"Why is the cookie not functioning as expected in a React Native WebView when making a POST request?"

Question

I am facing an issue with cookies in a React Native WebView when attempting to make a POST request. Despite setting the necessary headers and parameters, the cookie does not appear to be functioning as expected. When I inspect the network requests, I can see that the cookie is not being included in the POST request headers.

I have tried various approaches, including setting the useWebKit prop to true, explicitly setting the javaScriptEnabled prop,sharedCookiesEnabled,thirdPartyCookiesEnabled,originWhitelist={["*"]} and even testing with different versions of React Native, but the issue persists.

Has anyone encountered a similar problem with cookies not working properly in a React Native WebView, specifically with POST requests? Any insights into potential solutions or debugging steps would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Answer 1

I also fetched this issue before. The I solved this way. Hope this solution will help you.

First you have to get cookies after login and save it in AsyncStorage or Redux then pass the cookieString in modifiedHeaders object.

N.B.: Don't forget to uninstall the app before running this code

Full code

import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import { View } from 'react-native';
import WebView from 'react-native-webview';

const MyWebView = () => {
  const webViewRef = useRef(null);

  // Intercept and modify requests before they are executed
  const handleShouldStartLoadWithRequest = (request) => {
    // Check if the request URL contains a specific pattern
    if (request.url.includes('https://example.com/your/endpoint')) {
      const modifiedHeaders = {
        ...request.headers,
        Cookie: 'cookieString' // Set your desired cookie header here
      };

      const modifiedHeadersJSON = JSON.stringify(modifiedHeaders);

      // Load the modified request in the WebView
      webViewRef.current.injectJavaScript(`
        const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
        xhr.open('${request.method}', '${request.url}');
        
        // Set the modified headers
        const modifiedHeaders = ${modifiedHeadersJSON};
        for (let key in modifiedHeaders) {
          xhr.setRequestHeader(key, modifiedHeaders[key]);
        }
        
        xhr.send();
      `);

      return false; // Prevent the WebView from loading the original request
    }

    // Allow other requests to proceed as usual
    return true;
  };

  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1 }}>
      <WebView
        ref={webViewRef}
        source={{ uri: 'https://example.com' }}
        onShouldStartLoadWithRequest={handleShouldStartLoadWithRequest}
      />
    </View>
  );
};

export default MyWebView;