# `req.param()`

Returns the value of the parameter with the specified name.

### Usage

```usage
req.param(name[, defaultValue]);
```

### Details

`req.param()` searches the URL path, body, and query string of the request (_in that order_) for the specified parameter.  If no parameter value exists anywhere in the request with the given `name`, it returns `undefined` or the optional `defaultValue` if specified.

+ URL path parameters ([`req.params`](https://sailsjs.com/documentation/reference/request-req/req-params))
  + e.g. a request "/foo/4" to route `/foo/:id` has URL path params `{ id: 4 }`
+ body parameters ([`req.body`](https://sailsjs.com/documentation/reference/request-req/req-body))
  + e.g. a request with a parseable body (e.g. JSON, URL-encoded, or XML) has body parameters equal to its parsed value
+ query string parameters ([`req.query`](https://sailsjs.com/documentation/reference/request-req/req-query))
  + e.g. a request "/foo?email=5" has query params `{ email: 5 }`


### Example

Consider a route (`POST /product/:sku`) that points to a custom action or policy that has the following code:

```javascript
req.param('sku');
// -> 123
```

We can get the expected result by sending the `sku` parameter any of the following ways:

+ `POST /product/123`
+ `POST /product?sku=123`
+ `POST /product`
    + with a JSON request body: `{ "sku": 123 }`



### Notes
>+ The order of precedence means that URL path params will override request body params, which will override query string params.
> + If you'd like to get ALL parameters from ALL sources (including the URL path, query string, and parsed request body) you can use [`req.allParams()`](https://sailsjs.com/documentation/reference/request-req/req-all-params).




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