Web/API/DOMException

The DOMException interface represents an abnormal event (called an exception) that occurs as a result of calling a method or accessing a property of a web API. This is basically how error conditions are described in web APIs.

Each exception has a name, which is a short "PascalCase"-style string identifying the error or abnormal condition.

Constructor

DOMException() ': Returns a DOMException object with a specified message and name.

Properties

DOMException.code ' Read only: Returns a short that contains one of the error code constants, or 0 if none match. This field is used for historical reasons. New DOM exceptions don't use this anymore: they put this info in the DOMException.name attribute.
DOMException.message Read only: Returns a DOMString representing a message or description associated with the given error name.
DOMException.name Read only: Returns a DOMString that contains one of the strings associated with an error name.

Error names

Common error names are listed here. Some APIs define their own sets of names, so this is not necessarily a complete list.

Note: Because historically the errors were identified by a numeric value that corresponded with a named variable defined to have that value, some of the entries below indicate the legacy code value and constant name that were used in the past.

IndexSizeError: The index is not in the allowed range. For example, this can be thrown by the Range object. (Legacy code value: 1 and legacy constant name: INDEX_SIZE_ERR)
HierarchyRequestError: The node tree hierarchy is not correct. (Legacy code value: 3 and legacy constant name: HIERARCHY_REQUEST_ERR)
WrongDocumentError: The object is in the wrong Document. (Legacy code value: 4 and legacy constant name: WRONG_DOCUMENT_ERR)
InvalidCharacterError: The string contains invalid characters. (Legacy code value: 5 and legacy constant name: INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR)
NoModificationAllowedError: The object cannot be modified. (Legacy code value: 7 and legacy constant name: NO_MODIFICATION_ALLOWED_ERR)
NotFoundError: The object cannot be found here. (Legacy code value: 8 and legacy constant name: NOT_FOUND_ERR)
NotSupportedError: The operation is not supported. (Legacy code value: 9 and legacy constant name: NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR)
InvalidStateError: The object is in an invalid state. (Legacy code value: 11 and legacy constant name: INVALID_STATE_ERR)
SyntaxError: The string did not match the expected pattern. (Legacy code value: 12 and legacy constant name: SYNTAX_ERR)
InvalidModificationError: The object cannot be modified in this way. (Legacy code value: 13 and legacy constant name: INVALID_MODIFICATION_ERR)
NamespaceError: The operation is not allowed by Namespaces in XML. (Legacy code value: 14 and legacy constant name: NAMESPACE_ERR)
InvalidAccessError: The object does not support the operation or argument. (Legacy code value: 15 and legacy constant name: INVALID_ACCESS_ERR)
TypeMismatchError ': The type of the object does not match the expected type. (Legacy code value: 17 and legacy constant name: TYPE_MISMATCH_ERR) This value is deprecated; the JavaScript TypeError exception is now raised instead of a DOMException with this value.
SecurityError: The operation is insecure. (Legacy code value: 18 and legacy constant name: SECURITY_ERR)
NetworkError ': A network error occurred. (Legacy code value: 19 and legacy constant name: NETWORK_ERR)
AbortError ': The operation was aborted. (Legacy code value: 20 and legacy constant name: ABORT_ERR)
URLMismatchError ': The given URL does not match another URL. (Legacy code value: 21 and legacy constant name: URL_MISMATCH_ERR)
QuotaExceededError ': The quota has been exceeded. (Legacy code value: 22 and legacy constant name: QUOTA_EXCEEDED_ERR)
TimeoutError: The operation timed out. (Legacy code value: 23 and legacy constant name: TIMEOUT_ERR)
InvalidNodeTypeError ': The node is incorrect or has an incorrect ancestor for this operation. (Legacy code value: 24 and legacy constant name: INVALID_NODE_TYPE_ERR)
DataCloneError ': The object can not be cloned. (Legacy code value: 25 and legacy constant name: DATA_CLONE_ERR)
EncodingError ': The encoding or decoding operation failed (No legacy code value and constant name).
NotReadableError ': The input/output read operation failed (No legacy code value and constant name).
UnknownError ': The operation failed for an unknown transient reason (e.g. out of memory) (No legacy code value and constant name).
ConstraintError ': A mutation operation in a transaction failed because a constraint was not satisfied (No legacy code value and constant name).
DataError ': Provided data is inadequate (No legacy code value and constant name).
TransactionInactiveError ': A request was placed against a transaction that is currently not active or is finished (No legacy code value and constant name).
ReadOnlyError ': The mutating operation was attempted in a "readonly" transaction (No legacy code value and constant name).
VersionError ': An attempt was made to open a database using a lower version than the existing version (No legacy code value and constant name).
OperationError ': The operation failed for an operation-specific reason (No legacy code value and constant name).
NotAllowedError: The request is not allowed by the user agent or the platform in the current context, possibly because the user denied permission (No legacy code value and constant name).

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Web IDLThe definition of 'constructor' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Adds the constructor for the `DOMException` class. Adds the `NotReadableError`, `UnknownError`, `ConstraintError`, `DataError`, `TransactionInactiveError`, `ReadOnlyError`, `VersionError`, `OperationError`, and `NotAllowedError` values.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`DOMException`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`DOMException()` constructor	Chrome Full support 46	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 37	IE No support No	Opera Full support 33	Safari Full support 10.1	WebView Android Full support 46	Chrome Android Full support 46	Firefox Android Full support 37	Opera Android Full support 33	Safari iOS Full support 10.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0
`code`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`message`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`name`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support