How to use a variable outside of its scope in node.js and nightmare.js (web scraping)

How to use a variable outside of its scope in node.js and nightmare.js (web scraping)

When i try to use the variable 'downloadLink' out of the await scope, it returns as undefined.

app.post('/search', function(req, res){
        const val = req.body.searchText;
        
        const nightmare = new Nightmare({ 
            show: true 
        });

        
        (async function() {

            const downloadLink = await nightmare
        
                .viewport(1200, 700)
                .goto('https://google.com/')
                .insert('#selector0')
                .click('#selector1')
                .click('#selector2')
                .evaluate(() => document.querySelector('#selector3').href)
                .end()
            
                .catch((err) => {
                    console.log(err)
                })
            console.log('download link ' + downloadLink) //this line prints a string
        
        })();

        console.log('download link ' + downloadLink) //this line returns undefined
    })

can i use 'downloadLink' outside of its scope and print it using the latter line of code??

Express supports async handlers, so you can refactor your method like this. No need to put the code under an async IIFE.

app.post('/search', async function(req, res){
    try {
        const val = req.body.searchText;
    
        const nightmare = new Nightmare({ 
            show: true 
        });
        
        const downloadLink = await nightmare
            .viewport(1200, 700)
            .goto('https://google.com/')
            .insert('#selector0')
            .click('#selector1')
            .click('#selector2')
            .evaluate(() => document.querySelector('#selector3').href)
            .end()
        

        console.log('download link ' + downloadLink);
    } catch (err) {
        console.error(err.message);
    }
});