emptyDestructures

Reports using empty destructuring patterns that destructure no values.

✅ This rule is included in the ts logical preset.

Empty destructuring patterns like {} or [] don’t extract any values from the source object or array and serve no practical purpose. These patterns are typically mistakes or leftover code from refactoring where variables were removed but the destructuring syntax remained.

Examples

❌ Incorrect

const {} = object;
const [] = array;

function process({}) {
  console.log("No values extracted");
}

for (const {} of items) {
  console.log("No values extracted in loop");
}

✅ Correct

const { name, age } = person;
const [first, second] = array;

function process({ id, value }) {
  console.log(id, value);
}

for (const { item } of items) {
  console.log(item);
}

// Empty object/array literals are fine (not destructuring)
const empty = {};
const emptyArray = [];

Options

This rule is not configurable.

When Not To Use It

If you have code that intentionally uses empty destructuring patterns for some reason (though this is rare), you might choose to disable this rule. However, in most cases, empty destructuring patterns indicate an error or code that should be cleaned up.

Further Reading

• MDN documentation on destructuring assignment

Equivalents in Other Linters

• Biome: noEmptyPattern
• Deno: no-empty-pattern
• ESLint: no-empty-pattern
• Oxlint: eslint/no-empty-pattern