Solidstart Advanced Server

SolidStart Advanced Server Patterns

getRequestEvent

Access server request context anywhere on server. Uses Async Local Storage.

import { getRequestEvent } from "solid-js/web";

const event = getRequestEvent();
if (event) {
  const auth = event.request.headers.get("Authorization");
  const url = event.request.url;
}

Request

Access Web Request object:

const event = getRequestEvent();
if (event) {
  // Access request properties
  const url = event.request.url;
  const headers = event.request.headers;
  const method = event.request.method;
}

Response

Read/write response headers and status:

const event = getRequestEvent();
if (event) {
  event.response.headers.set("X-Custom-Header", "value");
  event.response.status = 200;
}

Locals

Access typed locals (from middleware):

// Typed in global.d.ts
declare module "App" {
  interface RequestEventLocals {
    user?: { id: string; name: string };
  }
}

// In server function
const event = getRequestEvent();
const user = event?.locals?.user;

nativeEvent

Access underlying Vinxi/H3 event:

const event = getRequestEvent();
const nativeEvent = event?.nativeEvent;
// Pass to Vinxi HTTP helpers

Note: Vinxi HTTP helpers don't treeshake - only import in server-only files.

Static Assets

Public Directory

Place assets in /public directory:

public/
├── favicon.ico          -> /favicon.ico
├── images/
│   └── logo.png        -> /images/logo.png
└── documents/
    └── report.pdf      -> /documents/report.pdf

Reference with absolute paths:

<img src="/images/logo.png" alt="Logo" />

Use for:

• Documents
• Service workers
• Media files (images, audio, video)
• Manifest files
• Metadata files (robots.txt, sitemaps)
• Favicon

Importing Assets

Import assets directly (Vite hashes filenames):

import logo from "./logo.png";

<img src={logo} alt="Logo" />
// Renders as: /assets/logo.2d8efhg.png

Benefits:

• Automatic cache busting
• Build-time optimization
• Type safety

Returning Responses

Return Response objects from server functions. TypeScript-aware.

import { json, redirect } from "@solidjs/router";

// JSON response - typed correctly
const hello = query(async (name: string) => {
  "use server";
  return json(
    { hello: name },
    { headers: { "cache-control": "max-age=60" } }
  );
}, "hello");

// Redirect - returns 'never' type
const getUser = query(async () => {
  "use server";
  const session = await getSession();
  if (!session.data.userId) {
    throw redirect("/login"); // Type is Promise<User>, not Promise<never>
  }
  return await db.getUser(session.data.userId);
}, "user");

Response helpers:

• json() - JSON response with headers
• redirect() - Returns never type
• reload() - Returns never type

Request Events Context

Use event.locals for request-scoped data:

// Middleware
export default createMiddleware({
  onRequest: (event) => {
    event.locals.user = { id: "123", name: "John" };
    event.locals.startTime = Date.now();
  }
});

// Server function
const getData = query(async () => {
  "use server";
  const event = getRequestEvent();
  const user = event?.locals?.user;
  // Use user data
}, "data");

HttpHeader

Set custom HTTP headers in responses:

import { HttpHeader } from "@solidjs/start";

<HttpHeader name="x-robots-tag" value="noindex" />

Use cases:

• Security headers
• CORS configuration
• Cache control
• SEO headers

Note: With streaming, headers must be set before stream first flushes. Use deferStream: true for resources that need to load before responding.

HttpStatusCode

Set HTTP status codes for pages:

import { HttpStatusCode } from "@solidjs/start";

// 404 page
export default function NotFound() {
  return (
    <>
      <HttpStatusCode code={404} />
      <h1>Page not found</h1>
    </>
  );
}

// Dynamic status with ErrorBoundary
<ErrorBoundary
  fallback={(e) => (
    <Show when={e.message === "Not found"}>
      <HttpStatusCode code={404} />
    </Show>
  )}
>
  <Content />
</ErrorBoundary>

Use cases:

• Error pages (404, 500, etc.)
• Dynamic status based on data
• SEO optimization

Note: With streaming, status codes must be set before stream first flushes.

getServerFunctionMeta

Get stable function ID across parallel instances (multi-core/workers):

import { getServerFunctionMeta } from "@solidjs/start";

const counter = async () => {
  "use server";
  const { id } = getServerFunctionMeta()!;
  const key = `counter_${id}`;
  appCache[key] = appCache[key] ?? 0;
  appCache[key]++;
  return appCache[key] as number;
};

Use case: Caching or state management in multi-core SolidStart apps.

Note: The id can change between builds.

Best Practices

1. Use getRequestEvent() for accessing request context in server functions
2. Type locals in global.d.ts for better TypeScript support
3. Use public directory for stable asset references
4. Import assets for cache-busting and optimization
5. Return typed responses using json, redirect, reload
6. Access nativeEvent only when necessary (Vinxi helpers don't treeshake)
7. Set HTTP headers and status codes before streaming starts
8. Use HttpStatusCode with ErrorBoundary for dynamic status codes