Airbnb JavaScript Style Guide() {

A mostly reasonable approach to JavaScript


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Table of Contents

1. Types
2. References
3. Objects
4. Arrays
5. Destructuring
6. Strings
7. Functions
8. Arrow Functions
9. Classes & Constructors
10. Modules
11. Iterators and Generators
12. Properties
13. Variables
14. Hoisting
15. Comparison Operators & Equality
16. Blocks
17. Comments
18. Whitespace
19. Commas
20. Semicolons
21. Type Casting & Coercion
22. Naming Conventions
23. Accessors
24. Events
25. jQuery
26. ECMAScript 5 Compatibility
27. ECMAScript 6+ (ES 2015+) Styles
28. Testing
29. Performance
30. Resources
31. In the Wild
32. Translation
33. The JavaScript Style Guide Guide
34. Chat With Us About JavaScript
35. Contributors
36. License

Types

• 1.1 Primitives: When you access a primitive type you work directly on its value.

  • string
  • number
  • boolean
  • null
  • undefined

  const foo = 1;
  let bar = foo;
  
  bar = 9;
  
  console.log(foo, bar); // => 1, 9

• 1.2 Complex: When you access a complex type you work on a reference to its value.

  • object
  • array
  • function

  const foo = [1, 2];
  const bar = foo;
  
  bar[0] = 9;
  
  console.log(foo[0], bar[0]); // => 9, 9

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References

• 2.1 Use const for all of your references; avoid using var. eslint: prefer-const, no-const-assign

  Why? This ensures that you can't reassign your references, which can lead to bugs and difficult to comprehend code.

  // bad
  var a = 1;
  var b = 2;
  
  // good
  const a = 1;
  const b = 2;

• 2.2 If you must reassign references, use let instead of var. eslint: no-var jscs: disallowVar

  Why? let is block-scoped rather than function-scoped like var.

  // bad
  var count = 1;
  if (true) {
    count += 1;
  }
  
  // good, use the let.
  let count = 1;
  if (true) {
    count += 1;
  }

• 2.3 Note that both let and const are block-scoped.

  // const and let only exist in the blocks they are defined in.
  {
    let a = 1;
    const b = 1;
  }
  console.log(a); // ReferenceError
  console.log(b); // ReferenceError

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Objects

• 3.1 Use the literal syntax for object creation. eslint: no-new-object

  // bad
  const item = new Object();
  
  // good
  const item = {};

• 3.4 Use computed property names when creating objects with dynamic property names.

  Why? They allow you to define all the properties of an object in one place.

  
  function getKey(k) {
    return `a key named ${k}`;
  }
  
  // bad
  const obj = {
    id: 5,
    name: 'San Francisco',
  };
  obj[getKey('enabled')] = true;
  
  // good
  const obj = {
    id: 5,
    name: 'San Francisco',
  };

• 3.5 Use object method shorthand. eslint: object-shorthand jscs: requireEnhancedObjectLiterals

  // bad
  const atom = {
    value: 1,
  
    addValue: function (value) {
      return atom.value + value;
    },
  };
  
  // good
  const atom = {
    value: 1,
  
    addValue(value) {
      return atom.value + value;
    },
  };

• 3.6 Use property value shorthand. eslint: object-shorthand jscs: requireEnhancedObjectLiterals

  Why? It is shorter to write and descriptive.

  const lukeSkywalker = 'Luke Skywalker';
  
  // bad
  const obj = {
    lukeSkywalker: lukeSkywalker,
  };
  
  // good
  const obj = {
    lukeSkywalker,
  };

• 3.7 Group your shorthand properties at the beginning of your object declaration.

  Why? It's easier to tell which properties are using the shorthand.

  const anakinSkywalker = 'Anakin Skywalker';
  const lukeSkywalker = 'Luke Skywalker';
  
  // bad
  const obj = {
    episodeOne: 1,
    twoJediWalkIntoACantina: 2,
    lukeSkywalker,
    episodeThree: 3,
    mayTheFourth: 4,
    anakinSkywalker,
  };
  
  // good
  const obj = {
    lukeSkywalker,
    anakinSkywalker,
    episodeOne: 1,
    twoJediWalkIntoACantina: 2,
    episodeThree: 3,
    mayTheFourth: 4,
  };

• 3.8 Only quote properties that are invalid identifiers. eslint: quote-props jscs: disallowQuotedKeysInObjects

  Why? In general we consider it subjectively easier to read. It improves syntax highlighting, and is also more easily optimized by many JS engines.

  // bad
  const bad = {
  'foo': 3,
  'bar': 4,
  'data-blah': 5,
  };
  
  // good
  const good = {
  foo: 3,
  bar: 4,
  'data-blah': 5,
  };

• 3.9 Do not call Object.prototype methods directly, such as hasOwnProperty, propertyIsEnumerable, and isPrototypeOf.

  Why? These methods may be shadowed by properties on the object in question - consider { hasOwnProperty: false } - or, the object may be a null object (Object.create(null)).

  // bad
  console.log(object.hasOwnProperty(key));
  
  // good
  console.log(Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(object, key));
  
  // best
  const has = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty; // cache the lookup once, in module scope.
  /* or */
  const has = require('has');
  …
  console.log(has.call(object, key));

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Arrays

• 4.1 Use the literal syntax for array creation. eslint: no-array-constructor

  // bad
  const items = new Array();
  
  // good
  const items = [];

• 4.2 Use Array#push instead of direct assignment to add items to an array.

  const someStack = [];
  
  // bad
  someStack[someStack.length] = 'abracadabra';
  
  // good
  someStack.push('abracadabra');

• 4.3 Use array spreads ... to copy arrays.

  // bad
  const len = items.length;
  const itemsCopy = [];
  let i;
  
  for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
    itemsCopy[i] = items[i];
  }
  
  // good
  const itemsCopy = [...items];

• 4.4 To convert an array-like object to an array, use Array.from.

  const foo = document.querySelectorAll('.foo');
  const nodes = Array.from(foo);

• 4.5 Use return statements in array method callbacks. It's ok to omit the return if the function body consists of a single statement following 8.2. eslint: array-callback-return

  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map((x) => {
    const y = x + 1;
    return x * y;
  });
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map(x => x + 1);
  
  // bad
  const flat = {};
  [[0, 1], [2, 3], [4, 5]].reduce((memo, item, index) => {
    const flatten = memo.concat(item);
    flat[index] = flatten;
  });
  
  // good
  const flat = {};
  [[0, 1], [2, 3], [4, 5]].reduce((memo, item, index) => {
    const flatten = memo.concat(item);
    flat[index] = flatten;
    return flatten;
  });
  
  // bad
  inbox.filter((msg) => {
    const { subject, author } = msg;
    if (subject === 'Mockingbird') {
      return author === 'Harper Lee';
    } else {
      return false;
    }
  });
  
  // good
  inbox.filter((msg) => {
    const { subject, author } = msg;
    if (subject === 'Mockingbird') {
      return author === 'Harper Lee';
    }
  
    return false;
  });

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Destructuring

• 5.1 Use object destructuring when accessing and using multiple properties of an object. jscs: requireObjectDestructuring

  Why? Destructuring saves you from creating temporary references for those properties.

  // bad
  function getFullName(user) {
    const firstName = user.firstName;
    const lastName = user.lastName;
  
    return `${firstName} ${lastName}`;
  }
  
  // good
  function getFullName(user) {
    const { firstName, lastName } = user;
    return `${firstName} ${lastName}`;
  }
  
  // best
  function getFullName({ firstName, lastName }) {
    return `${firstName} ${lastName}`;
  }

• 5.2 Use array destructuring. jscs: requireArrayDestructuring

  const arr = [1, 2, 3, 4];
  
  // bad
  const first = arr[0];
  const second = arr[1];
  
  // good
  const [first, second] = arr;

• 5.3 Use object destructuring for multiple return values, not array destructuring. jscs: disallowArrayDestructuringReturn

  Why? You can add new properties over time or change the order of things without breaking call sites.

