How to Convert Strings to Arrays in JavaScript

You’ll want to know how to convert a string to an array in JavaScript if you’re handling user inputs or manipulating text data. It’s straightforward thanks to JavaScript's built-in methods, like splitting a string by a delimiter, using a regular expression for complex patterns, or breaking down a string into individual characters. Read the guide below to explore string to array conversions.

How to use the split method in JavaScript?

The split method is your go-to for converting a string into an array. It splits a string into an array of strings by separating it into substrings.

let myString = "Hello, world!";
let myArray = myString.split(", ");
console.log(myArray); // Output: ["Hello", "world!"]

Splitting by a character

Split a string by every instance of a specified character to get an array of substrings. This is especially useful for processing comma-separated values.

let names = "John,Doe,Jane,Doe";
let namesArray = names.split(",");
console.log(namesArray); // Output: ["John", "Doe", "Jane", "Doe"]

Splitting by regular expression

Use a regular expression as the separator for more complex splitting logic. This approach is beneficial when you need to split by multiple characters or patterns.

let data = "name: John; age: 30; occupation: developer";
let dataArray = data.split(/[:;]\\s*/);
console.log(dataArray); // Output: ["name", "John", "age", "30", "occupation", "developer"]

Splitting into individual characters

To split a string into an array of its individual characters, simply use an empty string ('') as the separator.

let word = "hello";
let letters = word.split('');
console.log(letters); // Output: ["h", "e", "l", "l", "o"]

Considerations

• Using the split method creates a new array without altering the original string.
• If the separator does not appear in the string, you'll get an array containing the entire original string as its only element.
• While regular expressions are powerful for splitting strings, they should be used judiciously as they can affect both performance and readability if overly complex.