Writing clean code is an essential skill for any developer. Clean code isn't just about making your code work—it's about making it work elegantly, efficiently, and in a way that other developers (including your future self) can easily understand and maintain. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the principles and best practices of writing clean JavaScript code.
What is Clean Code?
Clean code is code that is:
- Readable: Easy to understand at a glance
- Maintainable: Simple to modify and debug
- Reusable: Can be repurposed for different scenarios
- Testable: Easy to write unit tests for
- Scalable: Can grow without becoming complex
1. Variables: The Building Blocks of Clean Code
- Use Meaningful Variable Names
Your variable names should clearly indicate their purpose and context.
// Bad
const d = new Date();
let u = getUser();
const arr = ['Apple', 'Banana', 'Orange'];
// Good
const currentDate = new Date();
let currentUser = getUser();
const fruitList = ['Apple', 'Banana', 'Orange'];
- Use Constants for Fixed Values
When a value won't change, use const instead of let or var.
// Bad
var API_ENDPOINT = 'https://api.example.com';
var MAX_ITEMS = 100;
// Good
const API_ENDPOINT = 'https://api.example.com';
const MAX_ITEMS = 100;
- Maintain Consistent Naming Convention
Use consistent naming patterns throughout your codebase.
// Bad - Inconsistent naming
getUserInfo()
getClientData()
getCustomerRecord()
// Good - Consistent naming
getUser()
updateUser()
deleteUser()
- Use Searchable Names
Make your variables and constants easily searchable.
// Bad
setTimeout(doSomething, 86400000);
// Good
const MILLISECONDS_IN_A_DAY = 86400000;
setTimeout(doSomething, MILLISECONDS_IN_A_DAY);
2. Objects: Organizing Data Cleanly
- Use Getters and Setters
Encapsulate object properties using getters and setters.
// Bad
class User {
constructor(name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
// Good
class User {
#name; // Private field
constructor(name) {
this.#name = name;
}
getName() {
return this.#name;
}
setName(name) {
this.#name = name;
}
}
- Implement Private Members
Use private fields and methods to protect object data.
class BankAccount {
#balance = 0; // Private field
deposit(amount) {
if (this.#validateAmount(amount)) {
this.#balance += amount;
}
}
#validateAmount(amount) { // Private method
return amount > 0;
}
}
3. Functions: The Heart of Clean Code
- Keep Functions Small and Focused
Each function should do exactly one thing.
// Bad
function processUserData(user) {
validateUser(user);
updateUserInDatabase(user);
sendWelcomeEmail(user);
updateUIWithUserData(user);
}
// Good
function processUserData(user) {
if (validateUser(user)) {
saveUserData(user);
}
}
function saveUserData(user) {
updateUserInDatabase(user)
.then(sendWelcomeEmail)
.then(updateUIWithUserData);
}
- Limit Function Parameters
Use objects to pass multiple parameters.
// Bad
function createUser(firstName, lastName, email, age, location) {
// ...
}
// Good
function createUser(userConfig) {
const { firstName, lastName, email, age, location } = userConfig;
// ...
}
- Use Descriptive Function Names
Function names should clearly describe what they do.
// Bad
function proc(data) { /* ... */ }
// Good
function processUserPayment(paymentData) { /* ... */ }
4. Comments: When and How to Use Them
- Write Self-Documenting Code
Your code should be clear enough that it doesn't need extensive comments.
// Bad
// Check if user is adult
if (user.age >= 18) { /* ... */ }
// Good
const isAdult = user.age >= 18;
if (isAdult) { /* ... */ }
- Use Comments for Complex Logic
Comments should explain "why" not "what".
// Bad
// Iterate through users
users.forEach(user => { /* ... */ });
// Good
// Filter inactive users before sending notifications to avoid
// overwhelming users who haven't logged in for 30+ days
const activeUsers = users.filter(user => user.lastLogin > thirtyDaysAgo);
5. Testing: Ensuring Code Quality
- Write Tests First (TDD)
Consider writing tests before implementing features.
