|  |  | # fast-redact
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | very fast object redaction
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | [](https://travis-ci.org/davidmarkclements/fast-redact)
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ## Default Usage
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | By default, `fast-redact` serializes an object with `JSON.stringify`, censoring any 
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							|  |  | data at paths specified:
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ```js
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							|  |  | const fastRedact = require('fast-redact')
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							|  |  | const fauxRequest = {
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							|  |  |   headers: {
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							|  |  |     host: 'http://example.com',
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							|  |  |     cookie: `oh oh we don't want this exposed in logs in etc.`,
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							|  |  |     referer: `if we're cool maybe we'll even redact this`
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							|  |  |   }
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							|  |  | }
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							|  |  | const redact = fastRedact({
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							|  |  |   paths: ['headers.cookie', 'headers.referer']
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							|  |  | })
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | console.log(redact(fauxRequest))
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							|  |  | // {"headers":{"host":"http://example.com","cookie":"[REDACTED]","referer":"[REDACTED]"}}
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ## API
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ### `require('fast-redact')({paths, censor, serialize}) => Function`
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | When called without any options, or with a zero length `paths` array, 
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							|  |  | `fast-redact` will return  `JSON.stringify` or the `serialize` option, if set.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | #### `paths` – `Array`
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | An array of strings describing the nested location of a key in an object.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | The syntax follows that of the EcmaScript specification, that is any JavaScript
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							|  |  | path is accepted – both bracket and dot notation is supported. For instance in 
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							|  |  | each of the following cases, the `c` property will be redacted: `a.b.c`,`a['b'].c`, 
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							|  |  | `a["b"].c`, `a[``b``].c`. Since bracket notation is supported, array indices are also
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							|  |  | supported `a[0].b` would redact the `b` key in the first object of the `a` array. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | Leading brackets are also allowed, for instance `["a"].b.c` will work.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ##### Wildcards
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | In addition to static paths, asterisk wildcards are also supported.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | When an asterisk is place in the final position it will redact all keys within the
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							|  |  | parent object. For instance `a.b.*` will redact all keys in the `b` object. Similarly
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							|  |  | for arrays `a.b[*]` will redact all elements of an array (in truth it actually doesn't matter 
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							|  |  | whether `b` is in an object or array in either case, both notation styles will work).
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | When an asterisk is in an intermediate or first position, the paths following the asterisk will 
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							|  |  | be redacted for every object within the parent.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | For example:
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ```js
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							|  |  | const fastRedact = require('fast-redact')
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							|  |  | const redact = fastRedact({paths: ['*.c.d']})
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							|  |  | const obj = {
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							|  |  |   x: {c: {d: 'hide me', e: 'leave me be'}},
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							|  |  |   y: {c: {d: 'and me', f: 'I want to live'}},
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							|  |  |   z: {c: {d: 'and also I', g: 'I want to run in a stream'}}
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							|  |  | }
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							|  |  | console.log(redact(obj)) 
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							|  |  | // {"x":{"c":{"d":"[REDACTED]","e":"leave me be"}},"y":{"c":{"d":"[REDACTED]","f":"I want to live"}},"z":{"c":{"d":"[REDACTED]","g":"I want to run in a stream"}}}
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | Another example with a nested array:
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ```js
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							|  |  | const fastRedact = require('..')
