Trim string in JavaScript

Question

How do I remove all whitespace from the start and end of the string?

Artiste

It's worth mentioning two years after this question was asked that String.trim() was added natively in JavaScript 1.8.1 / ECMAScript 5, supported in: Firefox 3.5+, Chrome/Safari 5+, IE9+ (in Standards mode only!) see scunliffe's answer: https://mcmap.net/q/24561/-trim-string-in-javascript – Wisecrack

String.trim() also works fine out of the box in Node.js. – Condensation

To nitpick: String.trim(), the class method, does not exist in ES5/Node.js; instead, String.prototype.trim(), the instance method, exists. Usage: ' foo '.trim(), not String.trim(' foo '). – Candida

String.trim() works in Google Apps Script too! – Tercet

OMG, it's 2013 and IE9 in compat mode has no trim() method on String! – Links

the sad thing is that there are no ltrim and rtrim – Skinflint

String.trim() is only for whitespace chars. Trimming should be more than that in 2016... – Athallia

Refer this example to trim a string using JavaScript : javascriptstutorial.com/blog/trim-string – Filmore

developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/… – Stationer

Answer 1

All browsers since IE9+ have trim() method for strings.

" \n test \n ".trim(); // returns "test" here

For those browsers who does not support trim(), you can use this polyfill from MDN:

if (!String.prototype.trim) {
    (function() {
        // Make sure we trim BOM and NBSP
        var rtrim = /^[\s\uFEFF\xA0]+|[\s\uFEFF\xA0]+$/g;
        String.prototype.trim = function() {
            return this.replace(rtrim, '');
        };
    })();
}

---

That said, if using jQuery, then $.trim(str) is always available, which handles undefined/null as well.

---

See this:

String.prototype.trim=function(){return this.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');};

String.prototype.ltrim=function(){return this.replace(/^\s+/,'');};

String.prototype.rtrim=function(){return this.replace(/\s+$/,'');};

String.prototype.fulltrim=function(){return this.replace(/(?:(?:^|\n)\s+|\s+(?:$|\n))/g,'').replace(/\s+/g,' ');};

Soliloquize

Answer 2

The trim from jQuery is convenient if you are already using that framework.

$.trim('  your string   ');

I tend to use jQuery often, so trimming strings with it is natural for me. But it's possible that there is backlash against jQuery out there? :)

Whenas

this only trims whitespace (newline) .. it does not work like php trim , where you can trim characters as well – Judiejudith

jQuery 3.5.0 depreciated their trim method. – Guppy

Answer 3

Although there are a bunch of correct answers above, it should be noted that the String object in JavaScript has a native .trim() method as of ECMAScript 5. Thus ideally any attempt to prototype the trim method should really check to see if it already exists first.

if(!String.prototype.trim){  
  String.prototype.trim = function(){  
    return this.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,'');  
  };  
}

Added natively in: JavaScript 1.8.1 / ECMAScript 5

Thus supported in:

Firefox: 3.5+

Safari: 5+

Internet Explorer: IE9+ (in Standards mode only!) http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2010/06/25/enhanced-scripting-in-ie9-ecmascript-5-support-and-more.aspx

Chrome: 5+

Opera: 10.5+

ECMAScript 5 Support Table: http://kangax.github.com/es5-compat-table/

Orman

Answer 4

There are a lot of implementations that can be used. The most obvious seems to be something like this:

String.prototype.trim = function() {
    return this.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, "");
};

" foo bar ".trim();  // "foo bar"

Insurgency

Answer 5

Simple version here What is a general function for JavaScript trim?

function trim(str) {
        return str.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"");
}

Hardtack

Answer 6

I know this question has been asked a while back. Now,String.trim() was added natively in JavaScript. For instance, you can trim directly as following,

document.getElementById("id").value.trim();

Marissamarist

This wont work in ie versions, use the jQuery methd $.trim(str) if you can – Cur

Answer 7

If you are using jQuery, use the jQuery.trim() function. For example:

if( jQuery.trim(StringVariable) == '')

Whaleboat

Answer 8

Flagrant Badassery has 11 different trims with benchmark information:

http://blog.stevenlevithan.com/archives/faster-trim-javascript

Non-surprisingly regexp-based are slower than traditional loop.

