is 
Type check values
For example, is.string('🦄') //=> true
Highlights
- Written in TypeScript
- Extensive use of type guards
- Supports type assertions
- Aware of generic type parameters (use with caution)
- Actively maintained
Install
$ npm install @sindresorhus/is
Usage
const is = require('@sindresorhus/is');
is('🦄');
//=> 'string'
is(new Map());
//=> 'Map'
is.number(6);
//=> trueAssertions perform the same type checks, but throw an error if the type does not match.
const {assert} = require('@sindresorhus/is');
assert.string(2);
//=> Error: Expected value which is `string`, received value of type `number`.And with TypeScript:
import {assert} from '@sindresorhus/is';
assert.string(foo);
// `foo` is now typed as a `string`.API
is(value)
Returns the type of value.
Primitives are lowercase and object types are camelcase.
Example:
'undefined''null''string''symbol''Array''Function''Object'
Note: It will throw an error if you try to feed it object-wrapped
primitives, as that’s a bad practice. For example
new String('foo').
is.{method}
All the below methods accept a value and returns a boolean for whether the value is of the desired type.
Primitives
.undefined(value)
.null(value)
.string(value)
.number(value)
Note: is.number(NaN) returns false. This
intentionally deviates from typeof behavior to increase
user-friendliness of is type checks.
.boolean(value)
.symbol(value)
.bigint(value)
Built-in types
.array(value, assertion?)
Returns true if value is an array and all of its items
match the assertion (if provided).
is.array(value); // Validate `value` is an array.
is.array(value, is.number); // Validate `value` is an array and all of its items are numbers..function(value)
.buffer(value)
.object(value)
Keep in mind that functions are objects too.
.numericString(value)
Returns true for a string that represents a number
satisfying is.number, for example, '42' and
'-8.3'.
Note: 'NaN' returns false, but
'Infinity' and '-Infinity' return
true.
.regExp(value)
.date(value)
.error(value)
.nativePromise(value)
.promise(value)
Returns true for any object with a .then()
and .catch() method. Prefer this one over
.nativePromise() as you usually want to allow userland
promise implementations too.
.generator(value)
Returns true for any object that implements its own
.next() and .throw() methods and has a
function definition for Symbol.iterator.
.generatorFunction(value)
.asyncFunction(value)
Returns true for any async function that
can be called with the await operator.
is.asyncFunction(async () => {});
//=> true
is.asyncFunction(() => {});
//=> false.asyncGenerator(value)
is.asyncGenerator(
(async function * () {
yield 4;
})()
);
//=> true
is.asyncGenerator(
(function * () {
yield 4;
})()
);
//=> false.asyncGeneratorFunction(value)
is.asyncGeneratorFunction(async function * () {
yield 4;
});
//=> true
is.asyncGeneratorFunction(function * () {
yield 4;
});
//=> false.boundFunction(value)
Returns true for any bound function.
is.boundFunction(() => {});
//=> true
is.boundFunction(function () {}.bind(null));
//=> true
is.boundFunction(function () {});
//=> false.map(value)
.set(value)
.weakMap(value)
.weakSet(value)
Typed arrays
.int8Array(value)
.uint8Array(value)
.uint8ClampedArray(value)
.int16Array(value)
.uint16Array(value)
.int32Array(value)
.uint32Array(value)
.float32Array(value)
.float64Array(value)
.bigInt64Array(value)
.bigUint64Array(value)
Structured data
.arrayBuffer(value)
.sharedArrayBuffer(value)
.dataView(value)
Emptiness
.emptyString(value)
Returns true if the value is a string and
the .length is 0.
.nonEmptyString(value)
Returns true if the value is a string and
the .length is more than 0.
.emptyStringOrWhitespace(value)
Returns true if is.emptyString(value) or if
it’s a string that is all whitespace.
.emptyArray(value)
Returns true if the value is an Array and
the .length is 0.
.nonEmptyArray(value)
Returns true if the value is an Array and
the .length is more than 0.
