unnecessaryCatches

Reports catch clauses that only rethrow the caught error without modification.

✅ This rule is included in the ts logical preset.

A catch clause that only rethrows the caught error without any modification or additional logic serves no purpose. It adds unnecessary code complexity and performance overhead without providing any benefit. Errors will propagate naturally without the catch clause, making it redundant.

Examples

❌ Incorrect

async function fetchData() {
  try {
    return await fetch("/api/data");
  } catch (error) {
    throw error;
  }
}

function processFile(path: string) {
  try {
    const content = readFileSync(path);
    return JSON.parse(content);
  } catch (exception) {
    throw exception;
  }
}

✅ Correct

async function fetchData() {
  try {
    return await fetch("/api/data");
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Failed to fetch data:", error);
    throw error;
  }
}

function processFile(path: string) {
  try {
    const content = readFileSync(path);
    return JSON.parse(content);
  } catch (exception) {
    throw new Error(`Failed to process file ${path}`, { cause: exception });
  }
}

Options

This rule is not configurable.

When Not To Use It

If you have a specific need to explicitly catch and rethrow errors for documentation purposes or to maintain consistent code structure across multiple try-catch blocks, you might choose to disable this rule. However, in most cases, removing unnecessary catch clauses improves code clarity and maintainability.

Further Reading

• MDN: try…catch
• MDN: Error handling

Equivalents in Other Linters

• Biome: noUselessCatch
• ESLint: no-useless-catch
• Oxlint: eslint/no-useless-catch