How to remove element from an array in JavaScript

Question

var arr    1 2 3 5 6     Remove the first element  I want to remove the first element of the array so that it becomes   var arr    2 3 5 6     Remove the second element  To extend this question  what if I want to remove the second element of the array so that it becomes   var arr    1 3 5 6

User · Answer

There are multiple ways to remove an element from an Array. Let me point out most used options below. I'm writing this answer because I couldn't find a proper reason as to what to use from all of these options. The answer to the question is option 3 (Splice()).

1) SHIFT() - Remove First Element from Original Array and Return the First Element

See reference for Array.prototype.shift(). Use this only if you want to remove the first element, and only if you are okay with changing the original array.

const array1 = [1, 2, 3];

const firstElement = array1.shift();

console.log(array1);
// expected output: Array [2, 3]

console.log(firstElement);
// expected output: 1

2) SLICE() - Returns a Copy of the Array, Separated by a Begin Index and an End Index

See reference for Array.prototype.slice(). You cannot remove a specific element from this option. You can take only slice the existing array and get a continuous portion of the array. It's like cutting the array from the indexes you specify. The original array does not get affected.

const animals = ['ant', 'bison', 'camel', 'duck', 'elephant'];

console.log(animals.slice(2));
// expected output: Array ["camel", "duck", "elephant"]

console.log(animals.slice(2, 4));
// expected output: Array ["camel", "duck"]

console.log(animals.slice(1, 5));
// expected output: Array ["bison", "camel", "duck", "elephant"]

3) SPLICE() - Change Contents of Array by Removing or Replacing Elements at Specific Indexes.

See reference for Array.prototype.splice(). The splice() method changes the contents of an array by removing or replacing existing elements and/or adding new elements in place. Returns updated array. Original array gets updated.

const months = ['Jan', 'March', 'April', 'June'];
months.splice(1, 0, 'Feb');
// inserts at index 1
console.log(months);
// expected output: Array ["Jan", "Feb", "March", "April", "June"]

months.splice(4, 1, 'May');
// replaces 1 element at index 4
console.log(months);
// expected output: Array ["Jan", "Feb", "March", "April", "May"]

User · Answer

shift   is ideal for your situation  shift   removes the first element from an array and returns that element  This method changes the length of the array   array    1  2  3  4  5    array shift       1  array     2  3  4  5

User · Answer

For a more flexible solution  use the splice   function   It allows you to remove any item in an Array based on Index Value  var indexToRemove   0  var numberToRemove   1   arr splice indexToRemove  numberToRemove

User · Answer

The Array prototype shift method removes the first element from an array  and returns it  It modifies the original array   var a    1 2 3      1 2 3  a shift      1 a    2 3

User · Answer

arr slice begin  end     is non destructive  splice and shift will modify your original array

User · Answer

Maybe something like this   arr arr slice 1

User · Answer

You can use the ES6 Destructuring Assignment feature with a rest operator  A comma indicates where you want to remove the element and the rest     arr  operator to give you the remaining elements of the array    x000D   x000D  const source    1 2 3 5 6   x000D   x000D  function removeFirst list    x000D     var        arr    list  x000D     return arr  x000D    x000D  const arr   removeFirst source   x000D  console log arr       2  3  5  6  x000D  console log source       1  2  3  5  6  x000D   x000D   x000D

User · Answer

Others answers are great  I just wanted to add an alternative solution with ES6 Array function   filter     filter   creates a new array with elements that fall under a given criteria from an existing array    So you can easily use it to remove items that not pass the criteria  Benefits of this function is that you can use it on complex array not just string and number      Some examples      Remove first element       Not very useful but it works function removeFirst element  index      return index  gt  0    var arr    1 2 3 5 6  filter removeFirst       2 3 4 5 6    Remove second element    function removeSecond element  index      return index    1    var arr    1 2 3 5 6  filter removeSecond       1 3 4 5 6    Remove odd element    function removeOdd element  index      return   element   2     var arr    1 2 3 5 6  filter removeOdd    2 4 6    Remove items not in stock  const inventory        name   Apple   qty  2      name   Banana   qty  0      name   Orange   qty  5      const res   inventory find  product   gt  product qty  gt  0

User · Answer

Array splice   has the interesting property that one cannot use it to remove the first element  So  we need to resort to  function removeAnElement  array  index         index--       if   index     -1             return array shift          else           return array splice  index  1

User · Answer

Wrote a small article about inserting and deleting elements at arbitrary positions in Javascript Arrays   Here s the small snippet to remove an element from any position  This extends the Array class in Javascript and adds the remove index  method      Remove element at the given index Array prototype remove   function index        this splice index  1       So to remove the first item in your example  call arr remove     var arr    1 2 3 5 6   arr remove 0     To remove the second item   arr remove 1     Here s a tiny article with insert and delete methods for Array class   Essentially this is no different than the other answers using splice  but the name splice is non-intuitive  and if you have that call all across your application  it just makes the code harder to read

User · Answer

Typescript solution that does not mutate original array  function removeElementAtIndex lt T gt  input  T    index  number      return input slice 0  index  concat input slice index   1

User · Answer

You can also do this with reduce    let arr    1  2  3   arr reduce  xs  x  index    gt            if  index    0                return xs           else               return xs concat x                   Array        Or if you like a oneliner arr reduce  xs  x  index    gt  index    0   xs   xs concat x   Array

[javascript] How to remove element from an array in JavaScript?

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