.emptyObject(value)
Returns true if the value is an Object and
Object.keys(value).length is 0.
Please note that Object.keys returns only own enumerable
properties. Hence something like this can happen:
const object1 = {};
Object.defineProperty(object1, 'property1', {
value: 42,
writable: true,
enumerable: false,
configurable: true
});
is.emptyObject(object1);
//=> true.nonEmptyObject(value)
Returns true if the value is an Object and
Object.keys(value).length is more than 0.
.emptySet(value)
Returns true if the value is a Set and the
.size is 0.
.nonEmptySet(Value)
Returns true if the value is a Set and the
.size is more than 0.
.emptyMap(value)
Returns true if the value is a Map and the
.size is 0.
.nonEmptyMap(value)
Returns true if the value is a Map and the
.size is more than 0.
Miscellaneous
.directInstanceOf(value, class)
Returns true if value is a direct instance
of class.
is.directInstanceOf(new Error(), Error);
//=> true
class UnicornError extends Error {}
is.directInstanceOf(new UnicornError(), Error);
//=> false.urlInstance(value)
Returns true if value is an instance of the
URL
class.
const url = new URL('https://example.com');
is.urlInstance(url);
//=> true.urlString(value)
Returns true if value is a URL string.
Note: this only does basic checking using the URL
class constructor.
const url = 'https://example.com';
is.urlString(url);
//=> true
is.urlString(new URL(url));
//=> false.truthy(value)
Returns true for all values that evaluate to true in a
boolean context:
is.truthy('🦄');
//=> true
is.truthy(undefined);
//=> false.falsy(value)
Returns true if value is one of:
false, 0, '', null,
undefined, NaN.
.nan(value)
.nullOrUndefined(value)
.primitive(value)
JavaScript primitives are as follows: null,
undefined, string, number,
boolean, symbol.
.integer(value)
.safeInteger(value)
Returns true if value is a safe
integer.
.plainObject(value)
An object is plain if it’s created by either {},
new Object(), or Object.create(null).
.iterable(value)
.asyncIterable(value)
.class(value)
Returns true for instances created by a class.
.typedArray(value)
.arrayLike(value)
A value is array-like if it is not a function and has a
value.length that is a safe integer greater than or equal
to 0.
is.arrayLike(document.forms);
//=> true
function foo() {
is.arrayLike(arguments);
//=> true
}
foo();.inRange(value, range)
Check if value (number) is in the given
range. The range is an array of two values, lower bound and
upper bound, in no specific order.
is.inRange(3, [0, 5]);
is.inRange(3, [5, 0]);
is.inRange(0, [-2, 2]);.inRange(value, upperBound)
Check if value (number) is in the range of
0 to upperBound.
is.inRange(3, 10);.domElement(value)
Returns true if value is a DOM Element.
.nodeStream(value)
Returns true if value is a Node.js stream.
const fs = require('fs');
is.nodeStream(fs.createReadStream('unicorn.png'));
//=> true.observable(value)
Returns true if value is an
Observable.
const {Observable} = require('rxjs');
is.observable(new Observable());
//=> true.infinite(value)
Check if value is Infinity or
-Infinity.
.evenInteger(value)
Returns true if value is an even
integer.
.oddInteger(value)
Returns true if value is an odd
integer.
.any(predicate | predicate[], …values)
Using a single predicate argument, returns
true if any of the input
values returns true in the predicate:
is.any(is.string, {}, true, '🦄');
//=> true
is.any(is.boolean, 'unicorns', [], new Map());
//=> falseUsing an array of predicate[], returns true
if any of the input values returns true
for any of the predicates provided in an
array:
is.any([is.string, is.number], {}, true, '🦄');
//=> true
is.any([is.boolean, is.number], 'unicorns', [], new Map());
//=> false.all(predicate, …values)
Returns true if all of the input
values returns true in the predicate:
is.all(is.object, {}, new Map(), new Set());
//=> true
is.all(is.string, '🦄', [], 'unicorns');
//=> falseType guards
When using is together with TypeScript, type
guards are being used extensively to infer the correct type inside
if-else statements.
