Error Handling Strategies in JavaScript

From the Async JavaScript cheat sheet · Abort & Error Handling · verified Jul 2026

Error Handling Strategies

Best practices and patterns for handling errors in asynchronous JavaScript code

javascript
// Try/catch with async/await
async function safe() {
  try {
    return await riskyOperation();
  } catch (error) {
    logger.error(error);
    return defaultValue;
  }
}

// Promise error handling
promise
  .then(handleSuccess)
  .catch(handleError)
  .finally(cleanup);

// Global error handlers
window.addEventListener('unhandledrejection', e => {
  console.error('Unhandled promise:', e.reason);
});
💡 Always handle promise rejections to avoid unhandled errors
⚠️ Async errors don't bubble up like synchronous errors
✅ Use try-catch with async/await for cleaner error handling
🔄 Consider implementing retry logic for transient failures

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