indexOf method in an object array?
Asked Answered
C

29

713

How can I simply and directly find the index within an array of objects meeting some condition?

For example, given this input:

var hello = { hello: 'world', foo: 'bar'};
var qaz = { hello: 'stevie', foo: 'baz'}

var myArray = [];
myArray.push(hello, qaz);

How can I search myArray to find the index of the element whose hello property equals 'stevie' (in this case, the result should be 1)?

Cleave answered 29/12, 2011 at 12:59 Comment(5)
Do you want to merge the two objects hello and qaz?Playhouse
Nope I don't. I want to have a list of objects in an array.Cleave
Ah okay! You want to know the position of the whole object in the array, which has a defined property.Playhouse
I found a very simple function to solve this exact problem with this SO answer: var elementPos = array.map(function(x) {return x.id; }).indexOf(idYourAreLookingFor); var objectFound = array[elementPos]; [link] (https://mcmap.net/q/64584/-in-an-array-of-objects-fastest-way-to-find-the-index-of-an-object-whose-attributes-match-a-search)Wamsley
ES6 Array.indexOf is better than accepted answer (if ES6 works for you) - see full example belowDislocate
V
1375

I think you can solve it in one line using the map function:

const pos = myArray.map(e => e.hello).indexOf('stevie');
Veneer answered 15/4, 2013 at 6:25 Comment(20)
This should honestly be the accepted answer. Most browsers nowadays support Array.prototype.map()Inapt
It's not supported by IE8 but, if that's not a problem, this is the best solution.Cleave
This is without a doubt the best answer in 2014. Array.prototype.map() is supported through IE9 now. developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/…Maddocks
This one is clean and sweet. For modern, mobile browser controls to b e used in (hybrid) apps on iOS and Android .map is supported. If i'd make this for normal browsers i'd go with tandrewnichols answer and use Underscore.js's implementation...Loos
Elegant answer. Array.prototype.map() is soported for IE9+ and you can use a simple Polyfill for IE8, 7, 6: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/…Disclose
I use this method often but it's worth noting that indexOf will also accept an object reference so if you don't need to compare by a specific property (like OP) you can just do var index = items.indexOf(item) to get the correct index. Here's example: plnkr.co/edit/ZdShIA?p=previewRomeliaromelle
Um... isn't it worth noting that Array.prototype.map() creates a whole new array containing the mapped items? So, if you've got an array with 1000 elements, you've created another array with 1000 elements first, then search it? It would be worthwhile I think to see the performance of this method vs. a simple for loop. Especially when you're running on a mobile platform with limited resources.Terena
@Terena Although your point about performance is indeed correct, who in their right mind would replace one line of code with seven for an application that is almost by definition IO/Network bound until they'd profiled for bottlenecks?Malan
@JaredSmith Just trying to keep people forward-thinking. I'm not saying this is a bad solution; but, with ES6 generator functions and newer alternatives, there are a lot more performant (and clean) solutions out there. aaron-powell.com/posts/…Terena
@Terena better indeed :). If you want a better performing but equally terse ES 5 version Esailija's answer below, while still O(n) is faster than this one by at least a factor of 2.Malan
For the sake of the argument, here is a JSPerf comparing using map + indexOf vs ES2015 findIndex. jsperf.com/map-indexof-vs-findindex (Spoiler alert: findIndex is 50% faster). It doesn't work on IE though, but you can polyfill it, who cares!Inveracity
Quick version: pos = myArray.map((e) => e.hello).indexOf('stevie');Irma
Technically a minified js file is also one line ;DShainashaine
@Inveracity Neither this answer, nor the findIndex is the most performant answer. Based on my benchmarks (see jsperf.com/find-index-of-object-in-array-by-contents ), the for loop in a prototype actually ends up with the highest performance (more than twice as fast), as mentioned in my answer, and also ends up being the most terse for repetition.Eschatology
My only concern is readability, very difficult to follow what its doing. One liners are impressive to fellow experienced developers, but not easy to follow and maintain for others.Filomenafiloplume
@Terena To some people using Array.map looks more expertishSupernormal
This answer doesn't work if multiple objects in the array have a hello property with a value of stevie ....Swiftlet
so stevie is a pos huh?Bowhead
THANK U <3 so muchSwihart
This has the unfortunate side affect of reducing the objects in the array thought :(Nicely
L
530

