Array.prototype.find()

The find() method returns a value of the first element in the array that satisfies the provided testing function. Otherwise undefined is returned.

function isBigEnough(element) {
  return element >= 15;
}

[12, 5, 8, 130, 44].find(isBigEnough); // 130

See also the findIndex() method, which returns the index of a found element in the array instead of its value.

If you need to find the position of an element or whether an element exists in an array, use Array.prototype.indexOf() or Array.prototype.includes().

Syntax

arr.find(callback[, thisArg])

Parameters

callback

Function to execute on each value in the array, taking three arguments:

element

The current element being processed in the array.

index

The index of the current element being processed in the array.

array

The array find was called upon.

thisArg

Optional. Object to use as this when executing callback.

Return value

A value in the array if an element passes the test; otherwise, undefined.

Description

The find method executes the callback function once for each element present in the array until it finds one where callback returns a true value. If such an element is found, find immediately returns the value of that element. Otherwise, find returns undefined. callback is invoked only for indexes of the array which have assigned values; it is not invoked for indexes which have been deleted or which have never been assigned values.

callback is invoked with three arguments: the value of the element, the index of the element, and the Array object being traversed.

If a thisArg parameter is provided to find, it will be used as the this for each invocation of the callback. If it is not provided, then undefined is used.

find does not mutate the array on which it is called.

The range of elements processed by find is set before the first invocation of callback. Elements that are appended to the array after the call to find begins will not be visited by callback. If an existing, unvisited element of the array is changed by callback, its value passed to the visiting callback will be the value at the time that find visits that element's index; elements that are deleted are not visited.

Examples

Find an object in an array by one of its properties

var inventory = [
    {name: 'apples', quantity: 2},
    {name: 'bananas', quantity: 0},
    {name: 'cherries', quantity: 5}
];

function findCherries(fruit) { 
    return fruit.name === 'cherries';
}

console.log(inventory.find(findCherries)); 
// { name: 'cherries', quantity: 5 }

Find a prime number in an array

The following example finds an element in the array that is a prime number (or returns undefined if there is no prime number).

function isPrime(element, index, array) {
  var start = 2;
  while (start <= Math.sqrt(element)) {
    if (element % start++ < 1) {
      return false;
    }
  }
  return element > 1;
}

console.log([4, 6, 8, 12].find(isPrime)); // undefined, not found
console.log([4, 5, 8, 12].find(isPrime)); // 5

Polyfill

This method has been added to the ECMAScript 2015 specification and may not be available in all JavaScript implementations yet. However, you can polyfill Array.prototype.find with the following snippet:

if (!Array.prototype.find) {
  Object.defineProperty(Array.prototype, "find", {
    value: function(predicate) {
     'use strict';
     if (this == null) {
       throw new TypeError('Array.prototype.find called on null or undefined');
     }
     if (typeof predicate !== 'function') {
       throw new TypeError('predicate must be a function');
     }
     var list = Object(this);
     var length = list.length >>> 0;
     var thisArg = arguments[1];
     var value;

     for (var i = 0; i < length; i++) {
       value = list[i];
       if (predicate.call(thisArg, value, i, list)) {
         return value;
       }
     }
     return undefined;
    }
  });
}

If you need to support truly obsolete JavaScript engines that don't support Object.defineProperty, it's best not to polyfill Array.prototype methods at all, as you can't make them non-enumerable.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Array.prototype.findIndex()
• Array.prototype.every()