All 10 Error Handling questions
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JavaScript › Error Handling

What's the difference between a built-in Error and throwing a plain string or object?

Beginner

Answer

new Error('message') creates an object with a stack trace and standard .message/.name properties, which DevTools and error-tracking tools understand. Throwing a plain string or object loses the stack trace, making debugging much harder.
throw new Error('Invalid input');    // has a stack trace
throw 'Invalid input';               // no stack trace, harder to debug
Real-world example Always throwing proper Error instances (or subclasses) so production error-tracking tools like Sentry capture full context.

Common follow-ups: How do you create a custom error type by extending Error?

Classes & Class Syntax
All 10 Error Handling questions