---

Here is my personal one. This code is old! I wrote it for JavaScript1.1 and Netscape 3 and it has been only slightly updated since. (Original used String.charAt)

/**
 *  Trim string. Actually trims all control characters.
 *  Ignores fancy Unicode spaces. Forces to string.
 */
function trim(str) {
    str = str.toString();
    var begin = 0;
    var end = str.length - 1;
    while (begin <= end && str.charCodeAt(begin) < 33) { ++begin; }
    while (end > begin && str.charCodeAt(end) < 33) { --end; }
    return str.substr(begin, end - begin + 1);
}

Yann

Answer 9

Use the Native JavaScript Methods: String.trimLeft(), String.trimRight(), and String.trim().

String.trim() is supported in IE9+ and all other major browsers:

'  Hello  '.trim()  //-> 'Hello'

String.trimLeft() and String.trimRight() are non-standard, but are supported in all major browsers except IE

'  Hello  '.trimLeft()   //-> 'Hello  '
'  Hello  '.trimRight()  //-> '  Hello'

IE support is easy with a polyfill however:

if (!''.trimLeft) {
    String.prototype.trimLeft = function() {
        return this.replace(/^\s+/,'');
    };
    String.prototype.trimRight = function() {
        return this.replace(/\s+$/,'');
    };
    if (!''.trim) {
        String.prototype.trim = function() {
            return this.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');
        };
    }
}

Bronwynbronx

String.trimLeft() and String.trimRight() are not part of any ECMAScript standard. Plus, your answer is identical to the accepted answer for this question. – Condensation

@Condensation True, but they still have wide browser support. And the polyfill takes care of any inconsistencies. – Bronwynbronx

You should consider deleting your answer. It doesn't add anything that hasn't already been covered 5x over by other answers already here. – Condensation

@Condensation I haven't seen anyone mention trimLeft or trimRight. – Bronwynbronx

@Condensation I prefer the native JavaScript implementation when available. That answer makes up its own lTrim() and rTrim() methods. – Bronwynbronx

Your trimLeft and trimRight are made up as well. It even says so in the documentation you linked to. – Condensation

@Condensation They are non-standard yet some browsers still support them, so in those browsers there's no need to create a polyfill. – Bronwynbronx

Yes, I understand that. All I'm saying is that your post doesn't add anything to this discussion that wasn't already there. You are more than welcome to leave it if you please. – Condensation

trimLeft and trimRight are deprecated in favor of trimStart and trimEnd. – Clearstory

Answer 10

String.prototype.trim = String.prototype.trim || function () {
    return this.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, "");
};

String.prototype.trimLeft = String.prototype.trimLeft || function () {
    return this.replace(/^\s+/, "");
};

String.prototype.trimRight = String.prototype.trimRight || function () {
    return this.replace(/\s+$/, "");
};

String.prototype.trimFull = String.prototype.trimFull || function () {
    return this.replace(/(?:(?:^|\n)\s+|\s+(?:$|\n))/g, "").replace(/\s+/g, " ");
};

Shamelessly stolen from Matt duereg.

Kingcup

Answer 11

Trim code from angular js project

var trim = (function() {

  // if a reference is a `String`.
  function isString(value){
       return typeof value == 'string';
  } 

  // native trim is way faster: http://jsperf.com/angular-trim-test
  // but IE doesn't have it... :-(
  // TODO: we should move this into IE/ES5 polyfill

  if (!String.prototype.trim) {
    return function(value) {
      return isString(value) ? 
         value.replace(/^\s*/, '').replace(/\s*$/, '') : value;
    };
  }

  return function(value) {
    return isString(value) ? value.trim() : value;
  };

})();

and call it as trim(" hello ")

Isopiestic

Answer 12

use simply code

var str = "       Hello World!        ";
alert(str.trim());

Browser support

Feature         Chrome  Firefox Internet Explorer   Opera   Safari  Edge
Basic support   (Yes)   3.5     9                   10.5    5       ?

For old browser add prototype

if (!String.prototype.trim) {
  String.prototype.trim = function () {
    return this.replace(/^[\s\uFEFF\xA0]+|[\s\uFEFF\xA0]+$/g, '');
  };
}

Wellpreserved

best way to explain as compare to others.but modify it little more i mean replace function regexp. i did not get it completely. would u like to explain it a little more the regexp part? – Madonnamadora

Answer 13

Here's a very simple way:

function removeSpaces(string){
return string.split(' ').join('');
}

Atli

" hello world " -> "helloworld" – Stefanstefanac

This answer is wrong. trim should only remove leading and trailing whitespace (which includes tabs and other characters). This instead removes all spaces, including ones in the middle. – Azelea

This unexplained answer is incorrect and should be removed. In other words, it is the correct answer to a different question. – Simile

Answer 14

I have a lib that uses trim. so solved it by using the following code.

