Async Await Promise Waiting Utilities and Debugging Tools

When you're wondering "why is my javascript async await function not waiting for promise", these utility functions and debugging tools will help identify and fix the issue quickly.

Promise Waiting Detection Utility #

This utility detects when async functions aren't properly waiting for promises:

Async Function Wrapper for Proper Waiting #

This wrapper ensures your async functions properly wait for promises:

// Utility wrapper to fix async/await timing issues
function createAsyncWrapper() {
    return {
        // Ensures function waits for all promises
        async ensureWait(asyncFunction, ...args) {
            try {
                const result = await asyncFunction(...args);
                console.log('✅ Function completed successfully');
                return result;
            } catch (error) {
                console.error('❌ Function failed:', error);
                throw error;
            }
        },
        
        // Sequential execution utility
        async runSequentially(asyncFunctions) {
            const results = [];
            for (const fn of asyncFunctions) {
                const result = await fn();
                results.push(result);
            }
            return results;
        },
        
        // Concurrent execution with proper waiting
        async runConcurrently(asyncFunctions) {
            return await Promise.all(asyncFunctions.map(fn => fn()));
        }
    };
}

Promise State Inspector #

Debug why your async await function is not waiting for promise with this inspector:

Async/Await Error Detector #

Utility to catch common async/await mistakes:

// Async/await error detection utility
function createAsyncErrorDetector() {
    return {
        // Detect missing await keywords
        detectMissingAwait(func) {
            const funcString = func.toString();
            const hasAsync = funcString.includes('async');
            const hasAwait = funcString.includes('await');
            const hasPromiseReturns = funcString.includes('.then(') || 
                                    funcString.includes('Promise');
            
            if (hasAsync && hasPromiseReturns && !hasAwait) {
                console.warn('⚠️ Potential missing await detected in function');
                return true;
            }
            return false;
        },
        
        // Validate async function structure
        validateAsyncFunction(func) {
            const funcString = func.toString();
            const issues = [];
            
            if (!funcString.includes('async')) {
                issues.push('Function should be declared as async');
            }
            
            if (funcString.includes('forEach') && funcString.includes('await')) {
                issues.push('Using await in forEach - consider for...of or Promise.all');
            }
            
            if (!funcString.includes('try') && funcString.includes('await')) {
                issues.push('Missing error handling - consider try-catch');
            }
            
            return issues;
        }
    };
}

Promise Timeout Utility #

Prevent hanging promises when async await function is not waiting properly:

Async Function Validator #

Complete validation utility for async/await functions:

// Comprehensive async function validator
function createAsyncValidator() {
    return {
        async validateAndRun(asyncFunction, ...args) {
            console.log('🔍 Validating async function...');
            
            // Check if function is async
            if (asyncFunction.constructor.name !== 'AsyncFunction') {
                throw new Error('Function must be declared as async');
            }
            
            // Run function and validate result
            const startTime = Date.now();
            const result = await asyncFunction(...args);
            const duration = Date.now() - startTime;
            
            console.log(`✅ Function completed in ${duration}ms`);
            
            // Check if result is a promise (indicates missing await)
            if (result instanceof Promise) {
                console.warn('⚠️ Function returned a promise - check for missing await');
            }
            
            return result;
        }
    };
}

Usage Examples #

Debugging Missing Await #

// Example: Debug function with missing await
async function problematicFunction() {
    const data = fetch('/api/data'); // Missing await!
    return data;
}

const validator = createAsyncValidator();
validator.validateAndRun(problematicFunction); // Will warn about missing await

Sequential vs Concurrent Execution #

const wrapper = createAsyncWrapper();

// Sequential execution
const results1 = await wrapper.runSequentially([
    () => fetch('/api/users'),
    () => fetch('/api/posts'),
    () => fetch('/api/comments')
]);

// Concurrent execution
const results2 = await wrapper.runConcurrently([
    () => fetch('/api/users'),
    () => fetch('/api/posts'),
    () => fetch('/api/comments')
]);

Summary #

These utilities help diagnose and fix issues when your javascript async await function is not waiting for promise resolution:

• Promise tracker: Monitor pending promises
• State inspector: Check promise states and function returns
• Error detector: Identify common async/await mistakes
• Timeout protection: Prevent hanging promises
• Function validator: Comprehensive async function validation

Use these tools to debug timing issues and ensure your async functions properly wait for promise resolution.

For more async/await debugging, see our error handling guide and promise troubleshooting tools.