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no-unnecessary-break

Disallow unnecessary trailing break statements in switch blocks.

Targeted pattern scope​

This rule matches break statements that appear in the last case of a switch statement.

Specifically, it reports when the final SwitchCase ends with break;, because control flow would already exit the switch at that point.

What this rule reports​

This rule reports a break statement when it appears in the last SwitchCase, where control would already exit the switch.

Why this rule exists​

A trailing break in the final case is dead control-flow noise. Removing it keeps switch blocks smaller and easier to scan.

❌ Incorrect​

switch (x) {
 case 1:
  break;
 case 2:
  break;
}

✅ Correct​

switch (x) {
 case 1:
  break;
 case 2:
}

Behavior and migration notes​

This rule reports only and does not provide an autofix.

Manual migration is typically trivial: delete the final break; in the last case when no additional logic depends on it.

Options​

This rule has no options.

Additional examples​

switch (status) {
 case "ok":
  handleOk();
  break;
 default:
  handleDefault();
  break; // ❌ unnecessary (last case)
}

ESLint flat config example​

import etcMisc from "eslint-plugin-etc-misc";

export default [
 {
  plugins: { "etc-misc": etcMisc },
  rules: {
   "etc-misc/no-unnecessary-break": "error",
  },
 },
];

When not to use it​

Disable this rule if your team prefers explicit trailing break statements for style consistency.

Package documentation​

Rule catalog ID: R046

Further reading​

Adoption resources​

  • Start at warning level in CI, then move to error after cleanup.
  • Use focused codemods/autofix batches per package or directory.