Array.prototype.findIndex is supported in all browsers other than IE (non-edge). But the polyfill provided is nice.

var indexOfStevie = myArray.findIndex(i => i.hello === "stevie");

The solution with map is okay. But you are iterating over the entire array every search. That is only the worst case for findIndex which stops iterating once a match is found.


There's not really a concise way (when devs had to worry about IE8), but here's a common solution:
var searchTerm = "stevie",
    index = -1;
for(var i = 0, len = myArray.length; i < len; i++) {
    if (myArray[i].hello === searchTerm) {
        index = i;
        break;
    }
}

or as a function:

function arrayObjectIndexOf(myArray, searchTerm, property) {
    for(var i = 0, len = myArray.length; i < len; i++) {
        if (myArray[i][property] === searchTerm) return i;
    }
    return -1;
}
arrayObjectIndexOf(arr, "stevie", "hello"); // 1

Just some notes:

  1. Don't use for...in loops on arrays
  2. Be sure to break out of the loop or return out of the function once you've found your "needle"
  3. Be careful with object equality

For example,

var a = {obj: 0};
var b = [a];
b.indexOf({obj: 0}); // -1 not found
Loculus answered 29/12, 2011 at 13:8 Comment(5)
the function has the searchterm comparation wrong as it should be searchTerm :)Cleave
there were multiple occurencesLoculus
@SteveBennett it is a performance optimized version; the length of the array has to be determined only once (when the variables for the for-loop are initialized). In your case, the length is checked every iteration anew. See also #5349925 and #8452817 However, if performance is not high prio it doesn't really matter.Uncommon
Good answer, but I did some performance benchmarking (see jsperf.com/find-index-of-object-in-array-by-contents ), and found that the function based answer mentioned here seems to be the second most performant answer. The only thing more performant ends up being putting it into a prototype, instead of just a function, as mentioned in my answer.Eschatology
Polyfill link is dead!Formyl
P
153

In ES2015, this is pretty easy:

myArray.map(x => x.hello).indexOf('stevie')

or, probably with better performance for larger arrays:

myArray.findIndex(x => x.hello === 'stevie')
Probity answered 22/7, 2016 at 1:46 Comment(4)
Good approach to use ES6Workaday
I was surprised that neither of these methods is as performant as the prototyped for loop, as mentioned in my answer. Even though the findIndex method browser support is a bit poor, it seems like it would be doing the same thing, but still ends up less performant? See the link in my answer for benchmarks.Eschatology
Good to know, if performance is important for the task at hand. It very rarely is, in my experience, but ymmv.Probity
@Eschatology - year 2021 findIndex if supported by all browsers, except OperaMini and IE - caniuse.com/array-find-indexAramenta
Y
25
var idx = myArray.reduce( function( cur, val, index ){

    if( val.hello === "stevie" && cur === -1 ) {
        return index;
    }
    return cur;

}, -1 );
Ypsilanti answered 29/12, 2011 at 13:3 Comment(0)
W
17

I like Pablo's answer, but Array#indexOf and Array#map don't work on all browsers. Underscore will use native code if it's available, but has fallbacks as well. Plus it has the pluck method for doing exactly what Pablo's anonymous map method does.

var idx = _.chain(myArray).pluck("hello").indexOf("Stevie").value();
Weeden answered 3/6, 2013 at 3:9 Comment(5)
Array.prototype.map() is soported for IE9+ and you can use a Polyfill for IE8, 7, 6: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/…Disclose
You could use a polyfill . . . or you could just use underscore or lodash, which are basically polyfills that have a whole bunch of other goodies attached. What's the objection with underscore? Size?Weeden
I really like Underscore, your answer is clever too, but IMHO Pablo's answer is the cleanest.Disclose
Wow I never thought to use chaining like that. I really like how it makes the search fluent.Acth
chain is superfluous here. _.pluck(myArray, 'hello').indexOf('stevie')Probity
V
15

