Modern JavaScript (ES6+) Expert Skill

Trigger On

• The user asks to write, debug, refactor, or review JavaScript code.
• The project directory contains *.js, *.mjs, or JavaScript configuration files (e.g., eslint.config.js, vite.config.js).
• HTML files (*.html) or Razor views (*.cshtml) contain inline <script> blocks or reference external .js files via <script src="...">.
• The target runtime is a modern browser (Chrome 80+, Firefox 78+, Safari 14+) or a pure JS environment.
• Code modernization is needed (e.g., converting var to const/let, callbacks to async/await, legacy scripts to ESM).

Workflow

1. Perceive (Environment Awareness):
   • Inspect ESLint / Biome configuration to identify the project's ecmaVersion and coding conventions.
   • Determine runtime target: browser (check for DOM APIs, bundler config like vite.config.js, webpack.config.js).
   • Detect JavaScript embedded in HTML (*.html) or Razor views (*.cshtml): identify inline <script> blocks and external <script src="..."> references. For .cshtml files, note the interplay with Razor syntax (@ directives, @section Scripts).
   • Identify the effective ES version upper limit based on the runtime/transpiler configuration (e.g., Babel targets, TypeScript target, browserslist). For inline scripts without a build pipeline, default to the browser's native ES support.
2. Reason (Planning Phase):
   • Evaluate the modernization level of the current code to determine the refactoring strategy.
   • In environments targeting older runtimes (e.g., IE11 via Babel), avoid using features without polyfill support, but prioritize using const/let, arrow functions, and template literals.
   • In modern environments (modern browsers), actively adopt new features to reduce boilerplate code.
   • Be aware of browser-specific concerns (DOM manipulation, Web APIs, rendering performance).
3. Act (Execution Phase):
   • Write high-quality code using modern syntax to improve readability and maintainability.
   • Implement immutable data patterns (spread operators, Object.freeze, structuredClone, immutable array methods).
   • Utilize async/await and Promise composition for asynchronous operations.
   • Prefer ESM (import/export) as the standard module system.
4. Validate (Standard Validation):
   • Validate strict equality (===) usage and absence of var declarations.
   • Check if asynchronous operations correctly handle errors (try/catch around await, .catch() on Promises).
   • Ensure code avoids common security pitfalls (no eval(), no prototype pollution, no innerHTML with unsanitized input).
   • Verify naming conventions follow community standards (camelCase for variables/functions, PascalCase for classes).

Feature Roadmap (ES6 - ES2025+)

ES6 & ES2016-ES2019 (Origin)

• Arrow Functions: (a, b) => a + b concise function syntax with lexical this binding.
• let / const: Block-scoped variable declarations replacing var.
• Template Literals: `Hello, ${name}!` for string interpolation and multi-line strings.
• Destructuring: const { id, name } = user; extract values from objects and arrays.
• Default / Rest / Spread: Default parameters, ...rest parameters, and ...spread for arrays/objects.
• Classes: class syntax for prototype-based inheritance with constructor, extends, and super.
• Promises: new Promise((resolve, reject) => ...) for asynchronous flow control.
• Modules: import / export for modular code organization (ES Modules).
• Symbol / Map / Set: New primitive type and collection data structures.
• String Methods (ES6): includes(), startsWith(), endsWith() for easier string searching.
• Array Methods (ES6): Array.from(), Array.of(), find(), findIndex() for enhanced array manipulation.
• Number/Math Methods (ES6): Number.isInteger(), Number.isNaN(), Math.trunc(), Math.sign().
• Generators & Iterators: function* and for...of for lazy iteration.
• async / await (ES2017): Syntactic sugar for Promise-based asynchronous code.
• Object.values / Object.entries (ES2017): Iterate over object values and key-value pairs.
• Rest / Spread Properties (ES2018): { ...obj } for object shallow cloning and rest extraction.
• Promise.finally (ES2018): Execute cleanup logic regardless of fulfillment or rejection.
• Async Iteration (ES2018): for await...of for consuming async iterables.
• Array.flat / flatMap (ES2019): Flatten nested arrays and map-then-flatten in one step.
• Object.fromEntries (ES2019): Convert key-value pairs back into an object.
• Optional Catch Binding (ES2019): catch { } without requiring the error parameter.

