

Parsing Capabilities

  • uri-js:

    uri-js provides extensive parsing capabilities for URIs, supporting various schemes and components. It can parse complex URIs into their respective parts, such as protocol, host, path, and query, making it suitable for applications that require detailed URI handling.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse offers comprehensive parsing of URLs, breaking them down into components like protocol, hostname, port, pathname, search, and hash. This allows developers to easily access and manipulate specific parts of a URL as needed.

  • query-string:

    query-string excels at parsing and stringifying query strings, allowing developers to easily convert query parameters into JavaScript objects and vice versa. It handles encoding and decoding seamlessly, making it ideal for simple query manipulation.

  • url-join:

    url-join does not focus on parsing but rather on safely joining URL segments. It ensures that slashes are correctly placed between segments, preventing malformed URLs, which is crucial for dynamic URL construction.

  • url-template:

    url-template allows for parsing of URL templates, enabling developers to define patterns with placeholders that can be replaced with actual values. This is particularly useful for generating URLs dynamically based on variable parameters.

Usage Scenario

  • uri-js:

    uri-js is ideal for applications that need to validate, parse, and manipulate URIs across different schemes, such as web applications that interact with various APIs or services requiring strict URI compliance.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse is useful in scenarios where you need to analyze or manipulate URLs, such as extracting parameters from a URL for routing or logging purposes in web applications.

  • query-string:

    query-string is best used in scenarios where you need to handle query parameters in web applications, such as extracting search filters from a URL or constructing query strings for API requests.

  • url-join:

    url-join is perfect for constructing URLs from multiple segments, such as building API endpoints or navigating between different routes in a web application without worrying about slashes.

  • url-template:

    url-template is suited for RESTful API interactions where URLs need to be dynamically generated based on user input or application state, allowing for flexible and reusable URL patterns.

Complexity and Size

  • uri-js:

    uri-js is more complex and feature-rich, which may introduce additional overhead. However, its comprehensive capabilities justify its size for applications that require extensive URI manipulation.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse is a bit larger due to its robust parsing capabilities, but it is still manageable for most applications. Its detailed parsing features make it worth the size for applications requiring in-depth URL analysis.

  • query-string:

    query-string is lightweight and straightforward, making it easy to integrate into projects without adding significant overhead. Its simplicity is a key advantage for projects that require minimal dependencies.

  • url-join:

    url-join is extremely lightweight and focused solely on URL joining, making it an efficient choice for projects that need a simple utility without unnecessary features.

  • url-template:

    url-template is relatively lightweight, but its functionality for handling templates adds some complexity. It is best used in scenarios where dynamic URL generation is essential.

Community and Support

  • uri-js:

    uri-js is well-documented and has a dedicated user base, providing adequate support for developers needing to work with URIs. Its adherence to standards enhances its credibility.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse has a large user base and is frequently updated, providing robust community support and documentation, making it a reliable choice for URL parsing.

  • query-string:

    query-string has a strong community and is widely used, ensuring good support and documentation. Its popularity makes it a reliable choice for handling query strings in JavaScript applications.

  • url-join:

    url-join is simple and has a smaller community, but its straightforward functionality means that it is easy to use without extensive support needs.

  • url-template:

    url-template has a smaller community but is well-documented, making it accessible for developers who need to implement URL templates in their applications.

Extensibility

  • uri-js:

    uri-js provides a flexible API that allows for extensions and custom implementations, making it suitable for advanced users who need to tailor its functionality to specific requirements.

  • url-parse:

    url-parse offers some extensibility options, allowing developers to create custom parsing logic if needed. This makes it adaptable for various use cases beyond standard URL parsing.

  • query-string:

    query-string is designed for specific use cases and does not offer extensive extensibility options, making it straightforward but limited in customization.

  • url-join:

    url-join is not designed for extensibility, as it focuses solely on joining URLs. Its simplicity is both a strength and a limitation for developers looking for customizable solutions.

  • url-template:

    url-template allows for some level of extensibility in defining templates, enabling developers to create reusable patterns for dynamic URL generation.

How to Choose: uri-js vs url-parse vs query-string vs url-join vs url-template
  • uri-js:

    Select uri-js when you require comprehensive support for URI parsing and manipulation, including handling of various URI schemes and components. It's suitable for applications that need to work with complex URIs and require strict compliance with URI standards.

  • url-parse:

    Use url-parse if you need a robust library for parsing URLs into their components. It provides a straightforward API for accessing different parts of a URL, making it useful for applications that require detailed URL analysis and manipulation.

  • query-string:

    Choose query-string if you need a lightweight solution specifically for parsing and stringifying query strings. It's ideal for simple use cases where you want to handle URL parameters without additional overhead.

  • url-join:

    Opt for url-join if your primary goal is to concatenate URL segments safely. This package is perfect for building URLs dynamically from multiple parts, ensuring that slashes are handled correctly without manual intervention.

  • url-template:

    Choose url-template when you need to work with URL templates that can be expanded with dynamic parameters. This is particularly useful for RESTful APIs where URLs may change based on variable inputs.

README for uri-js

URI.js

URI.js is an RFC 3986 compliant, scheme extendable URI parsing/validating/resolving library for all JavaScript environments (browsers, Node.js, etc). It is also compliant with the IRI (RFC 3987), IDNA (RFC 5890), IPv6 Address (RFC 5952), IPv6 Zone Identifier (RFC 6874) specifications.

