TypeError: getBoundingClientRect is not a function in JS

# TypeError: getBoundingClientRect is not a function in JS

The "getBoundingClientRect is not a function" error occurs for multiple reasons:

calling the getBoundingClientRect() method on a value that is not a DOM element.
placing the JS script tag above the code that declares the DOM elements.
misspelling getBoundingClientRect (it's case-sensitive).

getboundingclientrect is not a function

Here is an example of how the error occurs.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  </head>

  <body>
    <div class="box">Box 1</div>
    <div class="box">Box 2</div>
    <div class="box">Box 3</div>

    <!-- ✅ Your JS script here ✅ -->
    <script type="module" src="index.js"></script>
  </body>
</html>

The code for this article is available on GitHub

Notice that the JS script tag is placed at the bottom of the body tag.

Had we placed the JS script tag above the code that declares the DOM elements, they wouldn't be accessible in the index.js file.

And here is the related JavaScript code.

index.js

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const boxes = document.getElementsByClassName('box');

// ⛔️ TypeError: boxes.getBoundingClientRect is not a function
const result = boxes.getBoundingClientRect();

We called the Element.getBoundingClientRect() method on a NodeList and not on a DOM element.

# Only call `getBoundingClientRect` on valid DOM elements

Make sure to only call the getBoundingClientRect method on valid DOM elements and place the JS script tag at the bottom of the body, after the DOM elements have been declared.

index.js

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const boxes = document.getElementsByClassName('box');

const result = boxes[0].getBoundingClientRect();

// 👇️ {bottom: 26.87..., height: ..., left: ..., right: ...}
console.log(result);

only call get bounding client rect on valid dom elements

The code for this article is available on GitHub

By accessing the element at index 0 of the NodeList, we got back a DOM element, on which we can safely call the getBoundingClientRect method.

# Handle the case where the element might not exist

If the element you're calling the method on sometimes doesn't exist, check if the element is present before calling getBoundingClientRect.

For example, a basic DOM element has a type of object, so we can check if the value is an object and contains the getBoundingClientRect property before calling the method.

index.js

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const box = null;

if (
  typeof box === 'object' &&
  box !== null &&
  'getBoundingClientRect' in box
) {
  const result = box.getBoundingClientRect();
  console.log(result);
}

The code for this article is available on GitHub

Our if condition uses the logical AND (&&) operator, so for the if block to run, all conditions have to be met.

We first check if the box variable stores a value with a type of object because DOM elements have a type of object.

Then we check if the variable is not equal to null.

Unfortunately, if you console.log(typeof null), you will get an "object" value back, so we have to make sure the value is not null.

index.js

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console.log(typeof null); // 👉️ "object"

The last thing we check for is that the object contains the getBoundingClientRect property.

Then we know we can safely call the getBoundingClientRect method on the object.

This approach is called duck-typing.

When using duck-typing, we simply check if the object implements specific properties or methods and if it does, we assume it's an object of the correct type.

If the error persists, make sure you haven't misspelled getBoundingClientRect as method names are case-sensitive.

You can also console.log the value you're calling the method to make sure it's a valid DOM element.

I've also written an article on how to check if two elements overlap.

# Conclusion

To solve the "getBoundingClientRect is not a function" error, make sure to only call the getBoundingClientRect method on valid DOM elements and place the JS script tag at the bottom of the body, after the DOM elements have been declared.

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TypeError: getBoundingClientRect is not a function in JS