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							|  |  | const redact = fastRedact({paths: ['a[*].c.d']})
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							|  |  | const obj = {
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							|  |  |   a: [
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							|  |  |     {c: {d: 'hide me', e: 'leave me be'}},
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							|  |  |     {c: {d: 'and me', f: 'I want to live'}},
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							|  |  |     {c: {d: 'and also I', g: 'I want to run in a stream'}}
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							|  |  |   ]
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							|  |  | }
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							|  |  | console.log(redact(obj)) 
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							|  |  | // {"a":[{"c":{"d":"[REDACTED]","e":"leave me be"}},{"c":{"d":"[REDACTED]","f":"I want to live"}},{"c":{"d":"[REDACTED]","g":"I want to run in a stream"}}]}
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | #### `remove` - `Boolean` - `[false]`
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | The `remove` option, when set to `true` will cause keys to be removed from the 
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							|  |  | serialized output. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | Since the implementation exploits the fact that `undefined` keys are ignored
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							|  |  | by `JSON.stringify` the `remove` option may *only* be used when `JSON.stringify`
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							|  |  | is the serializer (this is the default) – otherwise `fast-redact` will throw. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | If supplying a custom serializer that has the same behavior (removing keys 
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							|  |  | with `undefined` values), this restriction can be bypassed by explicitly setting 
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							|  |  | the `censor` to `undefined`.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | #### `censor` – `<Any type>` – `('[REDACTED]')`
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | This is the value which overwrites redacted properties. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | Setting `censor` to `undefined` will cause properties to removed as long as this is 
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							|  |  | the behavior of the `serializer` – which defaults to `JSON.stringify`, which does 
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							|  |  | remove `undefined` properties.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | Setting `censor` to a function will cause `fast-redact` to invoke it with the original 
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							|  |  | value. The output of the `censor` function sets the redacted value.
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							|  |  | Please note that asynchronous functions are not supported. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | #### `serialize` – `Function | Boolean` – `(JSON.stringify)`
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | The `serialize` option may either be a function or a boolean. If a function is supplied, this
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							|  |  | will be used to `serialize` the redacted object. It's important to understand that for 
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							|  |  | performance reasons `fast-redact` *mutates* the original object, then serializes, then 
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							|  |  | restores the original values. So the object passed to the serializer is the exact same
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							|  |  | object passed to the redacting function. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | The `serialize` option as a function example:
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ```js
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							|  |  | const fastRedact = require('fast-redact')
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							|  |  | const redact = fastRedact({
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							|  |  |   paths: ['a'], 
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							|  |  |   serialize: (o) => JSON.stringify(o, 0, 2)
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							|  |  | })
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							|  |  | console.log(redact({a: 1, b: 2}))
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							|  |  | // {
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							|  |  | //   "a": "[REDACTED]",
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							|  |  | //   "b": 2
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							|  |  | // }
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | For advanced usage the `serialize` option can be set to `false`. When `serialize` is set to `false`,
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							|  |  | instead of the serialized object, the output of the redactor function will be the mutated object 
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							|  |  | itself (this is the exact same as the object passed in). In addition a `restore` method is supplied
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							|  |  | on the redactor function allowing the redacted keys to be restored with the original data. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ```js
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							|  |  | const fastRedact = require('fast-redact')
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							|  |  | const redact = fastRedact({
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							|  |  |   paths: ['a'], 
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							|  |  |   serialize: false
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							|  |  | })
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							|  |  | const o = {a: 1, b: 2}
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							|  |  | console.log(redact(o) === o) // true
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							|  |  | console.log(o) // { a: '[REDACTED]', b: 2 }
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							|  |  | console.log(redact.restore(o) === o) // true
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							|  |  | console.log(o) // { a: 1, b: 2 }
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | #### `strict` – `Boolean` - `[true]`
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							|  |  | The `strict` option, when set to `true`, will cause the redactor function to throw if instead 
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							|  |  | of an object it finds a primitive. When `strict` is set to `false`, the redactor function 
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							|  |  | will treat the primitive value as having already been redacted, and return it serialized (with
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							|  |  | `JSON.stringify` or the user's custom `serialize` function), or as-is if the `serialize` option
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							|  |  | was set to false.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ## Approach
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | In order to achieve lowest cost/highest performance redaction `fast-redact`
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							|  |  | creates and compiles a function (using the `Function` constructor) on initialization.
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							|  |  | It's important to distinguish this from the dangers of a runtime eval, no user input 
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							|  |  | is involved in creating the string that compiles into the function. This is as safe 
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							|  |  | as writing code normally and having it compiled by V8 in the usual way.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | Thanks to changes in V8 in recent years, state can be injected into compiled functions
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							|  |  | using `bind` at very low cost (whereas `bind` used to be expensive, and getting state
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							|  |  | into a compiled function by any means was difficult without a performance penalty).