import is from '@sindresorhus/is';
const padLeft = (value: string, padding: string | number) => {
if (is.number(padding)) {
// `padding` is typed as `number`
return Array(padding + 1).join(' ') + value;
}
if (is.string(padding)) {
// `padding` is typed as `string`
return padding + value;
}
throw new TypeError(`Expected 'padding' to be of type 'string' or 'number', got '${is(padding)}'.`);
}
padLeft('🦄', 3);
//=> ' 🦄'
padLeft('🦄', '🌈');
//=> '🌈🦄'Type assertions
The type guards are also available as type assertions, which throw an error for unexpected types. It is a convenient one-line version of the often repetitive “if-not-expected-type-throw” pattern.
import {assert} from '@sindresorhus/is';
const handleMovieRatingApiResponse = (response: unknown) => {
assert.plainObject(response);
// `response` is now typed as a plain `object` with `unknown` properties.
assert.number(response.rating);
// `response.rating` is now typed as a `number`.
assert.string(response.title);
// `response.title` is now typed as a `string`.
return `${response.title} (${response.rating * 10})`;
};
handleMovieRatingApiResponse({rating: 0.87, title: 'The Matrix'});
//=> 'The Matrix (8.7)'
// This throws an error.
handleMovieRatingApiResponse({rating: '🦄'});Generic type parameters
The type guards and type assertions are aware of generic
type parameters, such as Promise<T> and
Map<Key, Value>. The default is unknown
for most cases, since is cannot check them at runtime. If
the generic type is known at compile-time, either implicitly (inferred)
or explicitly (provided), is propagates the type so it can
be used later.
Use generic type parameters with caution. They are only checked by
the TypeScript compiler, and not checked by is at runtime.
This can lead to unexpected behavior, where the generic type is
assumed at compile-time, but actually is something completely
different at runtime. It is best to use unknown (default)
and type-check the value of the generic type parameter at runtime with
is or assert.
import {assert} from '@sindresorhus/is';
async function badNumberAssumption(input: unknown) {
// Bad assumption about the generic type parameter fools the compile-time type system.
assert.promise<number>(input);
// `input` is a `Promise` but only assumed to be `Promise<number>`.
const resolved = await input;
// `resolved` is typed as `number` but was not actually checked at runtime.
// Multiplication will return NaN if the input promise did not actually contain a number.
return 2 * resolved;
}
async function goodNumberAssertion(input: unknown) {
assert.promise(input);
// `input` is typed as `Promise<unknown>`
const resolved = await input;
// `resolved` is typed as `unknown`
assert.number(resolved);
// `resolved` is typed as `number`
// Uses runtime checks so only numbers will reach the multiplication.
return 2 * resolved;
}
badNumberAssumption(Promise.resolve('An unexpected string'));
//=> NaN
// This correctly throws an error because of the unexpected string value.
goodNumberAssertion(Promise.resolve('An unexpected string'));FAQ
Why yet another type checking module?
There are hundreds of type checking modules on npm, unfortunately, I couldn’t find any that fit my needs:
- Includes both type methods and ability to get the type
- Types of primitives returned as lowercase and object types as camelcase
- Covers all built-ins
- Unsurprising behavior
- Well-maintained
- Comprehensive test suite
For the ones I found, pick 3 of these.
The most common mistakes I noticed in these modules was using
instanceof for type checking, forgetting that functions are
objects, and omitting symbol as a primitive.
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Related
- ow - Function argument validation for humans
- is-stream - Check if something is a Node.js stream
- is-observable - Check if a value is an Observable
- file-type - Detect the file type of a Buffer/Uint8Array
- is-ip - Check if a string is an IP address
- is-array-sorted - Check if an Array is sorted
- is-error-constructor - Check if a value is an error constructor
- is-empty-iterable - Check if an Iterable is empty
- is-blob - Check if a value is a Blob - File-like object of immutable, raw data
- has-emoji - Check whether a string has any emoji
