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Bug Report: ee.on is not a function Error with @codegenie/serverless-express 4.16.0 #698

@rockyhuber

Description

@rockyhuber

Environment:

  • @codegenie/serverless-express: 4.16.0 (error occurs) / 4.15.0 (works)
  • Express: 4.19.2
  • Node.js: 20.x (AWS Lambda runtime)
  • TypeScript: 5.7.3

Error Description:

When using @codegenie/serverless-express version 4.16.0, the following error occurs consistently in AWS Lambda:

TypeError: ee.on is not a function
    at first (/var/task/node_modules/ee-first/index.js:43:10)
    at onSocket (/var/task/node_modules/on-finished/index.js:115:16)
    at attachFinishedListener (/var/task/node_modules/on-finished/index.js:120:5)
    at attachListener (/var/task/node_modules/on-finished/index.js:147:5)
    at onFinished (/var/task/node_modules/on-finished/index.js:53:3)
    at send (/var/task/node_modules/finalhandler/index.js:314:3)
    at /var/task/node_modules/finalhandler/index.js:133:5
    at /var/task/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:646:15
    at next (/var/task/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:265:14)
    at urlencodedParser (/var/task/node_modules/body-parser/lib/types/urlencoded.js:91:7)

Root Cause:

The error appears to be introduced in version 4.16.0 of @codegenie/serverless-express. The ee-first library expects an EventEmitter-like object but receives something that doesn't have the .on() method, suggesting a regression in how response objects are handled in the Lambda environment.

Reproduction Steps:

  1. Create a Lambda function with @codegenie/serverless-express 4.16.0
  2. Set up basic Express routes
  3. Deploy to AWS Lambda
  4. Make any HTTP request to the Lambda function

Workaround/Solution:

Downgrade to the previous working version:

{
  "@codegenie/serverless-express": "^4.15.0"
}

Code Pattern That Triggers Error:

import express from 'express';
import serverlessExpress from '@codegenie/serverless-express';

const app = express();
app.get('/health', (req, res) => res.send('ok'));

// This pattern causes the error with version 4.16.0
const serverlessHandler = serverlessExpress({ app });

export const handler = async (event, context) => {
    return serverlessHandler(event, context, () => {});
};

Expected Behavior:

The serverless handler should process requests without throwing ee.on is not a function errors.

Actual Behavior:

The error occurs during response processing, specifically when Express tries to attach event listeners for response completion tracking.

Additional Context:

  • The error only occurs in AWS Lambda environment, not in local development
  • The error happens after successful initialization but during request processing
  • Downgrading to 4.15.0 completely resolves the issue
  • This suggests a regression introduced in version 4.16.0

Version Comparison:

  • 4.15.0: ✅ Works correctly
  • 4.16.0: ❌ Throws ee.on is not a function error

Suggested Investigation:

Please review changes made between versions 4.15.0 and 4.16.0, particularly around response object handling and event emitter interactions in the Lambda environment.

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