Or prototype it :

Array.prototype.indexOfObject = function arrayObjectIndexOf(property, value) {
    for (var i = 0, len = this.length; i < len; i++) {
        if (this[i][property] === value) return i;
    }
    return -1;
}

myArr.indexOfObject("name", "stevie");
Variole answered 28/3, 2013 at 17:9 Comment(2)
Very convenient! Although I would choose prototype.indexOfObject so as not to interfere with the exisitng Array.indexOf method. Array.prototype.indexOfObject = function(property, value) { for (var i = 0, len = this.length; i < len; i++) { if (this[i][property] === value) return i; } return -1; };Lamella
I would wrap it in a self executing closure with the old being stored beforehand, with the first line of the replacement function being something along the lines of if (typeof property === 'string' || typeof property === 'number' || typeof property === 'boolean') return oldIndexOf(property, value);. This is because these are the few types that are immutable. I would also feature a third argument to enable fallback to the native method if needed.Embarkment
A
10

While, most other answers here are valid. Sometimes, it's best to just make a short simple function near where you will use it.

// indexOf wrapper for the list of objects
function indexOfbyKey(obj_list, key, value) {
    for (index in obj_list) {
        if (obj_list[index][key] === value) return index;
    }
    return -1;
}
// Find the string in the list (default -1)
var test1 = indexOfbyKey(object_list, 'name', 'Stevie');
var test2 = indexOfbyKey(object_list, 'last_name', 'some other name');

It depends on what is important to you. It might save lines of code and be very clever to use a one-liner, or to put a generic solution somewhere that covers various edge cases. But sometimes it's better to just say: "here I did it like this" rather than leave future developers to have extra reverse engineering work. Especially if you consider yourself "a newbie" like in your question.

Airlike answered 2/4, 2018 at 20:56 Comment(0)
C
9

Brief

myArray.indexOf('stevie','hello')

Use Cases :

  /*****NORMAL****/  
[2,4,5].indexOf(4) ;//OUTPUT 1
 /****COMPLEX*****/
 [{slm:2},{slm:4},{slm:5}].indexOf(4,'slm');//OUTPUT 1
 //OR
 [{slm:2},{slm:4},{slm:5}].indexOf(4,function(e,i){
   return e.slm;
});//OUTPUT 1
/***MORE Complex**/
[{slm:{salat:2}},{slm:{salat:4}},{slm:{salat:5}}].indexOf(4,function(e,i){
   return e.slm.salat;
});//OUTPUT 1

API :

    Array.prototype.indexOfOld=Array.prototype.indexOf

    Array.prototype.indexOf=function(e,fn){
      if(!fn){return this.indexOfOld(e)}
      else{ 
       if(typeof fn ==='string'){var att=fn;fn=function(e){return e[att];}}
        return this.map(fn).indexOfOld(e);
      }
    };
Covenantee answered 9/11, 2014 at 12:5 Comment(0)
R
9

If your object is the same object of the ones you are using within the array, you should be able to get the index of the Object in the same way you do as if it was a string.

var hello = {
    hello: 'world',
    foo: 'bar'
};
var qaz = {
    hello: 'stevie',
    foo: 'baz'
}

var qazCLONE = { // new object instance and same structure
    hello: 'stevie',
    foo: 'baz'
}

var myArray = [hello,qaz];

myArray.indexOf(qaz) // should return 1
myArray.indexOf(qazCLONE) // should return -1
Retiring answered 9/2, 2018 at 8:39 Comment(1)
This is the answer I was looking for as it was unclear to me if IndexOf matched by value or what. Now I know I can use IndexOf to find my object, and not worry if there are other objects with the same properties.Isadora
S
9

I compared several methods and received a result with the fastest way to solve this problem. It's a for loop. It's 5+ times faster than any other method.

