await

The await operator is used to wait for a Promise. It can only be used inside an async function.

Syntax

[rv] = await expression;

expression

A Promise or any value to wait for.

rv

Returns the fulfilled value of the promise, or the value itself if it's not a Promise.

Description

The await expression causes async function execution to pause until a Promise is resolved, that is fulfilled or rejected, and to resume execution of the async function after fulfillment. When resumed, the value of the await expression is that of the fulfilled Promise.

If the Promise is rejected, the await expression throws the rejected value.

If the value of the expression following the await operator is not a Promise, it's converted to a resolved Promise.

Examples

If a Promise is passed to an await expression, it waits for the Promise to be fulfilled and returns the fulfilled value.

function resolveAfter2Seconds(x) { 
  return new Promise(resolve => {
    setTimeout(() => {
      resolve(x);
    }, 2000);
  });
}

async function f1() {
  var x = await resolveAfter2Seconds(10);
  console.log(x); // 10
}
f1();

If the value is not a Promise, it converts the value to a resolved Promise, and waits for it.

async function f2() {
  var y = await 20;
  console.log(y); // 20
}
f2();

If the Promise is rejected, the rejected value is thrown.

async function f3() {
  try {
    var z = await Promise.reject(30);
  } catch(e) {
    console.log(e); // 30
  }
}
f3();

Handle rejected Promise without try block.

var response = await promisedFunction().catch((err) => { console.log(err); });
// response will be undefined if the promise is rejected

Specifications

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

See also

• async function
• async function expression
• AsyncFunction object