What are common pitfalls with fetch API?

The Fetch API is a modern interface for making HTTP requests in JavaScript. While it provides a powerful way to handle networking, there are some common pitfalls that developers may encounter when using it.

Common Pitfalls with Fetch API

  • Not Handling Network Errors: The Fetch API only rejects the promise on network errors. It does not reject for HTTP error statuses (like 404 or 500). Therefore, you should always check the response status.
  • Parsing Errors: Fetch does not automatically parse the response body into JSON. You need to call `.json()` or other parsing methods manually.
  • Using Wrong HTTP Methods: Sending a request with a GET method when a POST is required (and vice versa) leads to errors.
  • Using Absolute URLs: Hardcoding URLs can lead to issues when moving between environments (development, testing, production).
  • Blocking UI: Long-running fetch requests can freeze the user interface if not managed properly (e.g., with asynchronous code).

Example

fetch('https://api.example.com/data') .then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok ' + response.statusText); } return response.json(); }) .then(data => { console.log(data); }) .catch(error => { console.error('There has been a problem with your fetch operation:', error); });

Fetch API JavaScript HTTP requests error handling promises