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MutationObserver: disconnect() method

The MutationObserver method disconnect() tells the observer to stop watching for mutations.

The observer can be reused by calling its observe() method again.

Syntax

js

disconnect()

Parameters

None.

Return value

undefined.

Note: All notifications of mutations that have already been detected, but not yet reported to the observer, are discarded. To hold on to and handle the detected but unreported mutations, use the takeRecords() method.

Usage notes

If the element being observed is removed from the DOM, and then subsequently released by the browser's garbage collection mechanism, the MutationObserver will stop observing the removed element. However, the MutationObserver itself can continue to exist to observe other existing elements.

Examples

This example creates an observer, then disconnects from it, leaving it available for possible reuse.

js

const targetNode = document.querySelector("#someElement");
const observerOptions = {
  childList: true,
  attributes: true,
};

const observer = new MutationObserver(callback);
observer.observe(targetNode, observerOptions);

/* some time later… */

observer.disconnect();

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
disconnect 18 12 14 11 15 6 4.4 18 14 14 6 1.0

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https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/MutationObserver/disconnect