Marks a method as abstract. Similar to setting a method to goog.abstractMethod, the compiler can prune methods annotated with @abstract to reduce code size.

The compiler produces a warning if a method marked with @abstract has a non-empty implementation.

/** @abstract */
foo.MyClass.prototype.abstractMethod = function() {};

Marks a variable as read-only. The compiler can inline @const variables, which optimizes the JavaScript code.

The type declaration is optional.

The compiler produces a warning if a variable marked with @const is assigned a value more than once. If the variable is an object, note that the compiler does not prohibit changes to the properties of the object.

/** @const */ var MY_BEER = 'stout';

/**
 * My namespace's favorite kind of beer.
 * @const {string}
 */
mynamespace.MY_BEER = 'stout';

/** @const */ MyClass.MY_BEER = 'stout';

Marks a function as a constructor. The compiler requires a @constructor annotation for any function that is used with the new keyword

For example:

/**
 * A rectangle.
 * @constructor
 */
function GM_Rect() {
  ...
}

For example:

/** @define {boolean} */
var ENABLE_DEBUG = true;

/** @define {boolean} */
goog.userAgent.ASSUME_IE = false;

Marks a function, method, or property so that using it will produce a compiler warning indicating that it should no longer be used.

For example:

/**
 * Determines whether a node is a field.
 * @return {boolean} True if the contents of
 *     the element are editable, but the element
 *     itself is not.
 * @deprecated Use isField().
 */
BN_EditUtil.isTopEditableField = function(node) {
  ...
};

@dict is used to create objects with a variable number of properties. When a constructor (Foo in the example) is annotated with @dict, you can only use the bracket notation to access the properties of Foo objects. The annotation can also be used directly on object literals.

For example:

/**
 * @constructor
 * @dict
 */
function Foo() {}
var obj1 = new Foo();
obj1['x'] = 123;
obj1.x = 234;  // warning

var obj2 = /** @dict */ { 'x': 321 };
obj2.x = 123;  // warning

Specifies the type of an enum. An enum is an object whose properties constitute a set of related constants. The @enum tag must be followed by a type expression.

The type label of an enum applies to each property of the enum. For example if an enum has type number, each of its enumerated properties must be a number. If the type of an enum is omitted, number is assumed.

For example:

/**
 * Enum for tri-state values.
 * @enum {number}
 */
project.TriState = {
  TRUE: 1,
  FALSE: -1,
  MAYBE: 0
};

Given this code

/** @export */
foo.MyPublicClass.prototype.myPublicMethod = function() {
  // ...
};

when the compiler is run with the --generate_exports flag, it will generate the code:

goog.exportProperty(foo.MyPublicClass.prototype, 'myPublicMethod',
  foo.MyPublicClass.prototype.myPublicMethod);

which will export the symbols to uncompiled code. You can write /** @export {SomeType} */ as a shorthand for

/**
 * @export
 * @type {SomeType}
 */

Code that uses the @export annotation must either

1. include closure/base.js, or
2. define both goog.exportSymbol and goog.exportProperty with the same method signature in their own codebase.

Marks a class or interface as inheriting from another class. A class marked with @extends must also be marked with either @constructor or @interface.

Note: @extends does not cause a class to inherit from another class. The annotation simply tells the compiler that it can treat one class as a subclass of another during type-checking.

For an example implementation of inheritance, see the Closure Library function goog.inherits().

For example:

/**
 * Immutable empty node list.
 * @constructor
 * @extends {goog.ds.BasicNodeList}
 */
goog.ds.EmptyNodeList = function() {
  ...
};

Indicates that this class is not allowed to be extended. For methods, indicates that no subclass is allowed to override that method.

For example:

/**
 * A class that cannot be extended.
 * @final
 * @constructor
 */
sloth.MyFinalClass = function() { ... }

/**
 * A method that cannot be overridden.
 * @final
 */
sloth.MyFinalClass.prototype.method = function() { ... };

Used with @constructor to indicate that a class implements an interface.

The compiler produces a warning if you tag a constructor with @implements and then fail to implement all of the methods and properties defined by the interface.

For example:

/**
 * A shape.
 * @interface
 */
function Shape() {};
Shape.prototype.draw = function() {};

/**
 * @constructor
 * @implements {Shape}
 */
function Square() {};
Square.prototype.draw = function() {
  ...
};

This annotation can only appear in externs property declarations. The property has a declared type, but you can assign any type to it without a warning. When accessing the property, you get back a value of the declared type. For example, element.innerHTML can be assigned any type, but will always return a string.

