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Many Lints

avoid_only_rethrow

v0.4.0WarningFixConfigurableControl Flow

Warns when a catch clause contains only a rethrow statement. Such catch clauses are completely redundant — they catch an exception only to immediately rethrow it, adding no value. The entire try-catch block can be removed.

Why use this rule

Section titled “Why use this rule”

A catch clause that only rethrows does not handle, log, or transform the exception in any way. It adds indentation and visual noise without changing behavior. Removing the redundant try-catch makes the code simpler and communicates that no error handling is happening at this level.

See also: Exceptions | Dart lint: use_rethrow_when_possible

Don’t

Section titled “Don’t”
void bad() {
  // Redundant catch clause
  try {
    doSomething();
  } catch (e) {
    rethrow;
  }


  // Same with typed on clause
  try {
    doSomething();
  } on Exception {
    rethrow;
  }


  // With stack trace parameter, still redundant
  try {
    doSomething();
  } catch (e, s) {
    rethrow;
  }
}

Do

Section titled “Do”
void good() {
  // Logging before rethrowing is meaningful
  try {
    doSomething();
  } catch (e) {
    print('Error: $e');
    rethrow;
  }


  // Conditional rethrow with handling
  try {
    doSomething();
  } catch (e) {
    if (e is FormatException) {
      handleFormat(e);
      return;
    }
    rethrow;
  }


  // No try-catch needed at all if you're just rethrowing
  doSomething();
}

Turning this rule off

Section titled “Turning this rule off”

This rule is in the recommended preset, so it is on with preset: recommended or preset: opinionated. Add it to preset: core with avoid_only_rethrow: true.

To turn it off:

many_lints.yaml
rules:
  avoid_only_rethrow: false

To keep the rule on but skip certain paths, use per-rule exclude.

Options

Section titled “Options”
analysis_options.yaml
many_lints:
  rules:
    avoid_only_rethrow:
      ignore_typed_catches: true
Option Type Default Description
ignore_typed_catches bool false Only report untyped catch (e) clauses, leaving on SomeError catch (e) { rethrow; } alone

A typed clause narrows which exceptions propagate, so it is not always redundant — enable this option if your codebase uses that pattern deliberately.

Section titled “Related rules”