Disallow empty functions (no-empty-function)

Empty functions can reduce readability because readers need to guess whether it’s intentional or not. So writing a clear comment for empty functions is a good practice.

function foo() {
    // do nothing.
}

Especially, the empty block of arrow functions might be confusing developers. It’s very similar to an empty object literal.

list.map(() => {});   // This is a block, would return undefined.
list.map(() => ({})); // This is an empty object.

Rule Details

This rule is aimed at eliminating empty functions. A function will not be considered a problem if it contains a comment.

Examples of incorrect code for this rule:

/*eslint no-empty-function: "error"*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

function foo() {}

var foo = function() {};

var foo = () => {};

function* foo() {}

var foo = function*() {};

var obj = {
    foo: function() {},

    foo: function*() {},

    foo() {},

    *foo() {},

    get foo() {},

    set foo(value) {}
};

class A {
    constructor() {}

    foo() {}

    *foo() {}

    get foo() {}

    set foo(value) {}

    static foo() {}

    static *foo() {}

    static get foo() {}

    static set foo(value) {}
}

Examples of correct code for this rule:

/*eslint no-empty-function: "error"*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

function foo() {
    // do nothing.
}

var foo = function() {
    // any clear comments.
};

var foo = () => {
    bar();
};

function* foo() {
    // do nothing.
}

var foo = function*() {
    // do nothing.
};

var obj = {
    foo: function() {
        // do nothing.
    },

    foo: function*() {
        // do nothing.
    },

    foo() {
        // do nothing.
    },

    *foo() {
        // do nothing.
    },

    get foo() {
        // do nothing.
    },

    set foo(value) {
        // do nothing.
    }
};

class A {
    constructor() {
        // do nothing.
    }

    foo() {
        // do nothing.
    }

    *foo() {
        // do nothing.
    }

    get foo() {
        // do nothing.
    }

    set foo(value) {
        // do nothing.
    }

    static foo() {
        // do nothing.
    }

    static *foo() {
        // do nothing.
    }

    static get foo() {
        // do nothing.
    }

    static set foo(value) {
        // do nothing.
    }
}

Options

This rule has an option to allow specific kinds of functions to be empty.

allow (string[]) - A list of kind to allow empty functions. List items are some of the following strings. An empty array ([]) by default.
- "functions" - Normal functions.
- "arrowFunctions" - Arrow functions.
- "generatorFunctions" - Generator functions.
- "methods" - Class methods and method shorthands of object literals.
- "generatorMethods" - Class methods and method shorthands of object literals with generator.
- "getters" - Getters.
- "setters" - Setters.
- "constructors" - Class constructors.

allow: functions

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["functions"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["functions"] }]*/

function foo() {}

var foo = function() {};

var obj = {
    foo: function() {}
};

allow: arrowFunctions

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["arrowFunctions"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["arrowFunctions"] }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

var foo = () => {};

allow: generatorFunctions

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["generatorFunctions"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["generatorFunctions"] }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

function* foo() {}

var foo = function*() {};

var obj = {
    foo: function*() {}
};

allow: methods

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["methods"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["methods"] }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

var obj = {
    foo() {}
};

class A {
    foo() {}
    static foo() {}
}

allow: generatorMethods

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["generatorMethods"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["generatorMethods"] }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

var obj = {
    *foo() {}
};

class A {
    *foo() {}
    static *foo() {}
}

allow: getters

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["getters"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["getters"] }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

var obj = {
    get foo() {}
};

class A {
    get foo() {}
    static get foo() {}
}

allow: setters

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["setters"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["setters"] }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

var obj = {
    set foo(value) {}
};

class A {
    set foo(value) {}
    static set foo(value) {}
}

allow: constructors

Examples of correct code for the { "allow": ["constructors"] } option:

/*eslint no-empty-function: ["error", { "allow": ["constructors"] }]*/
/*eslint-env es6*/

class A {
    constructor() {}
}

When Not To Use It

If you don’t want to be notified about empty functions, then it’s safe to disable this rule.

no-empty

Version

This rule was introduced in ESLint 2.0.0.