How can I remove a specific item from an array ?
Tags: javascript
Published: 2021-02-23 11:01:53


In this short tutorial we are going to explore different ways to remove an element from an array. Depending on the position of the element within the array there might be some options for you …

**Option 1:**

Find the index of the array element you want to remove using [indexOf](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/indexOf), and then remove that index with [splice](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/splice).
>  *The splice() method changes the contents of an array by removing existing elements and/or adding new elements.*

    const array = [2, 5, 9];

    console.log(array);

    const index = array.indexOf(5);
    if (index > -1) {
      array.splice(index, 1);
    }

    // array = [2, 9]
    console.log(array);

Find the index of the array element you want to remove using [indexOf](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/indexOf), and then remove that index with [splice](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/splice).
>  *The splice() method changes the contents of an array by removing existing elements and/or adding new elements.*

    const array = [2, 5, 9];

    console.log(array);

    const index = array.indexOf(5);
    if (index > -1) {
      array.splice(index, 1);
    }

    // array = [2, 9]
    console.log(array);

The second parameter of splice is the number of elements to remove. Note that splice modifies the array in place and returns a new array containing the elements that have been removed.

**Option 2:**

For the reason of completeness, here are functions. The first function removes only a single occurrence (i.e. removing the first match of 5 from [2,5,9,1,5,8,5]), while the second function removes all occurrences:

    function removeItemOnce(arr, value) {
      var index = arr.indexOf(value);
      if (index > -1) {
        arr.splice(index, 1);
      }
      return arr;
    }

    function removeItemAll(arr, value) {
      var i = 0;
      while (i < arr.length) {
        if (arr[i] === value) {
          arr.splice(i, 1);
        } else {
          ++i;
        }
      }
      return arr;
    }
    //Usage
    console.log(removeItemOnce([2,5,9,1,5,8,5], 5))
    console.log(removeItemAll([2,5,9,1,5,8,5], 5))

**Option 3:**

[Underscore.js](http://underscorejs.org/#without) can be used to solve issues with multiple browsers. It uses in-build browser methods if present. If they are absent like in the case of older Internet Explorer versions it uses its own custom methods.

A simple example to remove elements from array (from the website):

    _.without([1, 2, 1, 0, 3, 1, 4], 0, 1); // => [2, 3, 4]


### **Additional Js learning resources:**

[Javascript Tutorial and Projects Course](https://coursesim.com/course/javascript-tutorial-and-projects-course/)

[The Complete JavaScript Course 2021: From Zero to Expert!](https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=NcMZU1aTATA&mid=39197&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.udemy.com%2Fcourse%2Fthe-complete-javascript-course%2F)

Reference sites: [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5767325/how-can-i-remove-a-specific-item-from-an-array](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5767325/how-can-i-remove-a-specific-item-from-an-array)