/**
 * @type {string}
 * @implicitCast
 */
Element.prototype.innerHTML;

Indicates that a method or property of a subclass intentionally hides a method or property of the superclass, and has exactly the same documentation. Note that the @inheritDoc tag implies the @override tag.

For example:

/** @inheritDoc */
project.SubClass.prototype.toString = function() {
  ...
};

Marks a function as an interface. An interface specifies the required members of a type. Any class that implements an interface must implement all of the methods and properties defined on the interface's prototype. See @implements.

The compiler verifies that interfaces are not instantiated. If the new keyword is used with an interface function, the compiler produces a warning.

For example:

/**
 * A shape.
 * @interface
 */
function Shape() {};
Shape.prototype.draw = function() {};

/**
 * A polygon.
 * @interface
 * @extends {Shape}
 */
function Polygon() {};
Polygon.prototype.getSides = function() {};

Indicates that the keys of an object literal should be treated as properties of some other object. This annotation should only appear on object literals.

Notice that the name in braces is not a type name like in other annotations. It's an object name. It names the object to which the properties are lent. For example, @type {Foo} means "an instance of Foo", but @lends {Foo} means "the constructor Foo".

The JSDoc Toolkit docs have more information on this annotation.

For example:

goog.object.extend(
    Button.prototype,
    /** @lends {Button.prototype} */ ({
      isButton: function() { return true; }
    }));

Tells the compiler to insert the associated comment before the compiled code for the marked file. This annotation allows important notices (such as legal licenses or copyright text) to survive compilation unchanged. Line breaks are preserved.

For example:

/**
 * @preserve Copyright 2009 SomeThirdParty.
 * Here is the full license text and copyright
 * notice for this file. Note that the notice can span several
 * lines and is only terminated by the closing star and slash:
 */

Denotes a property that should not be collapsed by the compiler into a variable. The primary use for @nocollapse is to allow exporting of mutable properties. Note that non-collapsed properties can still be renamed by the compiler. If you annotate a property that is an object with @nocollapse, all its properties will also remain uncollapsed.

For example:

/**
 * A namespace.
 * @const
 */
var foo = {};

/**
 * @nocollapse
 */
foo.bar = 42;

window['foobar'] = foo.bar;

Indicates that a call to the declared external function has no side effects. This annotation allows the compiler to remove calls to the function if the return value is not used. The annotation is only allowed in extern files.

For example:

/** @nosideeffects */
function noSideEffectsFn1() {}

/** @nosideeffects */
var noSideEffectsFn2 = function() {};

/** @nosideeffects */
a.prototype.noSideEffectsFn3 = function() {};

Indicates that a method or property of a subclass intentionally hides a method or property of the superclass. If no other annotations are included, the method or property automatically inherits annotations from its superclass.

For example:

/**
 * @return {string} Human-readable representation of
 *     project.SubClass.
 * @override
 */
project.SubClass.prototype.toString = function() {
  ...
};

Marks a member or property as package private. Only code in the same directory can access names marked @package. In particular, code in parent and child directories cannot access names marked @package.

Public constructors can have @package properties to restrict the methods that callers outside the directory can use. On the other hand, @package constructors can have public properties to prevent callers outside the directory from directly instantiating a type.

For example:

/**
 * Returns the window object the foreign document resides in.
 *
 * @return {Object} The window object of the peer.
 * @package
 */
goog.net.xpc.CrossPageChannel.prototype.getPeerWindowObject = function() {
  // ...
};

Used with method, function and constructor definitions to specify the types of function arguments. @param tags must be in same order as the parameters in the function definition.

The @param tag must be followed by a type expression.

Alternatively, you can annotate the types of the parameters inline (see function foo in the example).

For example:

/**
 * Queries a Baz for items.
 * @param {number} groupNum Subgroup id to query.
 * @param {string|number|null} term An itemName,
 *     or itemId, or null to search everything.
 */
goog.Baz.prototype.query = function(groupNum, term) {
  ...
};

function foo(/** number */ a, /** number */ b) {
  return a - b + 1;
}

/**
 * @param {{name: string, age: number}} person
 */
function logPerson({name, age}) {
  console.log(`${name} is ${age} years old`);
}

Marks a member as private. Only code in the same file can access global variables and functions marked @private. Constructors marked @private can only be instantiated by code in the same file and by their static and instance members.

