JavaScript – Split a String

To split a string into an array of substrings in JavaScript, where the splitting of this string is done based on a separator, call split() method on this string, and pass the delimiter as first argument.

Syntax

The syntax to split a string str with a specific separator string is

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str.split(separator)

split() method returns an array of strings.

We can also limit the number of splits done. Pass an integer as second argument to split() method, which specifies the limit on the length of returned array.

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str.split(separator, limit)

Examples

In the following examples, we go through different scenarios of splitting a string, based on separator, limiting the number of splits, etc.

Split a String with Comma as Separator

In the following example, we take a string str and split this string with comma character as separator.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<body>
    <pre id="output"></pre>
    <script>
        var str = 'apple,banana,mango,orange';
        var separator = ',';

        var resultArr = str.split(separator);

        var output = '';
        output += 'Input String : ' + str;
        output += '\n\nResulting Array of split() Operation : \n'
        resultArr.forEach(function printing(element, index, resultArr){
            output += element + '\n';
        });
        document.getElementById('output').innerHTML = output;
    </script>
</body>
</html>

Split a String with a Word as Separator

In the following example, we take a string str and split this string with 'abc' as separator.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<body>
    <pre id="output"></pre>
    <script>
        var str = 'applexyzbananaxyzmangoxyz';
        var separator = 'xyz';

        var resultArr = str.split(separator);

        var output = '';
        output += 'Input String : ' + str;
        output += '\n\nResulting Array of split() Operation : \n'
        resultArr.forEach(function printing(element, index, resultArr){
            output += element + '\n';
        });
        document.getElementById('output').innerHTML = output;
    </script>
</body>
</html>

Split a String with Empty String as Separator

If an empty string is given as separator to split() method, then split() method splits the given string between each character.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<body>
    <pre id="output"></pre>
    <script>
        var str = 'apple banana mango';
        var separator = '';

        var resultArr = str.split(separator);

        var output = '';
        output += 'Input String : ' + str;
        output += '\n\nResulting Array of split() Operation : \n'
        resultArr.forEach(function printing(element, index, resultArr){
            output += element + '\n';
        });
        document.getElementById('output').innerHTML = output;
    </script>
</body>
</html>

Limit Number of Parts into which the String Splits into

We will take a string and split it using comma as separator. Also, we will limit the number of splits in returned array to 3.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<body>
    <pre id="output"></pre>
    <script>
        var str = 'apple,banana,mango,orange,cherry';
        var separator = ',';
        var limit = 3;
        var resultArr = str.split(separator, limit);

        var output = '';
        output += 'Input String : ' + str;
        output += '\n\nResulting Array of split() Operation : \n'
        resultArr.forEach(function printing(element, index, resultArr){
            output += element + '\n';
        });
        document.getElementById('output').innerHTML = output;
    </script>
</body>
</html>

Conclusion

In this JavaScript Tutorial, we learned how to split a string into parts (an array) in JavaScript, using split() method, with examples.