max-nested-callbacks

Enforces a maximum depth that callbacks can be nested.

Many JavaScript libraries use the callback pattern to manage asynchronous operations. A program of any complexity will most likely need to manage several asynchronous operations at various levels of concurrency. A common pitfall that is easy to fall into is nesting callbacks, which makes code more difficult to read the deeper the callbacks are nested.

foo(function () {
    bar(function () {
        baz(function() {
            qux(function () {

            });
        });
    });
});

Rule Details

This rule enforces a maximum depth that callbacks can be nested to increase code clarity.

Options

This rule has a number or object option:

• "max" (default 10) enforces a maximum depth that callbacks can be nested

Deprecated: The object property maximum is deprecated; please use the object property max instead.

max

Examples of incorrect code for this rule with the { "max": 3 } option:

/*eslint max-nested-callbacks: ["error", 3]*/

foo1(function() {
    foo2(function() {
        foo3(function() {
            foo4(function() {
                // Do something
            });
        });
    });
});

Examples of correct code for this rule with the { "max": 3 } option:

/*eslint max-nested-callbacks: ["error", 3]*/

foo1(handleFoo1);

function handleFoo1() {
    foo2(handleFoo2);
}

function handleFoo2() {
    foo3(handleFoo3);
}

function handleFoo3() {
    foo4(handleFoo4);
}

function handleFoo4() {
    foo5();
}

Related Rules

• complexity
• max-depth
• max-len
• max-lines
• max-lines-per-function
• max-params
• max-statements

Further Reading

• http://book.mixu.net/node/ch7.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20220104141150/https://howtonode.org/control-flow
• https://web.archive.org/web/20220127215850/https://howtonode.org/control-flow-part-ii

Version

This rule was introduced in ESLint 0.2.0.

Resources

• Rule source
• Test source
• Documentation source