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nestedStandaloneIfs

Reports if statements that are the only statement inside an else block or inside another if without an else.

✅ This rule is included in the ts stylistic and stylisticStrict presets.

This rule identifies two patterns of unnecessarily nested if statements that can be simplified:

  1. Lonely if in else: An if statement that is the only statement inside an else block can be written as else if.
  2. Lonely if in if: An if statement that is the only statement inside another if (without an else) can have its conditions combined with &&.

Both patterns reduce nesting and improve code readability.

Note that this rule will not flag cases where:

  • There are comments inside the block (indicating intentional structure)
  • Multiple statements exist in the block
  • The outer if has an else clause (for the “lonely if in if” pattern)

Examples

Section titled “Examples”

Lonely if in else

Section titled “Lonely if in else”
if (condition) {
  doSomething();
} else {
  if (otherCondition) {
    doSomethingElse();
  }
}

Lonely if in if

Section titled “Lonely if in if”
if (a) {
  if (b) {
    doSomething();
  }
}

Operator Precedence

Section titled “Operator Precedence”

When combining conditions, the rule correctly handles operator precedence by adding parentheses where needed:

if (a || b) {
  if (c) {
    doSomething();
  }
}

When Not To Use It

Section titled “When Not To Use It”

If you prefer explicit nesting for clarity in complex conditional logic, or if your codebase has a style guide that prefers the nested form, you may want to disable this rule.

Further Reading

Section titled “Further Reading”

Equivalents in Other Linters

Section titled “Equivalents in Other Linters”