Why Is My Express '/' Route Triggered Multiple Times When Rendering API Data in EJS?

Below is an explanation of what’s likely happening and some suggestions to fix it.

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Why It Appears to Run Multiple Times

1. Extra Requests (e.g. favicon):
   Many browsers automatically request a favicon (i.e. GET "/favicon.ico") when a page loads. If you haven’t set up a specific route or static middleware for your favicon, your server may be treating that request as if it were meant for “/” (if using a catch‐all) or logging a 404 that appears to come from your GET handler. This can make it look like your “/” route is hitting twice.

2. Server-Side EJS Logging:
   In your index.ejs file you have this snippet:

   EJSCopied
   <% console.log("Home Page rendered successfully", data.id) %>

   This logging happens during the EJS template rendering on the server side. So when you render the view, you’ll see one log in your route handler (from console.log("Received a GET request to /");) and another from the EJS template. This might give the impression that the route is being processed multiple times, whereas it’s simply two logs for the single request.

3. Random Data Selection:
   Additionally, you are calling

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   result[Math.floor(Math.random() * result.length)]

   twice in your route (once for logging and once for passing data to the template). While this doesn’t cause the route to be called multiple times, it can cause different random results to appear in the logs vs. what’s rendered. This might also be confusing when debugging.

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How to Address It

1. Handle Favicon Requests:
   To avoid unintended calls for the favicon, either add a route for /favicon.ico or serve static assets. For example, you can add this above your main route:

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   app.get('/favicon.ico', (req, res) => res.status(204));

   Or serve static files from a public directory:

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   app.use(express.static("public"));

   Then, include your favicon in that folder.

2. Avoid Duplicate Randomization:
   If you want the same random object for both logging and rendering, compute it once:

   JAVASCRIPTCopied
   app.get("/", async (req, res) => {
     console.log("Received a GET request to /");
     try {
       const response = await axios.get("https://api.restful-api.dev/objects");
       const result = response.data;
       const randomIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * result.length);
       const randomData = result[randomIndex];
       console.log("Fetched data from API:", randomData);
       res.render("index.ejs", { data: randomData });
     } catch (error) {
       console.error("Failed to make request:", error.message);
     }
   });

3. Review Logs Source:
   Know that one log comes from the route and the other from the EJS rendering. This is perfectly normal if you are logging in both places.

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Conclusion

The route is likely not being called multiple times for one page load; the multiple logs you’re seeing are due to extra browser requests (such as for the favicon) and server-side logging inside your EJS template. Adjusting how you handle static assets and simplifying your random data selection can help clarify the behavior.

Feel free to ask if you need further help!