  // bad
  function processInput(input) {
    // then a miracle occurs
    return [left, right, top, bottom];
  }
  
  // the caller needs to think about the order of return data
  const [left, __, top] = processInput(input);
  
  // good
  function processInput(input) {
    // then a miracle occurs
    return { left, right, top, bottom };
  }
  
  // the caller selects only the data they need
  const { left, top } = processInput(input);

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Strings

• 6.1 Use single quotes '' for strings. eslint: quotes jscs: validateQuoteMarks

  // bad
  const name = "Capt. Janeway";
  
  // bad - template literals should contain interpolation or newlines
  const name = `Capt. Janeway`;
  
  // good
  const name = 'Capt. Janeway';

• 6.2 Strings that cause the line to go over 100 characters should not be written across multiple lines using string concatenation.

  Why? Broken strings are painful to work with and make code less searchable.

  // bad
  const errorMessage = 'This is a super long error that was thrown because \
  of Batman. When you stop to think about how Batman had anything to do \
  with this, you would get nowhere \
  fast.';
  
  // bad
  const errorMessage = 'This is a super long error that was thrown because ' +
    'of Batman. When you stop to think about how Batman had anything to do ' +
    'with this, you would get nowhere fast.';
  
  // good
  const errorMessage = 'This is a super long error that was thrown because of Batman. When you stop to think about how Batman had anything to do with this, you would get nowhere fast.';

• 6.4 When programmatically building up strings, use template strings instead of concatenation. eslint: prefer-template template-curly-spacing jscs: requireTemplateStrings

  Why? Template strings give you a readable, concise syntax with proper newlines and string interpolation features.

  // bad
  function sayHi(name) {
    return 'How are you, ' + name + '?';
  }
  
  // bad
  function sayHi(name) {
    return ['How are you, ', name, '?'].join();
  }
  
  // bad
  function sayHi(name) {
    return `How are you, ${ name }?`;
  }
  
  // good
  function sayHi(name) {
    return `How are you, ${name}?`;
  }

• 6.5 Never use eval() on a string, it opens too many vulnerabilities.

• 6.6 Do not unnecessarily escape characters in strings. eslint: no-useless-escape

  Why? Backslashes harm readability, thus they should only be present when necessary.

  // bad
  const foo = '\'this\' \i\s \"quoted\"';
  
  // good
  const foo = '\'this\' is "quoted"';
  const foo = `'this' is "quoted"`;

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Functions

• 7.1 Use named function expressions instead of function declarations. eslint: func-style jscs: requireFunctionDeclarations

  Why? Function declarations are hoisted, which means that it’s easy - too easy - to reference the function before it is defined in the file. This harms readability and maintainability. If you find that a function’s definition is large or complex enough that it is interfering with understanding the rest of the file, then perhaps it’s time to extract it to its own module! Don’t forget to name the expression - anonymous functions can make it harder to locate the problem in an Error's call stack.

  // bad
  const foo = function () {
  };
  
  // bad
  function foo() {
  }
  
  // good
  const foo = function bar() {
  };

• 7.2 Wrap immediately invoked function expressions in parentheses. eslint: wrap-iife jscs: requireParenthesesAroundIIFE

  Why? An immediately invoked function expression is a single unit - wrapping both it, and its invocation parens, in parens, cleanly expresses this. Note that in a world with modules everywhere, you almost never need an IIFE.

  // immediately-invoked function expression (IIFE)
  (function () {
    console.log('Welcome to the Internet. Please follow me.');
  }());

• 7.3 Never declare a function in a non-function block (if, while, etc). Assign the function to a variable instead. Browsers will allow you to do it, but they all interpret it differently, which is bad news bears. eslint: no-loop-func

• 7.4 Note: ECMA-262 defines a block as a list of statements. A function declaration is not a statement. Read ECMA-262's note on this issue.

  // bad
  if (currentUser) {
    function test() {
      console.log('Nope.');
    }
  }
  
  // good
  let test;
  if (currentUser) {
    test = () => {
      console.log('Yup.');
    };
  }

• 7.5 Never name a parameter arguments. This will take precedence over the arguments object that is given to every function scope.

  // bad
  function nope(name, options, arguments) {
    // ...stuff...
  }
  
  // good
  function yup(name, options, args) {
    // ...stuff...
  }

• 7.6 Never use arguments, opt to use rest syntax ... instead. eslint: prefer-rest-params

  Why? ... is explicit about which arguments you want pulled. Plus, rest arguments are a real Array, and not merely Array-like like arguments.

  // bad
  function concatenateAll() {
    const args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments);
    return args.join('');
  }
  
  // good
  function concatenateAll(...args) {
    return args.join('');
  }

• 7.7 Use default parameter syntax rather than mutating function arguments.

  // really bad
  function handleThings(opts) {
    // No! We shouldn't mutate function arguments.
    // Double bad: if opts is falsy it'll be set to an object which may
    // be what you want but it can introduce subtle bugs.
    opts = opts || {};
    // ...
  }
  
  // still bad
  function handleThings(opts) {
    if (opts === void 0) {
      opts = {};
    }
    // ...
  }
  
  // good
  function handleThings(opts = {}) {
    // ...
  }

• 7.8 Avoid side effects with default parameters.

  Why? They are confusing to reason about.

  var b = 1;
  // bad
  function count(a = b++) {
    console.log(a);
  }
  count();  // 1
  count();  // 2
  count(3); // 3
  count();  // 3

• 7.9 Always put default parameters last.

  // bad
  function handleThings(opts = {}, name) {
    // ...
  }
  
  // good
  function handleThings(name, opts = {}) {
    // ...
  }

• 7.10 Never use the Function constructor to create a new function. eslint: no-new-func

  Why? Creating a function in this way evaluates a string similarly to eval(), which opens vulnerabilities.

  // bad
  var add = new Function('a', 'b', 'return a + b');
  
  // still bad
  var subtract = Function('a', 'b', 'return a - b');

• 7.11 Spacing in a function signature. eslint: space-before-function-paren space-before-blocks

  Why? Consistency is good, and you shouldn’t have to add or remove a space when adding or removing a name.

  // bad
  const f = function(){};
  const g = function (){};
  const h = function() {};
  
  // good
  const x = function () {};
  const y = function a() {};

• 7.12 Never mutate parameters. eslint: no-param-reassign

  Why? Manipulating objects passed in as parameters can cause unwanted variable side effects in the original caller.

  // bad
  function f1(obj) {
    obj.key = 1;
  };
  
  // good
  function f2(obj) {
    const key = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, 'key') ? obj.key : 1;
  };

• 7.13 Never reassign parameters. eslint: no-param-reassign

  Why? Reassigning parameters can lead to unexpected behavior, especially when accessing the arguments object. It can also cause optimization issues, especially in V8.

  // bad
  function f1(a) {
    a = 1;
  }
  
  function f2(a) {
    if (!a) { a = 1; }
  }
  
  // good
  function f3(a) {
    const b = a || 1;
  }
  
  function f4(a = 1) {
  }

• 7.14 Prefer the use of the spread operator ... to call variadic functions. eslint: prefer-spread

  Why? It's cleaner, you don't need to supply a context, and you can not easily compose new with apply.

  // bad
  const x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
  console.log.apply(console, x);
  
  // good
  const x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
  console.log(...x);
  
  // bad
  new (Function.prototype.bind.apply(Date, [null, 2016, 08, 05]));
  
  // good
  new Date(...[2016, 08, 05]);

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Arrow Functions

• 8.1 When you must use function expressions (as when passing an anonymous function), use arrow function notation. eslint: prefer-arrow-callback, arrow-spacing jscs: requireArrowFunctions

  Why? It creates a version of the function that executes in the context of this, which is usually what you want, and is a more concise syntax.

