improve checks

controllers/auth.go

@@ -36,6 +36,19 @@ func Register(c *gin.Context) {
 	u.UserName = input.Username
 	u.Password = input.Password
 
+	//remove spaces in username
+	u.UserName = html.EscapeString(strings.TrimSpace(u.UserName))
+
+	// Check if user already exists
+	testUser, _ := models.GetUserByName(u.UserName)
+	fmt.Printf("Register checking if user already exists : '%v'\n", testUser)
+	if (models.User{} == testUser) {
+		fmt.Printf("Register confirmed no existing username\n")
+	} else {
+		c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": "Attempt to register conflicting username"})
+		return
+	}
+
 	//turn password into hash
 	hashedPassword, err := bcrypt.GenerateFromPassword([]byte(u.Password), bcrypt.DefaultCost)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -46,9 +59,6 @@ func Register(c *gin.Context) {
 	}
 	u.Password = string(hashedPassword)
 
-	//remove spaces in username
-	u.UserName = html.EscapeString(strings.TrimSpace(u.UserName))
-
 	_, err = u.SaveUser()
 
 	if err != nil {