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Why does `fetch()` return a promise, and how can I handle JSON data received from an API response?

Asked on Nov 08, 2025

Answer

The `fetch()` function returns a promise because it performs an asynchronous operation to request resources over the network. To handle JSON data from an API response, you can chain `.then()` methods to process the response.

<!-- BEGIN COPY / PASTE -->
        fetch('https://api.example.com/data')
            .then(response => {
                if (!response.ok) {
                    throw new Error('Network response was not ok');
                }
                return response.json();
            })
            .then(data => {
                console.log(data);
            })
            .catch(error => {
                console.error('There was a problem with the fetch operation:', error);
            });
        <!-- END COPY / PASTE -->

Additional Comment:

The `fetch()` function initiates a network request and returns a promise that resolves to the response.
The first `.then()` checks if the response is successful (status code 200-299) and then calls `response.json()` to parse the JSON data.
The second `.then()` handles the parsed JSON data.
The `.catch()` handles any errors that occur during the fetch operation or JSON parsing.

✅ Answered with JavaScript best practices.

Ask any question about JavaScript here... and get an instant response.

Why does `fetch()` return a promise, and how can I handle JSON data received from an API response?

Asked on Nov 08, 2025

Answer

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