  Why not? If you have a fairly complicated function, you might move that logic out into its own function declaration.

  // bad
  [1, 2, 3].map(function (x) {
    const y = x + 1;
    return x * y;
  });
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map((x) => {
    const y = x + 1;
    return x * y;
  });

• 8.2 If the function body consists of a single expression, omit the braces and use the implicit return. Otherwise, keep the braces and use a return statement. eslint: arrow-parens, arrow-body-style jscs: disallowParenthesesAroundArrowParam, requireShorthandArrowFunctions

  Why? Syntactic sugar. It reads well when multiple functions are chained together.

  // bad
  [1, 2, 3].map(number => {
    const nextNumber = number + 1;
    `A string containing the ${nextNumber}.`;
  });
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map(number => `A string containing the ${number}.`);
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map((number) => {
    const nextNumber = number + 1;
    return `A string containing the ${nextNumber}.`;
  });
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map((number, index) => ({
    index: number
  }));

• 8.3 In case the expression spans over multiple lines, wrap it in parentheses for better readability.

  Why? It shows clearly where the function starts and ends.

  // bad
  ['get', 'post', 'put'].map(httpMethod => Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(
      httpMagicObjectWithAVeryLongName,
      httpMethod
    )
  );
  
  // good
  ['get', 'post', 'put'].map(httpMethod => (
    Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(
      httpMagicObjectWithAVeryLongName,
      httpMethod
    )
  ));

• 8.4 If your function takes a single argument and doesn’t use braces, omit the parentheses. Otherwise, always include parentheses around arguments. eslint: arrow-parens jscs: disallowParenthesesAroundArrowParam

  Why? Less visual clutter.

  // bad
  [1, 2, 3].map((x) => x * x);
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map(x => x * x);
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map(number => (
    `A long string with the ${number}. It’s so long that we don’t want it to take up space on the .map line!`
  ));
  
  // bad
  [1, 2, 3].map(x => {
    const y = x + 1;
    return x * y;
  });
  
  // good
  [1, 2, 3].map((x) => {
    const y = x + 1;
    return x * y;
  });

• 8.5 Avoid confusing arrow function syntax (=>) with comparison operators (<=, >=). eslint: no-confusing-arrow

  // bad
  const itemHeight = item => item.height > 256 ? item.largeSize : item.smallSize;
  
  // bad
  const itemHeight = (item) => item.height > 256 ? item.largeSize : item.smallSize;
  
  // good
  const itemHeight = item => (item.height > 256 ? item.largeSize : item.smallSize);
  
  // good
  const itemHeight = (item) => {
    const { height, largeSize, smallSize } = item;
    return height > 256 ? largeSize : smallSize;
  };

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Classes & Constructors

• 9.1 Always use class. Avoid manipulating prototype directly.

  Why? class syntax is more concise and easier to reason about.

  // bad
  function Queue(contents = []) {
    this.queue = [...contents];
  }
  Queue.prototype.pop = function () {
    const value = this.queue[0];
    this.queue.splice(0, 1);
    return value;
  };
  
  // good
  class Queue {
    constructor(contents = []) {
      this.queue = [...contents];
    }
    pop() {
      const value = this.queue[0];
      this.queue.splice(0, 1);
      return value;
    }
  }

• 9.2 Use extends for inheritance.

  Why? It is a built-in way to inherit prototype functionality without breaking instanceof.

  // bad
  const inherits = require('inherits');
  function PeekableQueue(contents) {
    Queue.apply(this, contents);
  }
  inherits(PeekableQueue, Queue);
  PeekableQueue.prototype.peek = function () {
    return this._queue[0];
  }
  
  // good
  class PeekableQueue extends Queue {
    peek() {
      return this._queue[0];
    }
  }

• 9.3 Methods can return this to help with method chaining.

  // bad
  Jedi.prototype.jump = function () {
    this.jumping = true;
    return true;
  };
  
  Jedi.prototype.setHeight = function (height) {
    this.height = height;
  };
  
  const luke = new Jedi();
  luke.jump(); // => true
  luke.setHeight(20); // => undefined
  
  // good
  class Jedi {
    jump() {
      this.jumping = true;
      return this;
    }
  
    setHeight(height) {
      this.height = height;
      return this;
    }
  }
  
  const luke = new Jedi();
  
  luke.jump()
    .setHeight(20);

• 9.4 It's okay to write a custom toString() method, just make sure it works successfully and causes no side effects.

  class Jedi {
    constructor(options = {}) {
      this.name = options.name || 'no name';
    }
  
    getName() {
      return this.name;
    }
  
    toString() {
      return `Jedi - ${this.getName()}`;
    }
  }

• 9.5 Classes have a default constructor if one is not specified. An empty constructor function or one that just delegates to a parent class is unnecessary. eslint: no-useless-constructor

  // bad
  class Jedi {
    constructor() {}
  
    getName() {
      return this.name;
    }
  }
  
  // bad
  class Rey extends Jedi {
    constructor(...args) {
      super(...args);
    }
  }
  
  // good
  class Rey extends Jedi {
    constructor(...args) {
      super(...args);
      this.name = 'Rey';
    }
  }

• 9.6 Avoid duplicate class members. eslint: no-dupe-class-members

  Why? Duplicate class member declarations will silently prefer the last one - having duplicates is almost certainly a bug.

  // bad
  class Foo {
    bar() { return 1; }
    bar() { return 2; }
  }
  
  // good
  class Foo {
    bar() { return 1; }
  }
  
  // good
  class Foo {
    bar() { return 2; }
  }

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Modules

• 10.1 Always use modules (import/export) over a non-standard module system. You can always transpile to your preferred module system.

  Why? Modules are the future, let's start using the future now.

  // bad
  const AirbnbStyleGuide = require('./AirbnbStyleGuide');
  module.exports = AirbnbStyleGuide.es6;
  
  // ok
  import AirbnbStyleGuide from './AirbnbStyleGuide';
  export default AirbnbStyleGuide.es6;
  
  // best
  import { es6 } from './AirbnbStyleGuide';
  export default es6;

• 10.2 Do not use wildcard imports.

  Why? This makes sure you have a single default export.

  // bad
  import * as AirbnbStyleGuide from './AirbnbStyleGuide';
  
  // good
  import AirbnbStyleGuide from './AirbnbStyleGuide';

• 10.3 And do not export directly from an import.

  Why? Although the one-liner is concise, having one clear way to import and one clear way to export makes things consistent.

  // bad
  // filename es6.js
  export { es6 as default } from './airbnbStyleGuide';
  
  // good
  // filename es6.js
  import { es6 } from './AirbnbStyleGuide';
  export default es6;

• 10.4 Only import from a path in one place. eslint: no-duplicate-imports

  Why? Having multiple lines that import from the same path can make code harder to maintain.

  // bad
  import foo from 'foo';
  // … some other imports … //
  import { named1, named2 } from 'foo';
  
  // good
  import foo, { named1, named2 } from 'foo';
  
  // good
  import foo, {
    named1,
    named2,
  } from 'foo';

• 10.5 Do not export mutable bindings. eslint: import/no-mutable-exports

  Why? Mutation should be avoided in general, but in particular when exporting mutable bindings. While this technique may be needed for some special cases, in general, only constant references should be exported.

  // bad
  let foo = 3;
  export { foo }
  
  // good
  const foo = 3;
  export { foo }

• 10.6 In modules with a single export, prefer default export over named export. eslint: import/prefer-default-export

  // bad
  export function foo() {}
  
  // good
  export default function foo() {}

• 10.7 Put all imports above non-import statements. eslint: import/imports-first

  Why? Since imports are hoisted, keeping them all at the top prevents surprising behavior.

