How to Access User ID

This document explains how to access the authenticated user in both client-side components and server-side API handlers.

Client-Side Access

On the client-side, you can access the user's information, including their ID, through the useAuth hook provided by the AuthContext.

tsx

import { useAuth } from '../context/AuthContext'; // Adjust path as needed

const MyComponent = () => {
    const { user } = useAuth();

    // Assuming the user object has an 'id' property
    const userId = user?.id; 

    if (userId) {
        console.log("Current User ID:", userId);
        // You can now use the userId in your component
    }

    // ... rest of your component logic
};

The user object within the AuthContext contains the authenticated user's details. You would typically access a property like user.id or user._id to get the user's unique identifier. Refer to the User type definition for the exact property name.

Server-Side Access (API Handlers)

In server-side API handlers, the userId of the authenticated user is passed via the ApiHandlerContext. This context is automatically populated by the middleware in processApiCall.ts (see docs/authentication.md for details on processApiCall.ts).

When defining an API handler, the second parameter is the context object, which contains the userId.

typescript

// Example API handler in src/apis/someApi/server.ts

import { ApiHandlerContext } from 'path/to/your/ApiHandlerContext/type'; // Adjust path as needed

// Define your request and response types
interface MyApiRequest {
    // ... request parameters
}

interface MyApiResponse {
    // ... response data
    message?: string;
    error?: string;
}

export const handleMyApiRequest = async (
    request: MyApiRequest,
    context: ApiHandlerContext 
): Promise<MyApiResponse> => {
    const userId = context.userId;

    if (!userId) {
        // Handle cases where the user is not authenticated or userId is not available
        return { error: "User not authenticated." };
    }

    console.log("Authenticated User ID in API handler:", userId);

    // Implement your API logic using the userId
    // For example, fetch user-specific data from a database

    return { message: `Successfully processed request for user ${userId}` };
};

The userId in the ApiHandlerContext is derived from the JWT token sent with the request. If the token is invalid or missing, userId will be undefined. Always check for its existence before using it.