URI.js has an extensive test suite, and works in all (Node.js, web) environments. It weighs in at 6.4kb (gzipped, 17kb deflated).

API

Parsing

URI.parse("uri://user:pass@example.com:123/one/two.three?q1=a1&q2=a2#body");
//returns:
//{
//  scheme : "uri",
//  userinfo : "user:pass",
//  host : "example.com",
//  port : 123,
//  path : "/one/two.three",
//  query : "q1=a1&q2=a2",
//  fragment : "body"
//}

Serializing

URI.serialize({scheme : "http", host : "example.com", fragment : "footer"}) === "http://example.com/#footer"

Resolving

URI.resolve("uri://a/b/c/d?q", "../../g") === "uri://a/g"

Normalizing

URI.normalize("HTTP://ABC.com:80/%7Esmith/home.html") === "http://abc.com/~smith/home.html"

Comparison

URI.equal("example://a/b/c/%7Bfoo%7D", "eXAMPLE://a/./b/../b/%63/%7bfoo%7d") === true

IP Support

//IPv4 normalization
URI.normalize("//192.068.001.000") === "//192.68.1.0"

//IPv6 normalization
URI.normalize("//[2001:0:0DB8::0:0001]") === "//[2001:0:db8::1]"

//IPv6 zone identifier support
URI.parse("//[2001:db8::7%25en1]");
//returns:
//{
//  host : "2001:db8::7%en1"
//}

IRI Support

//convert IRI to URI
URI.serialize(URI.parse("http://examplé.org/rosé")) === "http://xn--exampl-gva.org/ros%C3%A9"
//convert URI to IRI
URI.serialize(URI.parse("http://xn--exampl-gva.org/ros%C3%A9"), {iri:true}) === "http://examplé.org/rosé"

Options

All of the above functions can accept an additional options argument that is an object that can contain one or more of the following properties:

  • scheme (string)

    Indicates the scheme that the URI should be treated as, overriding the URI's normal scheme parsing behavior.

  • reference (string)

    If set to "suffix", it indicates that the URI is in the suffix format, and the validator will use the option's scheme property to determine the URI's scheme.

  • tolerant (boolean, false)

    If set to true, the parser will relax URI resolving rules.

  • absolutePath (boolean, false)

    If set to true, the serializer will not resolve a relative path component.

  • iri (boolean, false)

    If set to true, the serializer will unescape non-ASCII characters as per RFC 3987.

  • unicodeSupport (boolean, false)

    If set to true, the parser will unescape non-ASCII characters in the parsed output as per RFC 3987.

  • domainHost (boolean, false)

    If set to true, the library will treat the host component as a domain name, and convert IDNs (International Domain Names) as per RFC 5891.

Scheme Extendable

URI.js supports inserting custom scheme dependent processing rules. Currently, URI.js has built in support for the following schemes:

HTTP/HTTPS Support

URI.equal("HTTP://ABC.COM:80", "http://abc.com/") === true
URI.equal("https://abc.com", "HTTPS://ABC.COM:443/") === true

WS/WSS Support

URI.parse("wss://example.com/foo?bar=baz");
//returns:
//{
//	scheme : "wss",
//	host: "example.com",
//	resourceName: "/foo?bar=baz",
//	secure: true,
//}

URI.equal("WS://ABC.COM:80/chat#one", "ws://abc.com/chat") === true

Mailto Support

URI.parse("mailto:alpha@example.com,bravo@example.com?subject=SUBSCRIBE&body=Sign%20me%20up!");
//returns:
//{
//	scheme : "mailto",
//	to : ["alpha@example.com", "bravo@example.com"],
//	subject : "SUBSCRIBE",
//	body : "Sign me up!"
//}

URI.serialize({
	scheme : "mailto",
	to : ["alpha@example.com"],
	subject : "REMOVE",
	body : "Please remove me",
	headers : {
		cc : "charlie@example.com"
	}
}) === "mailto:alpha@example.com?cc=charlie@example.com&subject=REMOVE&body=Please%20remove%20me"

URN Support

URI.parse("urn:example:foo");
//returns:
//{
//	scheme : "urn",
//	nid : "example",
//	nss : "foo",
//}

URN UUID Support

URI.parse("urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6");
//returns:
//{
//	scheme : "urn",
//	nid : "uuid",
//	uuid : "f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6",
//}

Usage

To load in a browser, use the following tag:

<script type="text/javascript" src="uri-js/dist/es5/uri.all.min.js"></script>

To load in a CommonJS/Module environment, first install with npm/yarn by running on the command line:

npm install uri-js
# OR
yarn add uri-js

Then, in your code, load it using:

const URI = require("uri-js");

If you are writing your code in ES6+ (ESNEXT) or TypeScript, you would load it using:

import * as URI from "uri-js";

Or you can load just what you need using named exports:

import { parse, serialize, resolve, resolveComponents, normalize, equal, removeDotSegments, pctEncChar, pctDecChars, escapeComponent, unescapeComponent } from "uri-js";

Breaking changes

Breaking changes from 3.x

URN parsing has been completely changed to better align with the specification. Scheme is now always urn, but has two new properties: nid which contains the Namspace Identifier, and nss which contains the Namespace Specific String. The nss property will be removed by higher order scheme handlers, such as the UUID URN scheme handler.

The UUID of a URN can now be found in the uuid property.

Breaking changes from 2.x

URI validation has been removed as it was slow, exposed a vulnerabilty, and was generally not useful.

Breaking changes from 1.x

The errors array on parsed components is now an error string.