Symbol.toStringTag

The Symbol.toStringTag well-known symbol is a string valued property that is used in the creation of the default string description of an object. It is accessed internally by the Object.prototype.toString() method.

Description

Many JavaScript types have tags by default:

Object.prototype.toString.call('foo');     // "[object String]"
Object.prototype.toString.call([1, 2]);    // "[object Array]"
Object.prototype.toString.call(3);         // "[object Number]"
Object.prototype.toString.call(true);      // "[object Boolean]"
Object.prototype.toString.call(undefined); // "[object Undefined]"
Object.prototype.toString.call(null);      // "[object Null]"
// ... and more

Others have a built-in toStringTag symbol defined:

Object.prototype.toString.call(new Map());       // "[object Map]"
Object.prototype.toString.call(function* () {}); // "[object GeneratorFunction]"
Object.prototype.toString.call(Promise.resolve()); // "[object Promise]"
// ... and more

When creating your own class, JavaScript defaults to the "Object" tag:

class ValidatorClass {}

Object.prototype.toString.call(new ValidatorClass()); // "[object Object]"

Now, with the help of toStringTag, you are able to set your own custom tag:

class ValidatorClass {
  get [Symbol.toStringTag]() {
    return 'Validator';
  }
}

Object.prototype.toString.call(new ValidatorClass()); // "[object Validator]"

Specifications

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

See also

• Object.prototype.toString()