Hono•4mo ago

Synchronous function returns no value unless await

Hello everyone, I'm encountering a confusing issue while working with Hono.js. In my project, I have a function named getEbayAuthUrl which is not defined as an async function and simply returns a string, e.g., "hi". However, I've noticed that if I do not use await when calling this function, the value doesn't seem to be processed correctly, as if it were missing in subsequent database operations. Here's a simplified version of the function:

function getEbayAuthUrl() {
  return "MyAuthUrl";
}

const app = new Hono();

app.post(
    '/',
    verifyAuth(),
    zValidator(
        'json',
        insertOauthCredentialSchema.pick({
            clientId: true,
            clientSecret: true
        }),
    ),
    async (c) => {
        const values = c.req.valid('json');

        const authUrl = await getEbayAuthUrl(values);
        const inserted = await db
            .insert('oauthCredentials')
            .values({
                authorizationUrl: authUrl,
                ...values,
            })
            .returning('*');

        return c.json({ data: inserted });
    },
);

export default app;

function getEbayAuthUrl() {
  return "MyAuthUrl";
}

const app = new Hono();

app.post(
    '/',
    verifyAuth(),
    zValidator(
        'json',
        insertOauthCredentialSchema.pick({
            clientId: true,
            clientSecret: true
        }),
    ),
    async (c) => {
        const values = c.req.valid('json');

        const authUrl = await getEbayAuthUrl(values);
        const inserted = await db
            .insert('oauthCredentials')
            .values({
                authorizationUrl: authUrl,
                ...values,
            })
            .returning('*');

        return c.json({ data: inserted });
    },
);

export default app;

It doesn’t work as expected, and it seems like the value isn't recognized in subsequent database operations.

const authUrl = getEbayAuthUrl(values);

# Shows {} in database

const authUrl = getEbayAuthUrl(values);

# Shows {} in database

VS.

const authUrl = await getEbayAuthUrl(values);

# Shows "MyAuthUrl" in database

const authUrl = await getEbayAuthUrl(values);

# Shows "MyAuthUrl" in database

I thought await was only necessary for functions returning Promises. Does anyone know why I would need to use await here even though the function doesn’t return a Promise? Is this something specific to Hono.js, or is there a general JS principle I’m missing?

5 Replies

Joaquim Ley•4mo ago

Can you please provide the details of the getEbayAuthUrl() function (don't forget to omit any secrets/api keys if that's the case) Also, have you tried to console.log("authUrl: ", authUrl to actually see what's being returned vs what's being stored in the database?

Jing•4mo ago

Thank you for answering. After debuging line by line, I realize the function starts with "use server" I am not sure why using this would force to await the function even if it is not a async function.

Joaquim Ley•4mo ago

you mean this is in a NextJS server action?

Jing•4mo ago

Yes thats correct. I follow DRY pratice to not repeat, and the function is reused from a server action.

Joaquim Ley•4mo ago

Got it, that makes sense -- server actions are async by nature. (https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/data-fetching/server-actions-and-mutations) Please provide all context next time so we can all better help you 🚀 Don't forget to mark this thread as Solved ✅

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Synchronous function returns no value unless await