no-invalid-this

Disallow use of this in contexts where the value of this is undefined

Under the strict mode, this keywords outside of classes or class-like objects might be undefined and raise a TypeError.

Rule Details

This rule aims to flag usage of this keywords in contexts where the value of this is undefined.

Top-level this in scripts is always considered valid because it refers to the global object regardless of the strict mode.

Top-level this in ECMAScript modules is always considered invalid because its value is undefined.

For this inside functions, this rule basically checks whether or not the function containing this keyword is a constructor or a method. Note that arrow functions have lexical this, and that therefore this rule checks their enclosing contexts.

This rule judges from following conditions whether or not the function is a constructor:

• The name of the function starts with uppercase.
• The function is assigned to a variable which starts with an uppercase letter.
• The function is a constructor of ES2015 Classes.

This rule judges from following conditions whether or not the function is a method:

• The function is on an object literal.
• The function is assigned to a property.
• The function is a method/getter/setter of ES2015 Classes.

And this rule allows this keywords in functions below:

• The call/apply/bind method of the function is called directly.
• The function is a callback of array methods (such as .forEach()) if thisArg is given.
• The function has @this tag in its JSDoc comment.

And this rule always allows this keywords in the following contexts:

• At the top level of scripts.
• In class field initializers.
• In class static blocks.

Otherwise are considered problems.

This rule applies only in strict mode. With "parserOptions": { "sourceType": "module" } in the ESLint configuration, your code is in strict mode even without a "use strict" directive.

Examples of incorrect code for this rule in strict mode:

/*eslint no-invalid-this: "error"*/

"use strict";

(function() {
    this.a = 0;
    baz(() => this);
})();

function foo() {
    this.a = 0;
    baz(() => this);
}

var foo = function() {
    this.a = 0;
    baz(() => this);
};

foo(function() {
    this.a = 0;
    baz(() => this);
});

var obj = {
    aaa: function() {
        return function foo() {
            // There is in a method `aaa`, but `foo` is not a method.
            this.a = 0;
            baz(() => this);
        };
    }
};

foo.forEach(function() {
    this.a = 0;
    baz(() => this);
});
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Examples of correct code for this rule in strict mode:

/*eslint no-invalid-this: "error"*/

"use strict";

this.a = 0;
baz(() => this);

function Foo() {
    // OK, this is in a legacy style constructor.
    this.a = 0;
    baz(() => this);
}

class Bar {
    constructor() {
        // OK, this is in a constructor.
        this.a = 0;
        baz(() => this);
    }
}

var obj = {
    foo: function foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (this function is on object literal).
        this.a = 0;
    }
};

var obj = {
    foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (this function is on object literal).
        this.a = 0;
    }
};

var obj = {
    get foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (this function is on object literal).
        return this.a;
    }
};

var obj = Object.create(null, {
    foo: {value: function foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (this function is on object literal).
        this.a = 0;
    }}
});

Object.defineProperty(obj, "foo", {
    value: function foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (this function is on object literal).
        this.a = 0;
    }
});

Object.defineProperties(obj, {
    foo: {value: function foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (this function is on object literal).
        this.a = 0;
    }}
});

function Foo() {
    this.foo = function foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (this function assigns to a property).
        this.a = 0;
        baz(() => this);
    };
}

obj.foo = function foo() {
    // OK, this is in a method (this function assigns to a property).
    this.a = 0;
};

Foo.prototype.foo = function foo() {
    // OK, this is in a method (this function assigns to a property).
    this.a = 0;
};

class Baz {

    // OK, this is in a class field initializer.
    a = this.b;

    // OK, static initializers also have valid this.
    static a = this.b;

    foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method.
        this.a = 0;
        baz(() => this);
    }

    static foo() {
        // OK, this is in a method (static methods also have valid this).
        this.a = 0;
        baz(() => this);
    }

    static {
        // OK, static blocks also have valid this.
        this.a = 0;
        baz(() => this);
    }
}

var foo = (function foo() {
    // OK, the `bind` method of this function is called directly.
    this.a = 0;
}).bind(obj);

foo.forEach(function() {
    // OK, `thisArg` of `.forEach()` is given.
    this.a = 0;
    baz(() => this);
}, thisArg);

/** @this Foo */
function foo() {
    // OK, this function has a `@this` tag in its JSDoc comment.
    this.a = 0;
}
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Options

This rule has an object option, with one option:

• "capIsConstructor": false (default true) disables the assumption that a function which name starts with an uppercase is a constructor.

capIsConstructor

By default, this rule always allows the use of this in functions which name starts with an uppercase and anonymous functions that are assigned to a variable which name starts with an uppercase, assuming that those functions are used as constructor functions.

Set "capIsConstructor" to false if you want those functions to be treated as ‘regular’ functions.

Examples of incorrect code for this rule with "capIsConstructor" option set to false:

/*eslint no-invalid-this: ["error", { "capIsConstructor": false }]*/

"use strict";

function Foo() {
    this.a = 0;
}

var bar = function Foo() {
    this.a = 0;
}

var Bar = function() {
    this.a = 0;
};

Baz = function() {
    this.a = 0;
};
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Examples of correct code for this rule with "capIsConstructor" option set to false:

/*eslint no-invalid-this: ["error", { "capIsConstructor": false }]*/

"use strict";

obj.Foo = function Foo() {
    // OK, this is in a method.
    this.a = 0;
};
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When Not To Use It

If you don’t want to be notified about usage of this keyword outside of classes or class-like objects, you can safely disable this rule.

Handled by TypeScript

It is safe to disable this rule when using TypeScript because TypeScript's compiler enforces this check.

Note that, technically, TypeScript will only catch this if you have the strict or noImplicitThis flags enabled. These are enabled in most TypeScript projects, since they are considered to be best practice.

Version

This rule was introduced in ESLint v1.0.0-rc-2.

Resources

• Rule source
• Tests source