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Airbnb JavaScript Style Guide() {

A mostly reasonable approach to JavaScript

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For the ES5-only guide click here.

Table of Contents

  1. Types
  2. References
  3. Objects
  4. Arrays
  5. Destructuring
  6. Strings
  7. Functions
  8. Arrow Functions
  9. 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 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

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References

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

```javascript
// bad
var a = 1;
var b = 2;

// good
const a = 1;
const b = 2;
```

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

```javascript
// bad
var count = 1;
if (true) {
  count += 1;
}

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

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Objects

<a name="es6-computed-properties"></a>

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

```javascript

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',
  [getKey('enabled')]: true,
};
```

<a name="es6-object-shorthand"></a>

<a name="es6-object-concise"></a>

Why? It is shorter to write and descriptive.

```javascript
const lukeSkywalker = 'Luke Skywalker';

// bad
const obj = {
  lukeSkywalker: lukeSkywalker,
};

// good
const obj = {
  lukeSkywalker,
};
```

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

```javascript
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,
};
```

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Arrays

<a name="es6-array-spreads"></a>

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Destructuring

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

```javascript
// bad
function getFullName(user) {
  const firstName = user.firstName;
  const lastName = user.lastName;

  return `${firstName} ${lastName}`;
}

// good
function getFullName(obj) {
  const { firstName, lastName } = obj;
  return `${firstName} ${lastName}`;
}

// best
function getFullName({ firstName, lastName }) {
  return `${firstName} ${lastName}`;
}
```

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

```javascript
// 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, right } = processInput(input);
```

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Strings

<a name="es6-template-literals"></a>

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

```javascript
// bad
function sayHi(name) {
  return 'How are you, ' + name + '?';
}

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

// good
function sayHi(name) {
  return `How are you, ${name}?`;
}
```

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Functions

Why? Function declarations are named, so they're easier to identify in call stacks. Also, the whole body of a function declaration is hoisted, whereas only the reference of a function expression is hoisted. This rule makes it possible to always use Arrow Functions in place of function expressions.

```javascript
// bad
const foo = function () {
};

// good
function foo() {
}
```

<a name="es6-rest"></a>

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

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

// good
function concatenateAll(...args) {
  return args.join('');
}
```

<a name="es6-default-parameters"></a>

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

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Arrow Functions

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.

```javascript
// 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;
});
```

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

Why not? If you plan on returning an object.

```javascript
// good
[1, 2, 3].map(number => `A string containing the ${number}.`);

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

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

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

```js
// bad
[1, 2, 3].map(number => 'As time went by, the string containing the ' +
  `${number} became much longer. So we needed to break it over multiple ` +
  'lines.'
);

// good
[1, 2, 3].map(number => (
  `As time went by, the string containing the ${number} became much ` +
  'longer. So we needed to break it over multiple lines.'
));
```

Why? Less visual clutter.

```js
// good
[1, 2, 3].map(x => x * x);

// good
[1, 2, 3].reduce((y, x) => x + y);
```

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Constructors

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

```javascript
// 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;
  }
}
```

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

```javascript
// 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];
  }
}
```

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Modules

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

```javascript
// 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;
```

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

```javascript
// bad
import * as AirbnbStyleGuide from './AirbnbStyleGuide';

// good
import AirbnbStyleGuide from './AirbnbStyleGuide';
```

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

```javascript
// bad
// filename es6.js
export { es6 as default } from './airbnbStyleGuide';

// good
// filename es6.js
import { es6 } from './AirbnbStyleGuide';
export default es6;
```

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Iterators and Generators

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

```javascript
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;
```

Why? They don't transpile well to ES5.

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Properties

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Variables

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

```javascript
// 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;
```

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

```javascript
// good
function() {
  test();
  console.log('doing stuff..');

  //..other stuff..

  const name = getName();

  if (name === 'test') {
    return false;
  }

  return name;
}

// bad - unnecessary function call
function(hasName) {
  const name = getName();

  if (!hasName) {
    return false;
  }

  this.setFirstName(name);

  return true;
}

// good
function(hasName) {
  if (!hasName) {
    return false;
  }

  const name = getName();
  this.setFirstName(name);

  return true;
}
```

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Hoisting

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Comparison Operators & Equality

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Blocks

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Comments

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Whitespace

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Commas

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.

```javascript
// bad - git diff without trailing comma
const hero = {
     firstName: 'Florence',
-    lastName: 'Nightingale'
+    lastName: 'Nightingale',
+    inventorOf: ['coxcomb graph', '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

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Type Casting & Coercion

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Naming Conventions

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Accessors

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Events

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jQuery

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ECMAScript 5 Compatibility

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ECMAScript 6 Styles

  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

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Testing

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Performance

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Resources

Learning ES6

Read This

Tools

Other Style Guides

Other Styles

Further Reading

Books

Blogs

Podcasts

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In the Wild

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

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Translation

This style guide is also available in other languages:

The JavaScript Style Guide Guide

Chat With Us About JavaScript

Contributors

License

(The MIT License)

Copyright (c) 2014 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.

};