String.prototype.trim = String.prototype.trim || function(){ return jQuery.trim(this); };

Ky

This is not a good solution. Consider the case where two instances of jQuery are loaded (a common scenario with tags). When the 2nd instance of jQuery loads, it will set it's .trim() method equal to the native String.prototype.trim which has already been set to return jQuery.trim(this), thus creating a stack overflow. – Sidonius

Answer 15

I had written this function for trim, when the .trim() function was not available in JS way back in 2008. Some of the older browsers still do not support the .trim() function and i hope this function may help somebody.

TRIM FUNCTION

function trim(str)
{
    var startpatt = /^\s/;
    var endpatt = /\s$/;

    while(str.search(startpatt) == 0)
        str = str.substring(1, str.length);

    while(str.search(endpatt) == str.length-1)
        str = str.substring(0, str.length-1);   

    return str;
}

Explanation: The function trim() accept a string object and remove any starting and trailing whitespaces (spaces,tabs and newlines) and return the trimmed string. You can use this function to trim form inputs to ensure valid data to be sent.

The function can be called in the following manner as an example.

form.elements[i].value = trim(form.elements[i].value);

Million

Answer 16

You can do it using the plain JavaScript:

function trimString(str, maxLen) {
if (str.length <= maxLen) {
return str;
}
var trimmed = str.substr(0, maxLen);
return trimmed.substr(0, trimmed.lastIndexOf(' ')) + '…';
}

// Let's test it

sentenceOne = "too short";
sentencetwo = "more than the max length";

console.log(trimString(sentenceOne, 15));
console.log(trimString(sentencetwo, 15));

Filmore

Answer 17

Don't know what bugs can hide here, but I use this:

var some_string_with_extra_spaces="   goes here    "
console.log(some_string_with_extra_spaces.match(/\S.*\S|\S/)[0])

Or this, if text contain enters:

console.log(some_string_with_extra_spaces.match(/\S[\s\S]*\S|\S/)[0])

Another try:

console.log(some_string_with_extra_spaces.match(/^\s*(.*?)\s*$/)[1])

Chirr

This technique is dangerous if the text may contain newline characters. It will truncate the string. There are better / more reliable techniques than this one. "one two\r\nthree".match(/\S.*\S|\S/)[0] yields: "one two" – Simile

Answer 18

Here it is in TypeScript:

var trim: (input: string) => string = String.prototype.trim
    ? ((input: string) : string => {
        return (input || "").trim();
    })
    : ((input: string) : string => {
        return (input || "").replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"");
    })

It will fall back to the regex if the native prototype is not available.

Gavriella

Answer 19

mine uses a single regex to look for cases where trimming is necessary, and uses that regex's results to determine desired substring bounds:

var illmatch= /^(\s*)(?:.*?)(\s*)$/
function strip(me){
    var match= illmatch.exec(me)
    if(match && (match[1].length || match[2].length)){
        me= me.substring(match[1].length, p.length-match[2].length)
    }
    return me
}

the one design decision that went into this was using a substring to perform the final capture. s/\?:// (make the middle term capturing) and and the replacement fragment becomes:

    if(match && (match[1].length || match[3].length)){
        me= match[2]
    }

there's two performance bets I made in these impls:

1. does the substring implementation copy the original string's data? if so, in the first, when a string needs to be trimmed there is a double traversal, first in the regex (which may, hopefully be partial), and second in the substring extraction. hopefully a substring implementation only references the original string, so operations like substring can be nearly free. cross fingers

2. how good is the capture in the regex impl? the middle term, the output value, could potentially be very long. i wasn't ready to bank that all regex impls' capturing wouldn't balk at a couple hundred KB input capture, but i also did not test (too many runtimes, sorry!). the second ALWAYS runs a capture; if your engine can do this without taking a hit, perhaps using some of the above string-roping-techniques, for sure USE IT!

Gantry

Answer 20

For IE9+ and other browsers

function trim(text) {
    return (text == null) ? '' : ''.trim.call(text);
}

Perpend