Passing Variables from Node / Express to AngularJS
<p>I am wondering how I can pass variables from Node / Express to my AngularJS front end. In particular, if I am using Express (Passport) for authentication, how can I pass the user name and information to display in the corner of my app, alongside the "Logout" button?</p>

<p>Here is my code for authentication routes. Should I be using URL variables for this? Or should I try to somehow implement a separate end-point that would pass this small bit of info? </p>

<p>Just to clarify, once the user logs in and is directed to "/" AngularJS front-end takes over and does the routing within itself.</p>

<pre><code>var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();

module.exports = function(passport){

    var isAuthenticated = function (req, res, next) {
            // if user is authenticated in the session, call the next() to call the next request handler 
            // Passport adds this method to request object. A middleware is allowed to add properties to
            // request and response objects
            if (req.isAuthenticated()){
                //console.log(next());
                return next();
            }
            // if the user is not authenticated then redirect him to the login page
            res.redirect('/login');
    }


    /* GET login page. */
    router.get('/login', function(req, res) {
        // Display the Login page with any flash message, if any
        res.render('login', { message: req.flash('message') });
    });

    /* Handle Login POST */
    router.post('/login', passport.authenticate('login', {
        successRedirect: '/',
        failureRedirect: '/login',
        failureFlash : true  
    }));

    /* GET Registration Page */
    router.get('/signup', function(req, res){
        res.render('register',{message: req.flash('message')});
    });

    /* Handle Registration POST */
    router.post('/signup', passport.authenticate('signup', {
        successRedirect: '/',
        failureRedirect: '/signup',
        failureFlash : true  
    }));

    /* GET Home Page when logged in */
    router.get('/', isAuthenticated, function(req, res){
        res.render('index', { user: req.user });
    });

    /* Handle Logout */
    router.get('/signout', function(req, res) {
        req.logout();
        res.redirect('/login');
    });

    return router;
}
</code></pre>