// Example test
describe('User Authentication', () => {
it('should successfully login with valid credentials', () => {
const user = new User('test@example.com', 'password123');
expect(user.login()).toBeTruthy();
});
});
- Test Edge Cases
Always test boundary conditions and error cases.
describe('Array Utility', () => {
it('should handle empty arrays', () => {
expect(processArray([])).toEqual([]);
});
it('should handle null input', () => {
expect(() => processArray(null)).toThrow('Invalid input');
});
});
6. Modern JavaScript Features for Cleaner Code
- Use Optional Chaining
// Bad
const streetName = user && user.address && user.address.street;
// Good
const streetName = user?.address?.street;
- Utilize Destructuring
// Bad
const firstName = user.firstName;
const lastName = user.lastName;
// Good
const { firstName, lastName } = user;
- Implement Default Parameters
// Bad
function greet(name) {
name = name || 'Guest';
return `Hello, ${name}!`;
}
// Good
function greet(name = 'Guest') {
return `Hello, ${name}!`;
}
Conclusion
Writing clean code is an ongoing journey of improvement. It's not just about following rules—it's about developing a mindset that values clarity, simplicity, and maintainability. Remember:
- Write code for humans first, computers second
- Keep your functions small and focused
- Use meaningful names for variables and functions
- Test thoroughly
- Refactor regularly
- Stay consistent with your coding style
By following these principles and continuously refining your approach, you'll write code that's not just functional, but truly professional and maintainable.
Top comments (24)
About #2 using classes to organize data: it is always a bad idea to conflate data with functionality - and wrapping everything in getters and setters will just inflate your code. Unless you need to take action on getting and setting, those are pure overhead - and otherwise, use actual getters and setters so the users of your objects don't need to inflate their code, too:
See how much complexity vanishes just because you handle data as data and not as class?
💯
Also, if you really need to set a getter and a setter, you could also use the newer and leaner syntax
get name()andset name(name).Unless you need to pass arguments too (which is generally bad IMO, as long as the method name suggests a simple data read).
That's what I meant with actual getters and setters. If you need to pass an argument, it is no longer a getter or setter, but a method - and then you're again conflating data and functionality.
Wow, what an awesome deep dive into clean JavaScript code! 🚀 This guide is a goldmine for anyone looking to level up their coding game—whether you're a newbie or a seasoned dev. I love how you broke it down into actionable tips like meaningful variable names (goodbye, cryptic d and arr!) and keeping functions small and focused. That “do one thing” rule is a game-changer—I’m guilty of writing those monster functions that try to do everything at once. 😅
The modern JS features section is 🔥—optional chaining and destructuring are my go-tos for making code cleaner AND more readable. And that tip about writing comments for “why” instead of “what”? Spot on. It’s so tempting to over-comment the obvious stuff instead of explaining the real intent.
Quick question for the community: How do you all handle naming conventions in big projects? I’ve been leaning toward camelCase for consistency, but I’d love to hear your strategies! Also, any favorite tools or linters you swear by to enforce clean code? (ESLint fans, where you at?)
Thanks for dropping this knowledge—definitely bookmarking it for my next refactoring session.
I'm thrilled to hear that you found the guide helpful 🌟,
When it comes to naming conventions in big projects, consistency is key.
Personally, I stick to camelCase for folder names, hooks, and utility files, and for components I use PascalCase, It helps keep everything organized and makes the codebase easier to navigate.
Thanks again for your kind words and for joining the discussion! 🚀
I really love the ai generated circle of interactions y'all got going on. It's almost like it's real life. Great ai article as well. Maybe I should do one on Rust clean code when I know nothing about Rust.
Thanks for your comment!
Actually, I wrote this article based on my experience working with JavaScript and studying clean code principles, even though I did use AI tools to help organize and format some content (as many writers do with tools like Grammarly or spell checkers).
Contributing to the developer community is valuable, and the focus should be on the content quality and usefulness rather than how it was created.
I'd genuinely encourage you to write and share your knowledge! and I'd be happy to discuss any specific points about clean code practices in JavaScript if you have questions or insights to share.
