with
The with statement extends scope resolution with an object's properties. It is deprecated because it makes variable meaning ambiguous and optimization harder.
Overview
The with statement extends scope resolution with an object's properties. It is deprecated because it makes variable meaning ambiguous and optimization harder.
Browser support
| Feature | Desktop | Mobile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Safari | Chrome Android | Safari iOS | |
with Deprecated | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Built-in object | ||||||
| The [Symbol.unscopables] data property of Array.prototype is shared by all Array instances. It contains property names that were not included in the ECMAScript standard prior to the ES2015 version and that are ignored for with statement-binding purposes. | 38 | 12 | 48 | 10 | 38 | 10 |
| The Symbol.unscopables static data property represents the well-known symbol Symbol.unscopables. The Statements/with statement looks up this symbol on the scope object for a property containing a collection of properties that should not become bindings within the with environment. | 38 | 12 | 48 | 9 | 38 | 9 |
Syntax
// with example
// See MDN Web Docs for detailsLive demo
Access object properties with with
Use the legacy with statement to shorten repeated property access.
Compare with direct property access
Show the same logic written without the with statement.
Highlight name ambiguity
See how with can make identifier lookup harder to reason about.
Use cases
Legacy code cleanup
Replace with blocks during migration so scope rules become explicit again.
Reading historical scripts
Recognize with when auditing older JavaScript that predates modern style guidance.
Cautions
- with makes it difficult to tell where names come from, which harms readability and tooling support.
- Strict mode disallows it for good reason; keep object access explicit instead.
Accessibility
- No direct accessibility effect, but confusing scope rules increase maintenance risk in interactive code.
- Clarity in state and property access helps teams preserve accessible behavior over time.
Related links
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