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | For static paths, this function simply checks that the path exists and then overwrites
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							|  |  | with the censor. Wildcard paths are processed with normal functions that iterate over 
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							|  |  | the object redacting values as necessary.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | It's important to note, that the original object is mutated – for performance reasons
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							|  |  | a copy is not made. See [rfdc](https://github.com/davidmarkclements/rfdc) (Really Fast 
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							|  |  | Deep Clone) for the fastest known way to clone – it's not nearly close enough  in speed
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							|  |  | to editing the original object, serializing and then restoring values. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | A `restore` function is also created and compiled to put the original state back on
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							|  |  | to the object after redaction. This means that in the default usage case, the operation 
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							|  |  | is essentially atomic - the object is mutated, serialized and restored internally which 
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							|  |  | avoids any state management issues.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ## Caveat
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | As mentioned in approach, the `paths` array input is dynamically compiled into a function
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							|  |  | at initialization time. While the `paths` array is vigourously tested for any developer 
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							|  |  | errors, it's strongly recommended against allowing user input to directly supply any 
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							|  |  | paths to redact. It can't be guaranteed that allowing user input for `paths` couldn't
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							|  |  | feasibly expose an attack vector.  
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ## Benchmarks
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | The fastest known predecessor to `fast-redact` is the non-generic [`pino-noir`](http://npm.im/pino-noir) 
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							|  |  | library (which was also written by myself).
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | In the direct calling case, `fast-redact` is ~30x faster than `pino-noir`, however a more realistic
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							|  |  | comparison is overhead on `JSON.stringify`. 
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | For a static redaction case (no wildcards) `pino-noir` adds ~25% overhead on top of `JSON.stringify`
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							|  |  | whereas `fast-redact` adds ~1% overhead.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | In the basic last-position wildcard case,`fast-redact` is ~12% faster than `pino-noir`.
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | The `pino-noir` module does not support intermediate wildcards, but `fast-redact` does,
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							|  |  | the cost of an intermediate wildcard that results in two keys over two nested objects 
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							|  |  | being redacted is about 25% overhead on `JSON.stringify`. The cost of an intermediate 
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							|  |  | wildcard that results in four keys across two objects being redacted is about 55% overhead 
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							|  |  | on `JSON.stringify` and ~50% more expensive that explicitly declaring the keys.  
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ```sh
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							|  |  | npm run bench 
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | benchNoirV2*500: 59.108ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedact*500: 2.483ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactRestore*500: 10.904ms
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							|  |  | benchNoirV2Wild*500: 91.399ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactWild*500: 21.200ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactWildRestore*500: 27.304ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactIntermediateWild*500: 92.304ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactIntermediateWildRestore*500: 107.047ms
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							|  |  | benchJSONStringify*500: 210.573ms
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							|  |  | benchNoirV2Serialize*500: 281.148ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactSerialize*500: 215.845ms
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							|  |  | benchNoirV2WildSerialize*500: 281.168ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactWildSerialize*500: 247.140ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactIntermediateWildSerialize*500: 333.722ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactIntermediateWildMatchWildOutcomeSerialize*500: 463.667ms
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							|  |  | benchFastRedactStaticMatchWildOutcomeSerialize*500: 239.293ms
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							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ## Tests
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm test  
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  |   224 passing (499.544ms)
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ### Coverage
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | npm run cov 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | -----------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|-------------------|
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							|  |  | File             |  % Stmts | % Branch |  % Funcs |  % Lines | Uncovered Line #s |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | -----------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|-------------------|
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							|  |  | All files        |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
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							|  |  |  fast-redact     |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
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							|  |  |   index.js       |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
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							|  |  |  fast-redact/lib |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   modifiers.js   |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   parse.js       |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   redactor.js    |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   restorer.js    |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   rx.js          |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   state.js       |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  |   validator.js   |      100 |      100 |      100 |      100 |                   |
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | -----------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|-------------------|
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ```
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							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ## License
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | MIT
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | ## Acknowledgements
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | 
 | 
						
						
						
							|  |  | Sponsored by [nearForm](http://www.nearform.com)
 |