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Why does my fetch request return a JSON parse error when the API response is empty?

Asked on Oct 29, 2025

Answer

When a fetch request returns an empty response, attempting to parse it as JSON will result in a JSON parse error because there is no content to parse. To handle this, you should first check if the response body is empty before parsing.

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

Additional Comment:

This code first checks if the response is "ok" (status in the range 200-299).
It then reads the response as text and checks if it's non-empty before parsing it as JSON.
If the response is empty, it returns an empty object to avoid a parse error.
Always handle errors using a catch block to manage any issues with the fetch operation.

✅ Answered with JavaScript best practices.

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

Why does my fetch request return a JSON parse error when the API response is empty?

Asked on Oct 29, 2025

Answer

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