ES2020 & ES2021 (Foundation)

• Optional Chaining (?.): Safely access deeply nested properties without manual null checks.
• Nullish Coalescing (??): Provide defaults only for null/undefined, unlike || which also catches 0, "", false.
• BigInt: Arbitrary-precision integer arithmetic via 123n literal syntax.
• Promise.allSettled(): Wait for all promises to complete regardless of rejection.
• globalThis: Universal reference to the global object across all environments.
• Dynamic import(): Load modules conditionally or lazily at runtime.
• Logical Assignment (&&=, ||=, ??=): Combine logical operators with assignment for concise state updates.
• String.prototype.replaceAll(): Replace all occurrences without regex.
• Promise.any(): Resolve with the first fulfilled promise, reject only if all reject.
• Numeric Separators: 1_000_000 for readable large numbers.

ES2022 & ES2023 (Productivity)

• Top-level await: Use await directly in ESM modules without wrapping in an async function.
• Error Cause ({ cause }): Chain errors to preserve root cause context.
• Array.at(): Negative indexing for arrays, e.g., arr.at(-1) for the last element.
• Object.hasOwn(): Safer, prototype-independent property check replacing hasOwnProperty.
• Class Fields: Public and private (#field) instance fields and methods.
• RegExp Match Indices (/d flag): Get start/end positions of captured groups.
• Immutable Array Methods: toSorted(), toReversed(), toSpliced(), with() — return new arrays without mutation.
• Array.findLast() / findLastIndex(): Search arrays from the end.

ES2024 & ES2025+ (Cutting Edge)

• Promise.withResolvers(): Destructure { promise, resolve, reject } for cleaner deferred patterns.
• Object.groupBy() / Map.groupBy(): Group array elements by a classifier function.
• Set Methods: union(), intersection(), difference(), symmetricDifference(), isSubsetOf(), isSupersetOf(), isDisjointFrom().
• Iterator Helpers: .map(), .filter(), .take(), .drop(), .flatMap(), .toArray() on iterators.
• RegExp.escape(): Safely escape special characters for use in RegExp construction.
• Import Attributes: import data from './data.json' with { type: 'json' }.
• Decorators (Stage 3): Class and method decorators for cross-cutting concerns.
• Promise.try(): Safely start a promise chain from a synchronous or asynchronous function.
• Well-formed Unicode Strings: String.prototype.isWellFormed() and toWellFormed().
• Temporal API (Stage 3): A modern replacement for the Date object, providing robust date/time arithmetic.
• Explicit Resource Management (Stage 3): using keyword with Symbol.dispose for deterministic cleanup.

Coding Standards

• Variable Declarations: Always use const by default; use let only when reassignment is necessary. Never use var.
• Modules: Use ESM (import/export) as the default module system. Use import() for dynamic/lazy loading.
• Immutability: Prefer non-mutating array methods (toSorted, toReversed, with), spread operators, and structuredClone for deep copies.
• Async Safety: Always wrap await in try/catch or chain .catch(). Never leave Promises unhandled. Use AbortController for cancellable operations.

Deliver

• Runtime-Optimized Code: Provide the most appropriate modern syntax code based on the target runtime and ES version.
• Modernization Insights: Provide specific refactoring suggestions for upgrading from older JavaScript syntax to new features (e.g., from callbacks to async/await, from var to const/let).
• Syntax Explanations: Clearly explain the design intent and advantages behind the modern JavaScript features used.

Validate

• Ensure the provided code complies with the syntax specifications of the target ES version and runtime.
• Validate whether the code follows JavaScript best practices for error handling, null safety, and immutability.
• Confirm the code has good readability and modern conventions (e.g., proper use of destructuring, template literals, ESM).

Documentation

Official References

• ECMAScript 2025 Language Specification
• TC39 Proposals (Stage 3+)
• MDN Web Docs - JavaScript

Internal References

• JavaScript Coding Style and Naming Conventions Guide
• JavaScript Anti-Patterns and Best Practices
• Modern JavaScript Patterns Guide