# Middleware { #middleware }

You can add middleware to **FastAPI** applications.

A "middleware" is a function that works with every **request** before it is processed by any specific *path operation*. And also with every **response** before returning it.

* It takes each **request** that comes to your application.
* It can then do something to that **request** or run any needed code.
* Then it passes the **request** to be processed by the rest of the application (by some *path operation*).
* It then takes the **response** generated by the application (by some *path operation*).
* It can do something to that **response** or run any needed code.
* Then it returns the **response**.

/// note | Technical Details

If you have dependencies with `yield`, the exit code will run *after* the middleware.

If there were any background tasks (covered in the [Background Tasks](background-tasks.md){.internal-link target=_blank} section, you will see it later), they will run *after* all the middleware.

///

## Create a middleware { #create-a-middleware }

To create a middleware you use the decorator `@app.middleware("http")` on top of a function.

The middleware function receives:

* The `request`.
* A function `call_next` that will receive the `request` as a parameter.
    * This function will pass the `request` to the corresponding *path operation*.
    * Then it returns the `response` generated by the corresponding *path operation*.
* You can then further modify the `response` before returning it.

{* ../../docs_src/middleware/tutorial001.py hl[8:9,11,14] *}

/// tip

Keep in mind that custom proprietary headers can be added <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers" class="external-link" target="_blank">using the `X-` prefix</a>.

But if you have custom headers that you want a client in a browser to be able to see, you need to add them to your CORS configurations ([CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)](cors.md){.internal-link target=_blank}) using the parameter `expose_headers` documented in <a href="https://www.starlette.dev/middleware/#corsmiddleware" class="external-link" target="_blank">Starlette's CORS docs</a>.

///

/// note | Technical Details

You could also use `from starlette.requests import Request`.

**FastAPI** provides it as a convenience for you, the developer. But it comes directly from Starlette.

///

### Before and after the `response` { #before-and-after-the-response }

You can add code to be run with the `request`,  before any *path operation* receives it.

And also after the `response` is generated, before returning it.

For example, you could add a custom header `X-Process-Time` containing the time in seconds that it took to process the request and generate a response:

{* ../../docs_src/middleware/tutorial001.py hl[10,12:13] *}

/// tip

Here we use <a href="https://docs.python.org/3/library/time.html#time.perf_counter" class="external-link" target="_blank">`time.perf_counter()`</a> instead of `time.time()` because it can be more precise for these use cases. 🤓

///

## Multiple middleware execution order { #multiple-middleware-execution-order }

When you add multiple middlewares using either `@app.middleware()` decorator or `app.add_middleware()` method, each new middleware wraps the application, forming a stack. The last middleware added is the *outermost*, and the first is the *innermost*.

On the request path, the *outermost* middleware runs first.

On the response path, it runs last.

For example:

```Python
app.add_middleware(MiddlewareA)
app.add_middleware(MiddlewareB)
```

This results in the following execution order:

* **Request**: MiddlewareB → MiddlewareA → route

* **Response**: route → MiddlewareA → MiddlewareB

This stacking behavior ensures that middlewares are executed in a predictable and controllable order.

## Other middlewares { #other-middlewares }

You can later read more about other middlewares in the [Advanced User Guide: Advanced Middleware](../advanced/middleware.md){.internal-link target=_blank}.

You will read about how to handle <abbr title="Cross-Origin Resource Sharing">CORS</abbr> with a middleware in the next section.