The public static properties of constructors marked @private may also be accessed anywhere, and the instanceof operator can always access @private members.

For example:

/**
 * Handlers that are listening to this logger.
 * @private {Array<Function>}
 */
this.handlers_ = [];

Indicates that a member or property is protected.

A property marked @protected is accessible to:

• all code in the same file
• static methods and instance methods of any subclass of the class on which the property is defined.

For example:

/**
 * Sets the component's root element to the given element.
 * Considered protected and final.
 * @param {Element} element Root element for the component.
 * @protected
 */
goog.ui.Component.prototype.setElementInternal = function(element) {
  // ...
};

Marks a function as a structural interface. A structural interface is similar to a nominal @interface, but allows implicit implementations. This means that any class that includes the methods and properties defined on the structural interface's prototoype implements the structural interface, whether or not it uses the @implements tag. Record types and object literals also implicitly implement a structural interface if they contain the required properties.

For example:

/**
 * Anything with a draw() method.
 * @record
 */
function Drawable() {};
Drawable.prototype.draw = function() {};

/**
 * A polygon.
 * @param {!Drawable} x
 */
function render(x) { x.draw(); };

var o = { draw() { /* ... */ } };
render(o);

Specifies the return types of method and function definitions. The @return tag must be followed by a type expression.

Alternatively, you can annotate the return type inline (see function foo in the example).

If a function that is not in externs has no return value, you can omit the @return tag, and the compiler will assume that the function returns undefined.

For example:

/**
 * Returns the ID of the last item.
 * @return {string} The hex ID.
 */
goog.Baz.prototype.getLastId = function() {
  ...
  return id;
};

function /** number */ foo(x) { return x - 1; }

@struct is used to create objects with a fixed number of properties. When a constructor (Foo in the example) is annotated with @struct, you can only use the dot notation to access the properties of Foo objects, not the bracket notation. Also, you cannot add a property to a Foo instance after it's constructed. The annotation can also be used directly on object literals.

For example:

/**
 * @constructor
 * @struct
 */
function Foo(x) {
  this.x = x;
}
var obj1 = new Foo(123);
var someVar = obj1.x;  // OK
obj1.x = "qwerty";  // OK
obj1['x'] = "asdf";  // warning
obj1.y = 5;  // warning

var obj2 = /** @struct */ { x: 321 };
obj2['x'] = 123;  // warning

See Generic Types.

For example:

/**
 * @param {T} t
 * @constructor
 * @template T
 */
Container = function(t) { ... };

Specifies the type of the object to which the keyword this refers within a function. The @this tag must be followed by a type expression.

To prevent compiler warnings, you must use a @this annotation whenever this appears in a function that is neither a prototype method nor a function marked as a @constructor.

For example:

chat.RosterWidget.extern('getRosterElement',
    /**
     * Returns the roster widget element.
     * @this {Widget}
     * @return {Element}
     */
    function() {
      return this.getComponent().getElement();
    });

Used to document the exceptions thrown by a function. The type checker does not currently use this information. It is only used to figure out if a function declared in an externs file has side effects.

For example:

/**
 * @throws {DOMException}
 */
DOMApplicationCache.prototype.swapCache = function() { ... };

Identifies the type of a variable, property, or expression. The @type tag must be followed by a type expression.

When declaring a variable or function parameter, you can write the type annotation inline omitting the {} and @type, as in the second example. This shortcut can be done only where a variable or function parameter is declared. If you want to adjust the type later, you'll need a type cast.

For example:

/**
 * The message hex ID.
 * @type {string}
 */
var hexId = hexId;

var /** string */ name = 'Jamie';
function useSomething(/** (string|number|!Object) */ something) {
...
}

Declares an alias for a more complex type. Currently, typedefs can only be defined at the top level, not inside functions. We have fixed this limitation in the new type inference.

For example:

/** @typedef {(string|number)} */
goog.NumberLike;

/** @param {goog.NumberLike} x A number or a string. */
goog.readNumber = function(x) {
  ...
}

Indicates that a class is neither a @struct type, nor a @dict type. This is the default so it is generally not necessary to write it explicitly, unless you are using goog.defineClass, or the class keyword, which both produce classes which are @structs by default.

For example:

/**
 * @constructor
 * @unrestricted
 */
function Foo(x) {
  this.x = x;
}
var obj1 = new Foo(123);
var someVar = obj1.x;  // OK
obj1.x = "qwerty";  // OK
obj1['x'] = "asdf";  // OK
obj1.y = 5;  // OK