support array value in searchParams

[rifler]

What problem are you trying to solve?

easier migration from 9.x to 11.x :)

Describe the feature

in 9.x I can pass an array to query field and it stringified like arr.join(',') (default array toString behaviour). example

got.get('https://example.com', {                                                
    query: {                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
        a: ['b', 'c'],                                                          
    },                                                                          
    hooks: {                                                                    
        beforeRequest: [
            (options) => { console.log(options); }
        ],
    },                                                                          
});

// logs: path: '/?a=b%2Cc',

in 11.x query was renamed to searchParams and validation was added. Now exception is thrown when I try to pass an array:

got.get('https://example.com', {                                                
    searchParams: {                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
        a: ['b', 'c'],                                                          
    },                                                                                                                                                 
});

https://github.com/sindresorhus/got/blob/v11.8.1/source/core/index.ts#L1111

I add && !is.array(value) to that if and it seems to work.

URLSearchParams supports arrays too, in different ways:

// 1
new URLSearchParams({ a: [1, 2] }).toString() // a=1%2C2

// 2
var params = new URLSearchParams();
params.append('a', [1, 2]);
params.toString(); // a=1%2C2

Maybe we can return array to the list of allowed values?

Checklist

• I have read the documentation and made sure this feature doesn't already exist.

[sindresorhus]

The defaults are intentionally strict to prevent mistakes. However, the searchParams option also accepts a URLSearchParams instance, so you can just pass that instead:

{
	searchParams: new URLSearchParams(Object.entries({
		a: ['b', 'c']
	}))
}

[rifler]

the searchParams option also accepts a URLSearchParams instance, so you can just pass that instead

Yeah, I can find some workarounds and solve that problem in my code, but it is not easy

The defaults are intentionally strict to prevent mistakes

I don't think array is a mistake. Also it works in 9.x and this behaviour can be ported to 11.x in one line

[sindresorhus]

I don't think array is a mistake. Also it works in 9.x and this behaviour can be ported to 11.x in one line

There are multiple common ways to represent arrays in a query string. Comma is just one of them. It's better to be explicit about it than using implicit stringification behavior.

You could also use https://github.com/sindresorhus/query-string and just pass the stringified query parameters to searchParams.

This behavior has been like this for a very long time now and (AFAIK) you're the first one to complain about it, so it doesn't seem like such a big issue.

[rifler]

sad

[rifler]

maybe use query-string lib inside got and allow to pass options to manage it?

[rifler]

It's better to be explicit about it than using implicit stringification behavior.

On the other hand no one can forbid user to do searchParams: new URLSearchParams(anyPlainObject) and behaviour become inconsistent.
I think if official URLSearchParams allows something, that other supported format should too

[sindresorhus]

maybe use query-string lib inside got and allow to pass options to manage it?

No. We don't want to have to proxy all those options through Got. It's an edge-case anyway. The default works for most and when it doesn't, there are many ways to get different behavior as I described in my previous comment.

[rifler]

We don't want to have to proxy all those options through Got

as I understand documentation, there is only one option options, not many

there are many ways to get different behavior as I described in my previous comment.

It is not easy in large codebases

it doesn't seem like such a big issue.

What if it is a survival bias? Maybe many users don't create issues and just starting to use other library silently or never updates to new major versions?

[sindresorhus]

I'll leave this issue open so the other maintainer and users can chime in, but I've shared my opinion about this.

[szmarczak]

I agree 100% with @sindresorhus

[Giotino]

A small note on the Got 9 behavior.

URLSearchParams follows the WHATWG spec that defines it as key-value iterable (where key and value are both strings). I think that the "array feature" that is using "," as separator is an undefined behavior due to its implementation, it's not within the spec.

https://url.spec.whatwg.org/#interface-urlsearchparams