Reflect.getPrototypeOf()

The static Reflect.getPrototypeOf() method is almost the same method as Object.getPrototypeOf(). It returns the prototype (i.e. the value of the internal [[Prototype]] property) of the specified object.

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

Syntax

Reflect.getPrototypeOf(target)

Parameters

target

The target object of which to get the prototype.

Return value

The prototype of the given object. If there are no inherited properties, null is returned.

Exceptions

A TypeError, if target is not an Object.

Description

The Reflect.getPrototypeOf method returns the prototype (i.e. the value of the internal [[Prototype]] property) of the specified object.

Examples

Using Reflect.getPrototypeOf()

Reflect.getPrototypeOf({})                  // Object.prototype
Reflect.getPrototypeOf(Object.prototype)    // null
Reflect.getPrototypeOf(Object.create(null)) // null

Compared to Object.getPrototypeOf()

// Same result for Objects
Object.getPrototypeOf({})   // Object.prototype
Reflect.getPrototypeOf({})  // Object.prototype

// Both throw in ES5 for non-Objects
Object.getPrototypeOf('foo')   // Throws TypeError
Reflect.getPrototypeOf('foo')  // Throws TypeError

// In ES2015 only Reflect throws, Object coerces non-Objects
Object.getPrototypeOf('foo')   // String.prototype
Reflect.getPrototypeOf('foo')  // Throws TypeError

// To mimic the Object ES2015 behavior you need to coerce
Reflect.getPrototypeOf(Object('foo'))  // String.prototype

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Reflect
• Object.getPrototypeOf()