  // bad
  import foo from 'foo';
  foo.init();
  
  import bar from 'bar';
  
  // good
  import foo from 'foo';
  import bar from 'bar';
  
  foo.init();

⬆ back to top

Iterators and Generators

• 11.1 Don't use iterators. Prefer JavaScript's higher-order functions instead of loops like for-in or for-of. eslint: no-iterator no-restricted-syntax

  Why? This enforces our immutable rule. Dealing with pure functions that return values is easier to reason about than side effects.

  Use map() / every() / filter() / find() / findIndex() / reduce() / some() / ... to iterate over arrays, and Object.keys() / Object.values() / Object.entries() to produce arrays so you can iterate over objects.

  const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
  
  // bad
  let sum = 0;
  for (let num of numbers) {
    sum += num;
  }
  
  sum === 15;
  
  // good
  let sum = 0;
  numbers.forEach(num => sum += num);
  sum === 15;
  
  // best (use the functional force)
  const sum = numbers.reduce((total, num) => total + num, 0);
  sum === 15;

• 11.2 Don't use generators for now.

  Why? They don't transpile well to ES5.

• 11.3 If you must use generators, or if you disregard our advice, make sure their function signature is spaced properly. eslint: generator-star-spacing

  Why? function and * are part of the same conceptual keyword - * is not a modifier for function, function* is a unique construct, different from function.

  // bad
  function * foo() {
  }
  
  const bar = function * () {
  }
  
  const baz = function *() {
  }
  
  const quux = function*() {
  }
  
  function*foo() {
  }
  
  function *foo() {
  }
  
  // very bad
  function
  *
  foo() {
  }
  
  const wat = function
  *
  () {
  }
  
  // good
  function* foo() {
  }
  
  const foo = function* () {
  }

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Properties

• 12.1 Use dot notation when accessing properties. eslint: dot-notation jscs: requireDotNotation

  const luke = {
    jedi: true,
    age: 28,
  };
  
  // bad
  const isJedi = luke['jedi'];
  
  // good
  const isJedi = luke.jedi;

• 12.2 Use bracket notation [] when accessing properties with a variable.

  const luke = {
    jedi: true,
    age: 28,
  };
  
  function getProp(prop) {
    return luke[prop];
  }
  
  const isJedi = getProp('jedi');

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Variables

• 13.1 Always use const to declare variables. Not doing so will result in global variables. We want to avoid polluting the global namespace. Captain Planet warned us of that. eslint: no-undef prefer-const

  // bad
  superPower = new SuperPower();
  
  // good
  const superPower = new SuperPower();

• 13.2 Use one const declaration per variable. eslint: one-var jscs: disallowMultipleVarDecl

  Why? It's easier to add new variable declarations this way, and you never have to worry about swapping out a ; for a , or introducing punctuation-only diffs. You can also step through each declaration with the debugger, instead of jumping through all of them at once.

  // bad
  const items = getItems(),
      goSportsTeam = true,
      dragonball = 'z';
  
  // bad
  // (compare to above, and try to spot the mistake)
  const items = getItems(),
      goSportsTeam = true;
      dragonball = 'z';
  
  // good
  const items = getItems();
  const goSportsTeam = true;
  const dragonball = 'z';

• 13.3 Group all your consts and then group all your lets.

  Why? This is helpful when later on you might need to assign a variable depending on one of the previous assigned variables.

  // bad
  let i, len, dragonball,
      items = getItems(),
      goSportsTeam = true;
  
  // bad
  let i;
  const items = getItems();
  let dragonball;
  const goSportsTeam = true;
  let len;
  
  // good
  const goSportsTeam = true;
  const items = getItems();
  let dragonball;
  let i;
  let length;

• 13.4 Assign variables where you need them, but place them in a reasonable place.

  Why? let and const are block scoped and not function scoped.

  // bad - unnecessary function call
  function checkName(hasName) {
    const name = getName();
  
    if (hasName === 'test') {
      return false;
    }
  
    if (name === 'test') {
      this.setName('');
      return false;
    }
  
    return name;
  }
  
  // good
  function checkName(hasName) {
    if (hasName === 'test') {
      return false;
    }
  
    const name = getName();
  
    if (name === 'test') {
      this.setName('');
      return false;
    }
  
    return name;
  }

• 13.5 Don't chain variable assignments.

  Why? Chaining variable assignments creates implicit global variables.

  // bad
  (function example() {
    // JavaScript interprets this as
    // let a = ( b = ( c = 1 ) );
    // The let keyword only applies to variable a; variables b and c become
    // global variables.
    let a = b = c = 1;
  }());
  
  console.log(a); // undefined
  console.log(b); // 1
  console.log(c); // 1
  
  // good
  (function example() {
    let a = 1;
    let b = a;
    let c = a;
  }());
  
  console.log(a); // undefined
  console.log(b); // undefined
  console.log(c); // undefined
  
  // the same applies for `const`

• 13.6 Avoid using unary increments and decrements (++, --). eslint no-plusplus

  Why? Per the eslint documentation, unary increment and decrement statements are subject to automatic semicolon insertion and can cause silent errors with incrementing or decrementing values within an application. It is also more expressive to mutate your values with statements like num += 1 instead of num ++. Disallowing unary increment and decrement statements also prevents you from pre-incrementing/pre-decrementing values unintentionally which can also cause unexpected behavior in your programs.

    // bad
  
    let array = [1, 2, 3];
    let num = 1;
    let increment = num ++;
    let decrement = -- num;
  
    for(let i = 0; i < array.length; i++){
      let value = array[i];
      ++value;
    }
  
    // good
  
    let array = [1, 2, 3];
    let num = 1;
    let increment = num += 1;
    let decrement = num -= 1;
  
    array.forEach((value) => {
      value += 1;
    });

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Hoisting

• 14.1 var declarations get hoisted to the top of their scope, their assignment does not. const and let declarations are blessed with a new concept called Temporal Dead Zones (TDZ). It's important to know why typeof is no longer safe.

  // we know this wouldn't work (assuming there
  // is no notDefined global variable)
  function example() {
    console.log(notDefined); // => throws a ReferenceError
  }
  
  // creating a variable declaration after you
  // reference the variable will work due to
  // variable hoisting. Note: the assignment
  // value of `true` is not hoisted.
  function example() {
    console.log(declaredButNotAssigned); // => undefined
    var declaredButNotAssigned = true;
  }
  
  // the interpreter is hoisting the variable
  // declaration to the top of the scope,
  // which means our example could be rewritten as:
  function example() {
    let declaredButNotAssigned;
    console.log(declaredButNotAssigned); // => undefined
    declaredButNotAssigned = true;
  }
  
  // using const and let
  function example() {
    console.log(declaredButNotAssigned); // => throws a ReferenceError
    console.log(typeof declaredButNotAssigned); // => throws a ReferenceError
    const declaredButNotAssigned = true;
  }

• 14.2 Anonymous function expressions hoist their variable name, but not the function assignment.

  function example() {
    console.log(anonymous); // => undefined
  
    anonymous(); // => TypeError anonymous is not a function
  
    var anonymous = function () {
      console.log('anonymous function expression');
    };
  }

• 14.3 Named function expressions hoist the variable name, not the function name or the function body.

  function example() {
    console.log(named); // => undefined
  
    named(); // => TypeError named is not a function
  
    superPower(); // => ReferenceError superPower is not defined
  
    var named = function superPower() {
      console.log('Flying');
    };
  }
  
  // the same is true when the function name
  // is the same as the variable name.
  function example() {
    console.log(named); // => undefined
  
    named(); // => TypeError named is not a function
  
    var named = function named() {
      console.log('named');
    }
  }

• 14.4 Function declarations hoist their name and the function body.

  function example() {
    superPower(); // => Flying
  
    function superPower() {
      console.log('Flying');
    }
  }

• For more information refer to JavaScript Scoping & Hoisting by Ben Cherry.