Jake, feel free to keep away from AI and the great tools it offers.... and get left behind. In that same spirit you MUST turn off your IDE and stick to notepad, and throw away canva and photoshop and pull out your trusty paintbrush and canvas.... if we are going to be critical of one tool available, might as well be critical of all tools.
You are right: Function is the heart of Clean Code.
But let's realize a main difference between the arrow function and the classic function.
The classic function have hoisting and can be used as class.
Arrow function is much modern, don't use inner this and for a good reason have a return value.
because in your example:
All of these functions are
inpurebecause use some outer dependency likesaveUserData(user)My advice is we need to make distinct ( at least in mind level ) between the pure and in pure function.
If we would like to make our function with outer dependency are testable then better to use dependency injection:
It's a really good approach! Thank you for sharing this 😊
Author, answer honestly: did you make use of AI to write this article?
Many points are fine (some are quite naive), but they're all under-explained, and the examples often do no justice to the principles. Hand-crafted examples don't usually suffer from this problem; AI generated ones usually do. Also, AI often uses older JS syntax (e.g.
getName()instead ofget name(),||instead of??- which is a little ironic because it's in the section "Modern JavaScript Features") (also thosegreetfunctions are not equivalent: try passing an empty string, and see how the "bad" one probably does what you actually want, while the "good" one fails).And you didn't mention that if you want to write unit tests like those, you need a library like Mocha/Jest/Vitest/etc. And the fact that those are unit tests, while you probably also need integration, end-to-end, performance and accessibility tests too. And more.
If you want to make clear why a principle produce clean code, take inspiration from ESLint's rule explanations (e.g. how they explain destructuring). They show a lot of general use cases, options and nuances for every rule.
When I have doubts, I use quillbot.com/ai-content-detector to check articles. It's not a guarantee, but it's pretty good.
Also, it can be helpful to review the Guidelines for AI-assisted Articles on DEV
Thank you for your feedback!
You're right about the depth of explanation, but this post was intended as a high-level overview to introduce these concepts, particularly for developers newer to clean code practices, and each point of these principles need a follow-up article to cover it in more detail.
And I want to clarify that the principles shared come from my practical work with JavaScript and studying clean code principles, I did use AI tools to help in organizing the content (not writing the code), similar to how writers might use tools like Grammarly or editors to improve clarity.
Regarding the
greetfunction examples, you're right that the 'bad' example do better that the 'good' one, but these examples were intentionally simplified to demonstrate the concept of using default parameters over logical OR for defaults. In a real-world application we would need more validation for each function.Good article, thank you :) I didn't quite understand your example on naming conventions though. Can you explain why
getUserInfo,getClientDataandgetCustomerRecordhave inconsistent naming and are bad?I am glad you find this article useful 😊.
Let me explain the inconsistency in the naming functions (
getUserInfo,getClientData,getCustomerRecord)These functions use different terms (
Info,Data,Record) and refer to essentially similar concepts (User,Client,Customer), and this might be confusing to someone who reads the code and might not recognize what these functions are related to.Also, these naming variations make it hard for developers to remember and search in the code, and figure out which function to call.
I hope this clarifies things for you, Feel free to ask any further questions
That's good, but don't explain in the comments: explain in the article.
I think is because all of them have different names for the same functionality, get the user data (sorry for any mistakes, English isn't my native language)
You can also add the use of pseudocode for explaining what your code delivers step by step by a well structured process.
Good information
Nice to see Clean code in the Javascript world. It would be good to acknowledge the masters of the past.
"Use Constants for Fixed Values"
This is wrong and stupid, promoting "immutability", even though historically and officially, constants are for constant values ONLY, that is, actual values that won't change during the run, and by widely accepted convention, ALWAYS ALL CAPS.
Dave Herman, the creator of the const keyword in JS, made countless posts of how stupid people are using const for everything they can, there's talks about this online.
Clean Code is an empty file full of bullshit propaganda promises made by juniors trying to teach seniors how to do a shitty job and say it's good.
Use functional programming instead.