ES2017 Async Generator Suspended on `yield*` Continues Execution When Returned

🔎 Search Terms

es2017 async generator delegator await loop yield*

🕗 Version & Regression Information

• This is the behavior in every version I tried, and I reviewed the FAQ for entries about async generators

⏯ Playground Link

https://www.typescriptlang.org/play/?declaration=false&module=0&ts=5.8.0-dev.20250122#code/PQgEB4CcFMDNpgOwMbVAGwJYCMC8AiaAZ0WgA8AXfUYAPgCh6AKAQyIE8VQmBKUXWqADe9UGJrBQAQQAmLAA4VoM0LEgB7ALYAuUeLAALChXlFtIAO5WAdBXbziySJkXoWiAObX1kD8BnqyETABu4y2OrqANbAMOjQbNAAtIjqSsF2DkROLhRJAExJAMzWRproemJsnMiqAK4oFJjqiABUoB68wpXiYuyY0Ogy7awcXLANyE0tI3wivQvi-YMqAIwA3D29AL48vJtb4sgtROrx1ujqnfgssEqQ+DybO4y9x4hEFKCYX7gdvABtADK7E0EXQ1mqKAAkvcWBQfABdfY9d6nc6XTosCwsH7fCjWUiUXhPHrY3FfH7WGAUOqQRAAfmsKN2KKAA

💻 Code

/// <reference lib="esnext" />

(async () => {
    // Adapted from:
    // https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/release-notes/typescript-2-3.html
    async function* g() {
        yield* (async function* () {
            yield 1;
        })();

        console.log("after");
    }

    const it = g()[Symbol.asyncIterator]();
    console.log(await it.next());
    await it.return?.();
})();

🙁 Actual behavior

If you run the provided TS code directly in a modern Node process, you get the expected following output:

{ value: 1, done: false }

If you instead run the JS output code, you get:

{ value: 1, done: false }
after

Here, the downleveled code behaves differently than the source and continues execution after .return() was called in the iterator.

🙂 Expected behavior

The generated code should work like the original.

Additional information about the issue

This only seems to be an issue when yield*ing values from another generator. The following works just fine:

/// <reference lib="esnext" />

(async () => {
  async function* g() {
    yield* [1, 2];
    console.log('after');
  }

  const it = g()[Symbol.asyncIterator]();
  console.log(await it.next());
  await it.return?.();
})();

---

If you extract the generator into a constant and put the log in a while loop, the loop never exits:

/// <reference lib="esnext" />

(async () => {
  async function* g() {
    const x = (async function* () {
        yield 1;
      })();

    for (let i = 0; i < 15; i++) {
      yield* x;

      console.log('after');
    }
  }

  const it = g()[Symbol.asyncIterator]();
  console.log(await it.next());
  await it.return?.();
})();

{ value: 1, done: false }
after
after
after
after
after
...

---

If you inline the generator from the above example, the "after" is still logged, but the loop isn't run. Only if you extract the inline generator into a separate constant and only yield that within the loop instead, it keeps going.

/// <reference lib="esnext" />

(async () => {
  async function* g() {
    for (let i = 0; i < 15; i++) {
      yield* (async function* () {
        yield 1;
      })();

      console.log('after');
    }
  }

  const it = g()[Symbol.asyncIterator]();
  console.log(await it.next());
  await it.return?.();
})();

{ value: 1, done: false }
after

---

The above does not apply to generators that only yield* themselves:

/// <reference lib="esnext" />

(async () => {
  async function* id(x) {
    yield* x;
  }

  async function* g() {
    const x = (async function* () {
      yield 1;
    })();

    for (let i = 0; i < 15; i++) {
      yield* id(id(x));

      console.log('after');
    }
  }

  const it = g()[Symbol.asyncIterator]();
  console.log(await it.next());
  await it.return?.();
})();

{ value: 1, done: false }
after
after
after
after
after
...