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Comparison Operators & Equality

• 15.1 Use === and !== over == and !=. eslint: eqeqeq

• 15.2 Conditional statements such as the if statement evaluate their expression using coercion with the ToBoolean abstract method and always follow these simple rules:

  • Objects evaluate to true
  • Undefined evaluates to false
  • Null evaluates to false
  • Booleans evaluate to the value of the boolean
  • Numbers evaluate to false if +0, -0, or NaN, otherwise true
  • Strings evaluate to false if an empty string '', otherwise true

  if ([0] && []) {
    // true
    // an array (even an empty one) is an object, objects will evaluate to true
  }

• 15.3 Use shortcuts.

  // bad
  if (name !== '') {
    // ...stuff...
  }
  
  // good
  if (name) {
    // ...stuff...
  }
  
  // bad
  if (collection.length > 0) {
    // ...stuff...
  }
  
  // good
  if (collection.length) {
    // ...stuff...
  }

• 15.4 For more information see Truth Equality and JavaScript by Angus Croll.

• 15.5 Use braces to create blocks in case and default clauses that contain lexical declarations (e.g. let, const, function, and class).

  Why? Lexical declarations are visible in the entire switch block but only get initialized when assigned, which only happens when its case is reached. This causes problems when multiple case clauses attempt to define the same thing.

  eslint rules: no-case-declarations.

  // bad
  switch (foo) {
    case 1:
      let x = 1;
      break;
    case 2:
      const y = 2;
      break;
    case 3:
      function f() {}
      break;
    default:
      class C {}
  }
  
  // good
  switch (foo) {
    case 1: {
      let x = 1;
      break;
    }
    case 2: {
      const y = 2;
      break;
    }
    case 3: {
      function f() {}
      break;
    }
    case 4:
      bar();
      break;
    default: {
      class C {}
    }
  }

• 15.6 Ternaries should not be nested and generally be single line expressions.

  eslint rules: no-nested-ternary.

  // bad
  const foo = maybe1 > maybe2
    ? "bar"
    : value1 > value2 ? "baz" : null;
  
  // better
  const maybeNull = value1 > value2 ? 'baz' : null;
  
  const foo = maybe1 > maybe2
    ? 'bar'
    : maybeNull;
  
  // best
  const maybeNull = value1 > value2 ? 'baz' : null;
  
  const foo = maybe1 > maybe2 ? 'bar' : maybeNull;

• 15.7 Avoid unneeded ternary statements.

  eslint rules: no-unneeded-ternary.

  // bad
  const foo = a ? a : b;
  const bar = c ? true : false;
  const baz = c ? false : true;
  
  // good
  const foo = a || b;
  const bar = !!c;
  const baz = !c;

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Blocks

• 16.1 Use braces with all multi-line blocks.

  // bad
  if (test)
    return false;
  
  // good
  if (test) return false;
  
  // good
  if (test) {
    return false;
  }
  
  // bad
  function foo() { return false; }
  
  // good
  function bar() {
    return false;
  }

• 16.2 If you're using multi-line blocks with if and else, put else on the same line as your if block's closing brace. eslint: brace-style jscs: disallowNewlineBeforeBlockStatements

  // bad
  if (test) {
    thing1();
    thing2();
  }
  else {
    thing3();
  }
  
  // good
  if (test) {
    thing1();
    thing2();
  } else {
    thing3();
  }

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Comments

• 17.1 Use /** ... */ for multi-line comments.

  // bad
  // make() returns a new element
  // based on the passed in tag name
  //
  // @param {String} tag
  // @return {Element} element
  function make(tag) {
  
    // ...stuff...
  
    return element;
  }
  
  // good
  /**
   * make() returns a new element
   * based on the passed-in tag name
   */
  function make(tag) {
  
    // ...stuff...
  
    return element;
  }

• 17.2 Use // for single line comments. Place single line comments on a newline above the subject of the comment. Put an empty line before the comment unless it's on the first line of a block.

  // bad
  const active = true;  // is current tab
  
  // good
  // is current tab
  const active = true;
  
  // bad
  function getType() {
    console.log('fetching type...');
    // set the default type to 'no type'
    const type = this._type || 'no type';
  
    return type;
  }
  
  // good
  function getType() {
    console.log('fetching type...');
  
    // set the default type to 'no type'
    const type = this._type || 'no type';
  
    return type;
  }
  
  // also good
  function getType() {
    // set the default type to 'no type'
    const type = this._type || 'no type';
  
    return type;
  }

• 17.3 Prefixing your comments with FIXME or TODO helps other developers quickly understand if you're pointing out a problem that needs to be revisited, or if you're suggesting a solution to the problem that needs to be implemented. These are different than regular comments because they are actionable. The actions are FIXME: -- need to figure this out or TODO: -- need to implement.

• 17.4 Use // FIXME: to annotate problems.

  class Calculator extends Abacus {
    constructor() {
      super();
  
      // FIXME: shouldn't use a global here
      total = 0;
    }
  }

• 17.5 Use // TODO: to annotate solutions to problems.

  class Calculator extends Abacus {
    constructor() {
      super();
  
      // TODO: total should be configurable by an options param
      this.total = 0;
    }
  }

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Whitespace

• 18.1 Use soft tabs set to 2 spaces. eslint: indent jscs: validateIndentation

  // bad
  function foo() {
  ∙∙∙∙const name;
  }
  
  // bad
  function bar() {
  ∙const name;
  }
  
  // good
  function baz() {
  ∙∙const name;
  }

• 18.2 Place 1 space before the leading brace. eslint: space-before-blocks jscs: requireSpaceBeforeBlockStatements

  // bad
  function test(){
    console.log('test');
  }
  
  // good
  function test() {
    console.log('test');
  }
  
  // bad
  dog.set('attr',{
    age: '1 year',
    breed: 'Bernese Mountain Dog',
  });
  
  // good
  dog.set('attr', {
    age: '1 year',
    breed: 'Bernese Mountain Dog',
  });

• 18.3 Place 1 space before the opening parenthesis in control statements (if, while etc.). Place no space between the argument list and the function name in function calls and declarations. eslint: keyword-spacing jscs: requireSpaceAfterKeywords

  // bad
  if(isJedi) {
    fight ();
  }
  
  // good
  if (isJedi) {
    fight();
  }
  
  // bad
  function fight () {
    console.log ('Swooosh!');
  }
  
  // good
  function fight() {
    console.log('Swooosh!');
  }

• 18.4 Set off operators with spaces. eslint: space-infix-ops jscs: requireSpaceBeforeBinaryOperators, requireSpaceAfterBinaryOperators

  // bad
  const x=y+5;
  
  // good
  const x = y + 5;

• 18.5 End files with a single newline character. eslint: eol-last

  // bad
  (function (global) {
    // ...stuff...
  })(this);

  // bad
  (function (global) {
    // ...stuff...
  })(this);↵
  ↵

  // good
  (function (global) {
    // ...stuff...
  })(this);↵

• 18.6 Use indentation when making long method chains (more than 2 method chains). Use a leading dot, which emphasizes that the line is a method call, not a new statement. eslint: newline-per-chained-call no-whitespace-before-property

  // bad
  $('#items').find('.selected').highlight().end().find('.open').updateCount();
  
  // bad
  $('#items').
    find('.selected').
      highlight().
      end().
    find('.open').
      updateCount();
  
  // good
  $('#items')
    .find('.selected')
      .highlight()
      .end()
    .find('.open')
      .updateCount();
  
