no-missing-error-context

Report a throw whose value the code proves carries no message (and, with requireStackTrace, one that is not an Error and so has no stack).

This rule is part of eslint-plugin-reliability.

Quick SummaryCopy Anchor Link

Rule DetailsCopy Anchor Link

Whoever catches an error needs to know what went wrong. The rule reports a throw when the code itself proves that context is missing.

requireMessage (default true) reports a thrown value with no message:

• a built-in Error constructor (Error, TypeError, RangeError, …, with or without new) given no argument or an empty string;
• an empty string thrown as is, null, undefined;
• an object literal with no message key.

A rethrown binding (throw err), a non-empty string or template, a const bound to one, an object literal with a message, a custom error class given an argument, and a subclass declared in the file whose constructor passes a message to super all carry one.

requireStackTrace (default false) also reports a thrown value the code proves is not an Error: a primitive, an object literal, null / undefined, or an instance of a class declared in the file that does not extend Error. Whether a file-declared class is an Error is read from its extends clause, never from whether its name ends in "Error".

ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

ExamplesCopy Anchor Link

❌ IncorrectCopy Anchor Link

throw new Error();
throw TypeError('');
throw { code: 'E_CACHE' };

// With { requireStackTrace: true }
throw 'cache read failed';
class CacheError {
  constructor(readonly detail: string) {}
}
throw new CacheError('miss'); // not an Error: no stack

✅ CorrectCopy Anchor Link

throw new Error('cache read failed');
throw new Error(`cache read failed for ${id}`);
throw { message: 'cache read failed', code: 'E_CACHE' };

class CacheMiss extends Error {
  constructor() {
    super('cache read failed');
  }
}
throw new CacheMiss();

try {
  load();
} catch (err) {
  throw err; // the original error keeps its message and stack
}

Configuration ExamplesCopy Anchor Link

// eslint.config.mjs
export default [
  {
    rules: {
      'reliability/no-missing-error-context': ['error', { requireStackTrace: true }],
    },
  },
];

Related RulesCopy Anchor Link

• error-message - Built-in Error constructors need a message
• no-silent-errors - Catch blocks must not swallow errors

Known False NegativesCopy Anchor Link

The following patterns are not detected due to static analysis limitations:

Values the file cannot seeCopy Anchor Link

Why: a value that comes from another module, a parameter or an unresolved call carries no evidence in this file, and a rule that decides from structure stays silent rather than guess.

// ❌ NOT DETECTED - origin in another module
import { getValue } from './helpers';
processValue(getValue());

Mitigation: apply the same contract inside the helper, where the evidence is visible.

Use this rule

npm install -D oxlint-plugin-reliability

{  "jsPlugins": ["oxlint-plugin-reliability"],  "rules": {    "reliability/no-missing-error-context": "error"  }}

import { defineConfig } from 'vite-plus';export default defineConfig({  lint: {    jsPlugins: ['oxlint-plugin-reliability'],    rules: {      'reliability/no-missing-error-context': 'error',    },  },});