Add request validation for server and channel mutation APIs

[chthonn]

Difficulty: Intermediate

Context

Server and channel mutation routes in server/routes/servers.js accept several request body fields and MongoDB IDs. Some paths can fail with generic server errors when required fields are missing or malformed.

Improving validation will make the API easier to use, safer for contributors, and more predictable for the frontend.

Expected work

• Validate required fields for creating servers, categories, and channels.
• Validate MongoDB ObjectId values before constructing mongoose.Types.ObjectId.
• Return consistent 400 responses for malformed input.
• Return useful 404 responses when a referenced server/category does not exist.
• Keep existing successful response shapes compatible with the frontend.

Acceptance criteria

• Missing server_id, category_id, channel_name, or category_name returns a clear 400.
• Invalid MongoDB IDs do not throw uncaught errors.
• Failed updates return appropriate status codes instead of generic success-shaped responses.
• Existing create server/category/channel flows still work.
• Manual API testing or backend tests cover at least one valid and one invalid case.

Suggested files

• server/routes/servers.js
• server/services/serverService.js

[ronak-ravtode]

Hi @0rigin-c0de , I would also like to work on this issue, can you assign this issue to me?

[abhigyan24-ops]

@0rigin-c0de I'm ready to work on this please assign this to me

[TanviHanda]

Hi @maintainer

I have carefully gone through the issue details and understood the expected behavior. I’ve also reviewed the related validation flow for request body fields, MongoDB ObjectId handling, and proper API status responses in Express/Mongoose applications.

I would like to work on this issue under GSSoC'26. I can implement:

1. required field validation
2. ObjectId validation before DB operations
3. consistent 400/404 responses
4. safer error handling while keeping existing response structures compatible

Please assign this issue to me. Thank you!

[ronak-ravtode]

Hi, @0rigin-c0de , can you assign this issue to me, i fix my first issue also

[varun29sharma]

Hi @0rigin-c0de

I'd like to take this up. Here's my plan:

1.Install express-validator in the server package.
2. Create a reusable server/middleware/validate.js that runs validation rules and returns consistent 400 responses.
3. Add validation rules to all three mutation routes in server/routes/servers.js — create server, create category, create channel.
4. Add a safe toObjectId() helper in server/services/serverService.js to guard against malformed MongoDB IDs.
5. Add existence checks (findById → 404) before any mutation in the service layer.

Also i'll manually test valid and invalid cases before opening the PR

Can you assign this to me >,<

[chthonn]

@varun29sharma Go ahead