  // bad
  const leds = stage.selectAll('.led').data(data).enter().append('svg:svg').classed('led', true)
      .attr('width', (radius + margin) * 2).append('svg:g')
      .attr('transform', 'translate(' + (radius + margin) + ',' + (radius + margin) + ')')
      .call(tron.led);
  
  // good
  const leds = stage.selectAll('.led')
      .data(data)
    .enter().append('svg:svg')
      .classed('led', true)
      .attr('width', (radius + margin) * 2)
    .append('svg:g')
      .attr('transform', 'translate(' + (radius + margin) + ',' + (radius + margin) + ')')
      .call(tron.led);
  
  // good
  const leds = stage.selectAll('.led').data(data);

• 18.7 Leave a blank line after blocks and before the next statement. jscs: requirePaddingNewLinesAfterBlocks

  // bad
  if (foo) {
    return bar;
  }
  return baz;
  
  // good
  if (foo) {
    return bar;
  }
  
  return baz;
  
  // bad
  const obj = {
    foo() {
    },
    bar() {
    },
  };
  return obj;
  
  // good
  const obj = {
    foo() {
    },
  
    bar() {
    },
  };
  
  return obj;
  
  // bad
  const arr = [
    function foo() {
    },
    function bar() {
    },
  ];
  return arr;
  
  // good
  const arr = [
    function foo() {
    },
  
    function bar() {
    },
  ];
  
  return arr;

• 18.8 Do not pad your blocks with blank lines. eslint: padded-blocks jscs: disallowPaddingNewlinesInBlocks

  // bad
  function bar() {
  
    console.log(foo);
  
  }
  
  // also bad
  if (baz) {
  
    console.log(qux);
  } else {
    console.log(foo);
  
  }
  
  // good
  function bar() {
    console.log(foo);
  }
  
  // good
  if (baz) {
    console.log(qux);
  } else {
    console.log(foo);
  }

• 18.9 Do not add spaces inside parentheses. eslint: space-in-parens jscs: disallowSpacesInsideParentheses

  // bad
  function bar( foo ) {
    return foo;
  }
  
  // good
  function bar(foo) {
    return foo;
  }
  
  // bad
  if ( foo ) {
    console.log(foo);
  }
  
  // good
  if (foo) {
    console.log(foo);
  }

• 18.10 Do not add spaces inside brackets. eslint: array-bracket-spacing jscs: disallowSpacesInsideArrayBrackets

  // bad
  const foo = [ 1, 2, 3 ];
  console.log(foo[ 0 ]);
  
  // good
  const foo = [1, 2, 3];
  console.log(foo[0]);

• 18.11 Add spaces inside curly braces. eslint: object-curly-spacing jscs: requireSpacesInsideObjectBrackets

  // bad
  const foo = {clark: 'kent'};
  
  // good
  const foo = { clark: 'kent' };

• 18.12 Avoid having lines of code that are longer than 100 characters (including whitespace). Note: per above, long strings are exempt from this rule, and should not be broken up. eslint: max-len jscs: maximumLineLength

  Why? This ensures readability and maintainability.

  // bad
  const foo = jsonData && jsonData.foo && jsonData.foo.bar && jsonData.foo.bar.baz && jsonData.foo.bar.baz.quux && jsonData.foo.bar.baz.quux.xyzzy;
  
  // bad
  $.ajax({ method: 'POST', url: 'https://airbnb.com/', data: { name: 'John' } }).done(() => console.log('Congratulations!')).fail(() => console.log('You have failed this city.'));
  
  // good
  const foo = jsonData
    && jsonData.foo
    && jsonData.foo.bar
    && jsonData.foo.bar.baz
    && jsonData.foo.bar.baz.quux
    && jsonData.foo.bar.baz.quux.xyzzy;
  
  // good
  $.ajax({
    method: 'POST',
    url: 'https://airbnb.com/',
    data: { name: 'John' },
  })
    .done(() => console.log('Congratulations!'))
    .fail(() => console.log('You have failed this city.'));

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Commas

• 19.1 Leading commas: Nope. eslint: comma-style jscs: requireCommaBeforeLineBreak

  // bad
  const story = [
      once
    , upon
    , aTime
  ];
  
  // good
  const story = [
    once,
    upon,
    aTime,
  ];
  
  // bad
  const hero = {
      firstName: 'Ada'
    , lastName: 'Lovelace'
    , birthYear: 1815
    , superPower: 'computers'
  };
  
  // good
  const hero = {
    firstName: 'Ada',
    lastName: 'Lovelace',
    birthYear: 1815,
    superPower: 'computers',
  };

• 19.2 Additional trailing comma: Yup. eslint: comma-dangle jscs: requireTrailingComma

  Why? This leads to cleaner git diffs. Also, transpilers like Babel will remove the additional trailing comma in the transpiled code which means you don't have to worry about the trailing comma problem in legacy browsers.

  // bad - git diff without trailing comma
  const hero = {
       firstName: 'Florence',
  -    lastName: 'Nightingale'
  +    lastName: 'Nightingale',
  +    inventorOf: ['coxcomb chart', 'modern nursing']
  };
  
  // good - git diff with trailing comma
  const hero = {
       firstName: 'Florence',
       lastName: 'Nightingale',
  +    inventorOf: ['coxcomb chart', 'modern nursing'],
  };
  
  // bad
  const hero = {
    firstName: 'Dana',
    lastName: 'Scully'
  };
  
  const heroes = [
    'Batman',
    'Superman'
  ];
  
  // good
  const hero = {
    firstName: 'Dana',
    lastName: 'Scully',
  };
  
  const heroes = [
    'Batman',
    'Superman',
  ];

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Semicolons

• 20.1 Yup. eslint: semi jscs: requireSemicolons

  // bad
  (function () {
    const name = 'Skywalker'
    return name
  })()
  
  // good
  (function () {
    const name = 'Skywalker';
    return name;
  }());
  
  // good, but legacy (guards against the function becoming an argument when two files with IIFEs are concatenated)
  ;(() => {
    const name = 'Skywalker';
    return name;
  }());

  Read more.

⬆ back to top

Type Casting & Coercion

• 21.1 Perform type coercion at the beginning of the statement.

• 21.2 Strings:

  // => this.reviewScore = 9;
  
  // bad
  const totalScore = this.reviewScore + ''; // invokes this.reviewScore.valueOf()
  
  // bad
  const totalScore = this.reviewScore.toString(); // isn't guaranteed to return a string
  
  // good
  const totalScore = String(this.reviewScore);

• 21.3 Numbers: Use Number for type casting and parseInt always with a radix for parsing strings. eslint: radix

  const inputValue = '4';
  
  // bad
  const val = new Number(inputValue);
  
  // bad
  const val = +inputValue;
  
  // bad
  const val = inputValue >> 0;
  
  // bad
  const val = parseInt(inputValue);
  
  // good
  const val = Number(inputValue);
  
  // good
  const val = parseInt(inputValue, 10);

• 21.4 If for whatever reason you are doing something wild and parseInt is your bottleneck and need to use Bitshift for performance reasons, leave a comment explaining why and what you're doing.

  // good
  /**
   * parseInt was the reason my code was slow.
   * Bitshifting the String to coerce it to a
   * Number made it a lot faster.
   */
  const val = inputValue >> 0;

• 21.5 Note: Be careful when using bitshift operations. Numbers are represented as 64-bit values, but bitshift operations always return a 32-bit integer (source). Bitshift can lead to unexpected behavior for integer values larger than 32 bits. Discussion. Largest signed 32-bit Int is 2,147,483,647:

  2147483647 >> 0 //=> 2147483647
  2147483648 >> 0 //=> -2147483648
  2147483649 >> 0 //=> -2147483647

• 21.6 Booleans:

  const age = 0;
  
  // bad
  const hasAge = new Boolean(age);
  
  // good
  const hasAge = Boolean(age);
  
  // best
  const hasAge = !!age;

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Naming Conventions

• 22.1 Avoid single letter names. Be descriptive with your naming. eslint: id-length

  // bad
  function q() {
    // ...stuff...
  }
  
  // good
  function query() {
    // ..stuff..
  }

• 22.2 Use camelCase when naming objects, functions, and instances. eslint: camelcase jscs: requireCamelCaseOrUpperCaseIdentifiers

  // bad
  const OBJEcttsssss = {};
  const this_is_my_object = {};
  function c() {}
  
  // good
  const thisIsMyObject = {};
  function thisIsMyFunction() {}

• 22.3 Use PascalCase only when naming constructors or classes. eslint: new-cap jscs: requireCapitalizedConstructors

  // bad
  function user(options) {
    this.name = options.name;
  }
  
  const bad = new user({
    name: 'nope',
  });
  
  // good
  class User {
    constructor(options) {
      this.name = options.name;
    }
  }
  
  const good = new User({
    name: 'yup',
  });

• 22.4 Do not use trailing or leading underscores. eslint: no-underscore-dangle jscs: disallowDanglingUnderscores

  Why? JavaScript does not have the concept of privacy in terms of properties or methods. Although a leading underscore is a common convention to mean “private”, in fact, these properties are fully public, and as such, are part of your public API contract. This convention might lead developers to wrongly think that a change won't count as breaking, or that tests aren't needed. tl;dr: if you want something to be “private”, it must not be observably present.

  // bad
  this.__firstName__ = 'Panda';
  this.firstName_ = 'Panda';
  this._firstName = 'Panda';
  
  // good
  this.firstName = 'Panda';

• 22.5 Don't save references to this. Use arrow functions or Function#bind. jscs: disallowNodeTypes

  // bad
  function foo() {
    const self = this;
    return function () {
      console.log(self);
    };
  }
  
  // bad
  function foo() {
    const that = this;
    return function () {
      console.log(that);
    };
  }
  
  // good
  function foo() {
    return () => {
      console.log(this);
    };
  }

• 22.6 A base filename should exactly match the name of its default export.

  // file 1 contents
  class CheckBox {
    // ...
  }
  export default CheckBox;
  
  // file 2 contents
  export default function fortyTwo() { return 42; }
  
  // file 3 contents
  export default function insideDirectory() {}
  
  // in some other file
  // bad
  import CheckBox from './checkBox'; // PascalCase import/export, camelCase filename
  import FortyTwo from './FortyTwo'; // PascalCase import/filename, camelCase export
  import InsideDirectory from './InsideDirectory'; // PascalCase import/filename, camelCase export
  
  // bad
  import CheckBox from './check_box'; // PascalCase import/export, snake_case filename
  import forty_two from './forty_two'; // snake_case import/filename, camelCase export
  import inside_directory from './inside_directory'; // snake_case import, camelCase export
  import index from './inside_directory/index'; // requiring the index file explicitly
  import insideDirectory from './insideDirectory/index'; // requiring the index file explicitly
  
  // good
  import CheckBox from './CheckBox'; // PascalCase export/import/filename
  import fortyTwo from './fortyTwo'; // camelCase export/import/filename
  import insideDirectory from './insideDirectory'; // camelCase export/import/directory name/implicit "index"
  // ^ supports both insideDirectory.js and insideDirectory/index.js

• 22.7 Use camelCase when you export-default a function. Your filename should be identical to your function's name.

  function makeStyleGuide() {
  }
  
  export default makeStyleGuide;

• 22.8 Use PascalCase when you export a constructor / class / singleton / function library / bare object.

  const AirbnbStyleGuide = {
    es6: {
    }
  };
  
  export default AirbnbStyleGuide;

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Accessors

• 23.1 Accessor functions for properties are not required.

• 23.2 Do not use JavaScript getters/setters as they cause unexpected side effects and are harder to test, maintain, and reason about. Instead, if you do make accessor functions, use getVal() and setVal('hello').

  // bad
  class Dragon {
    get age() {
      // ...
    }
  
    set age(value) {
      // ...
    }
  }
  
  // good
  class Dragon {
    getAge() {
      // ...
    }
  
    setAge(value) {
      // ...
    }
  }

• 23.3 If the property/method is a boolean, use isVal() or hasVal().

  // bad
  if (!dragon.age()) {
    return false;
  }
  
  // good
  if (!dragon.hasAge()) {
    return false;
  }

• 23.4 It's okay to create get() and set() functions, but be consistent.

  class Jedi {
    constructor(options = {}) {
      const lightsaber = options.lightsaber || 'blue';
      this.set('lightsaber', lightsaber);
    }
  
    set(key, val) {
      this[key] = val;
    }
  
    get(key) {
      return this[key];
    }
  }

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Events

• 24.1 When attaching data payloads to events (whether DOM events or something more proprietary like Backbone events), pass a hash instead of a raw value. This allows a subsequent contributor to add more data to the event payload without finding and updating every handler for the event. For example, instead of:

  // bad
  $(this).trigger('listingUpdated', listing.id);
  
  ...
  
  $(this).on('listingUpdated', (e, listingId) => {
    // do something with listingId
  });

  prefer:

  // good
  $(this).trigger('listingUpdated', { listingId: listing.id });
  
  ...
  
  $(this).on('listingUpdated', (e, data) => {
    // do something with data.listingId
  });

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jQuery

• 25.1 Prefix jQuery object variables with a $. jscs: requireDollarBeforejQueryAssignment

  // bad
  const sidebar = $('.sidebar');
  
  // good
  const $sidebar = $('.sidebar');
  
  // good
  const $sidebarBtn = $('.sidebar-btn');

• 25.2 Cache jQuery lookups.

  // bad
  function setSidebar() {
    $('.sidebar').hide();
  
    // ...stuff...
  
    $('.sidebar').css({
      'background-color': 'pink'
    });
  }
  
  // good
  function setSidebar() {
    const $sidebar = $('.sidebar');
    $sidebar.hide();
  
    // ...stuff...
  
    $sidebar.css({
      'background-color': 'pink'
    });
  }

• 25.3 For DOM queries use Cascading $('.sidebar ul') or parent > child $('.sidebar > ul'). jsPerf

• 25.4 Use find with scoped jQuery object queries.

  // bad
  $('ul', '.sidebar').hide();
  
  // bad
  $('.sidebar').find('ul').hide();
  
  // good
  $('.sidebar ul').hide();
  
  // good
  $('.sidebar > ul').hide();
  
  // good
  $sidebar.find('ul').hide();

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ECMAScript 5 Compatibility

• 26.1 Refer to Kangax's ES5 compatibility table.

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ECMAScript 6+ (ES 2015+) Styles

• 27.1 This is a collection of links to the various ES6 features.

1. Arrow Functions
2. Classes
3. Object Shorthand
4. Object Concise
5. Object Computed Properties
6. Template Strings
7. Destructuring
8. Default Parameters
9. Rest
10. Array Spreads
11. Let and Const
12. Iterators and Generators

13. Modules

    • 27.2 Do not use TC39 proposals that have not reached stage 3.

    Why? They are not finalized, and they are subject to change or to be withdrawn entirely. We want to use JavaScript, and proposals are not JavaScript yet.

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Testing

• 28.1 Yup.

  function foo() {
    return true;
  }

• 28.2 No, but seriously:
  • Whichever testing framework you use, you should be writing tests!
  • Strive to write many small pure functions, and minimize where mutations occur.
  • Be cautious about stubs and mocks - they can make your tests more brittle.
  • We primarily use mocha at Airbnb. tape is also used occasionally for small, separate modules.
  • 100% test coverage is a good goal to strive for, even if it's not always practical to reach it.
  • Whenever you fix a bug, write a regression test. A bug fixed without a regression test is almost certainly going to break again in the future.

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Performance

• On Layout & Web Performance
• String vs Array Concat
• Try/Catch Cost In a Loop
• Bang Function
• jQuery Find vs Context, Selector
• innerHTML vs textContent for script text
• Long String Concatenation
• Are Javascript functions like map(), reduce(), and filter() optimized for traversing arrays?
• Loading...

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Resources

Learning ES6

• Draft ECMA 2015 (ES6) Spec
• ExploringJS
• ES6 Compatibility Table
• Comprehensive Overview of ES6 Features

Read This

• Standard ECMA-262

Tools

• Code Style Linters
  • ESlint - Airbnb Style .eslintrc
  • JSHint - Airbnb Style .jshintrc
  • JSCS - Airbnb Style Preset

Other Style Guides

• Google JavaScript Style Guide
• jQuery Core Style Guidelines
• Principles of Writing Consistent, Idiomatic JavaScript

Other Styles

• Naming this in nested functions - Christian Johansen
• Conditional Callbacks - Ross Allen
• Popular JavaScript Coding Conventions on Github - JeongHoon Byun
• Multiple var statements in JavaScript, not superfluous - Ben Alman

Further Reading

• Understanding JavaScript Closures - Angus Croll
• Basic JavaScript for the impatient programmer - Dr. Axel Rauschmayer
• You Might Not Need jQuery - Zack Bloom & Adam Schwartz
• ES6 Features - Luke Hoban
• Frontend Guidelines - Benjamin De Cock

Books

• JavaScript: The Good Parts - Douglas Crockford
• JavaScript Patterns - Stoyan Stefanov
• Pro JavaScript Design Patterns - Ross Harmes and Dustin Diaz
• High Performance Web Sites: Essential Knowledge for Front-End Engineers - Steve Souders
• Maintainable JavaScript - Nicholas C. Zakas
• JavaScript Web Applications - Alex MacCaw
• Pro JavaScript Techniques - John Resig
• Smashing Node.js: JavaScript Everywhere - Guillermo Rauch
• Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja - John Resig and Bear Bibeault
• Human JavaScript - Henrik Joreteg
• Superhero.js - Kim Joar Bekkelund, Mads Mobæk, & Olav Bjorkoy
• JSBooks - Julien Bouquillon
• Third Party JavaScript - Ben Vinegar and Anton Kovalyov
• Effective JavaScript: 68 Specific Ways to Harness the Power of JavaScript - David Herman
• Eloquent JavaScript - Marijn Haverbeke
• You Don't Know JS: ES6 & Beyond - Kyle Simpson

Blogs

• DailyJS
• JavaScript Weekly
• JavaScript, JavaScript...
• Bocoup Weblog
• Adequately Good
• NCZOnline
• Perfection Kills
• Ben Alman
• Dmitry Baranovskiy
• Dustin Diaz
• nettuts

Podcasts

• JavaScript Air
• JavaScript Jabber

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In the Wild

This is a list of organizations that are using this style guide. Send us a pull request and we'll add you to the list.

• 4Catalyzer: 4Catalyzer/javascript
• Aan Zee: AanZee/javascript
• Adult Swim: adult-swim/javascript
• Airbnb: airbnb/javascript
• Apartmint: apartmint/javascript
• Ascribe: ascribe/javascript
• Avalara: avalara/javascript
• Avant: avantcredit/javascript
• Billabong: billabong/javascript
• Bisk: bisk/javascript
• Blendle: blendle/javascript
• Brainshark: brainshark/javascript
• Chartboost: ChartBoost/javascript-style-guide
• ComparaOnline: comparaonline/javascript
• Compass Learning: compasslearning/javascript-style-guide
• DailyMotion: dailymotion/javascript
• DoSomething: DoSomething/eslint-config
• Digitpaint digitpaint/javascript
• Ecosia: ecosia/javascript
• Evernote: evernote/javascript-style-guide
• Evolution Gaming: evolution-gaming/javascript
• EvozonJs: evozonjs/javascript
• ExactTarget: ExactTarget/javascript
• Expensify Expensify/Style-Guide
• Flexberry: Flexberry/javascript-style-guide
• Gawker Media: gawkermedia/javascript
• General Electric: GeneralElectric/javascript
• GoodData: gooddata/gdc-js-style
• Grooveshark: grooveshark/javascript
• How About We: howaboutwe/javascript
• Huballin: huballin/javascript
• HubSpot: HubSpot/javascript
• Hyper: hyperoslo/javascript-playbook
• InfoJobs: InfoJobs/JavaScript-Style-Guide
• Intent Media: intentmedia/javascript
• Jam3: Jam3/Javascript-Code-Conventions
• JeopardyBot: kesne/jeopardy-bot
• JSSolutions: JSSolutions/javascript
• KickorStick: kickorstick/javascript
• Kinetica Solutions: kinetica/javascript
• M2GEN: M2GEN/javascript
• Mighty Spring: mightyspring/javascript
• MinnPost: MinnPost/javascript
• MitocGroup: MitocGroup/javascript
• ModCloth: modcloth/javascript
• Money Advice Service: moneyadviceservice/javascript
• Muber: muber/javascript
• National Geographic: natgeo/javascript
• National Park Service: nationalparkservice/javascript
• Nimbl3: nimbl3/javascript
• Orion Health: orionhealth/javascript
• OutBoxSoft: OutBoxSoft/javascript
• Peerby: Peerby/javascript
• Razorfish: razorfish/javascript-style-guide
• reddit: reddit/styleguide/javascript
• React: /facebook/react/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#style-guide
• REI: reidev/js-style-guide
• Ripple: ripple/javascript-style-guide
• SeekingAlpha: seekingalpha/javascript-style-guide
• Shutterfly: shutterfly/javascript
• Springload: springload/javascript
• StratoDem Analytics: stratodem/javascript
• SteelKiwi Development: steelkiwi/javascript
• StudentSphere: studentsphere/javascript
• SysGarage: sysgarage/javascript-style-guide
• Syzygy Warsaw: syzygypl/javascript
• Target: target/javascript
• TheLadders: TheLadders/javascript
• The Nerdery: thenerdery/javascript-standards
• T4R Technology: T4R-Technology/javascript
• VoxFeed: VoxFeed/javascript-style-guide
• WeBox Studio: weboxstudio/javascript
• Weggo: Weggo/javascript
• Zillow: zillow/javascript
• ZocDoc: ZocDoc/javascript

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Translation

This style guide is also available in other languages:

• Brazilian Portuguese: armoucar/javascript-style-guide
• Bulgarian: borislavvv/javascript
• Catalan: fpmweb/javascript-style-guide
• Chinese (Simplified): sivan/javascript-style-guide
• Chinese (Traditional): jigsawye/javascript
• French: nmussy/javascript-style-guide
• German: timofurrer/javascript-style-guide
• Italian: sinkswim/javascript-style-guide
• Japanese: mitsuruog/javascript-style-guide
• Korean: tipjs/javascript-style-guide
• Polish: mjurczyk/javascript
• Russian: uprock/javascript
• Spanish: paolocarrasco/javascript-style-guide
• Thai: lvarayut/javascript-style-guide
• Vietnam: giangpii/javascript-style-guide

The JavaScript Style Guide Guide

• Reference

Chat With Us About JavaScript

• Find us on gitter.

Contributors

• View Contributors

License

(The MIT License)

Copyright (c) 2014-2016 Airbnb

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the 'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

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Amendments

We encourage you to fork this guide and change the rules to fit your team's style guide. Below, you may list some amendments to the style guide. This allows you to periodically update your style guide without having to deal with merge conflicts.