Here is the test's page: https://jsbench.me/9hjewv6a98

Sweaty answered 18/3, 2018 at 14:58 Comment(2)
Missing a for-of loop no?Georgiannegeorgic
Too bad people don't scroll two answers down. This is the only good answer. Thank you.Chasteen
S
8

you can use findIndex() method:

cosnt myIndex=myArray.findIndex(el=>el.hello==='stevie')

if myIndex < 0 that means is not exist

Stroman answered 23/1, 2022 at 14:48 Comment(1)
It seems to be a duplicate with multiple others answer that suggest the same thingConsignor
E
6

I did some performance testing of various answers here, which anyone can run them self:

https://jsperf.com/find-index-of-object-in-array-by-contents

Based on my initial tests in Chrome, the following method (using a for loop set up inside a prototype) is the fastest:

Array.prototype.indexOfObject = function (property, value) {
    for (var i = 0, len = this.length; i < len; i++) {
        if (this[i][property] === value) return i;
    }
    return -1;
}

myArray.indexOfObject("hello", "stevie");

This code is a slightly modified version of Nathan Zaetta's answer.

In the performance benchmarks I tried it with both the target being in the middle (index 500) and very end (index 999) of a 1000 object array, and even if I put the target in as the very last item in the array (meaning that it it has to loop through every single item in the array before it's found) it still ends up the fastest.

This solution also has the benefit of being one of the most terse for repeatedly executing, since only the last line needs to be repeated:

myArray.indexOfObject("hello", "stevie");
Eschatology answered 27/6, 2017 at 22:4 Comment(1)
I was just about to post an answer to this question using a fiddle with my own tests, but thanks to your answer, I don't have to anymore. I just want to confirm your tests - I got to the same result, but using a while loop instead of a for one, and performance.now(). I'd wish that this answer was upvoted more and that I saw it earlier, it would have saved me some time...Hoggard
W
4
array.filter(function(item, indx, arr){ return(item.hello === 'stevie'); })[0];

Mind the [0].

It is proper to use reduce as in Antonio Laguna's answer.

Apologies for the brevity...

Working answered 12/6, 2014 at 17:40 Comment(0)
A
4

Try this:

console.log(Object.keys({foo:"_0_", bar:"_1_"}).indexOf("bar"));

https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/keys

Autodidact answered 12/4, 2016 at 17:14 Comment(0)
E
4

simple:

myArray.indexOf(myArray.filter(function(item) {
    return item.hello == "stevie"
})[0])
Evelyne answered 18/5, 2016 at 5:58 Comment(0)
S
3

You can use a native and convenient function Array.prototype.findIndex() basically:

The findIndex() method returns an index in the array, if an element in the array satisfies the provided testing function. Otherwise -1 is returned.

Just a note it is not supported on Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari, but you can use a Polyfill provided in the link below.

More information:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/findIndex

var hello = {
  hello: 'world',
  foo: 'bar'
};
var qaz = {
  hello: 'stevie',
  foo: 'baz'
}

var myArray = [];
myArray.push(hello, qaz);

var index = myArray.findIndex(function(element, index, array) {
  if (element.hello === 'stevie') {
    return true;
  }
});
alert('stevie is at index: ' + index);
Subset answered 10/6, 2016 at 9:19 Comment(0)
C
3

If you are only interested into finding the position see @Pablo's answer.

pos = myArray.map(function(e) { return e.hello; }).indexOf('stevie');

However, if you are looking forward to finding the element (i.e. if you were thinking of doing something like this myArray[pos]), there is a more efficient one-line way to do it, using filter.

element = myArray.filter((e) => e.hello === 'stevie')[0];

See perfomance results (~ +42% ops/sec): http://jsbench.github.io/#7fa01f89a5dc5cc3bee79abfde80cdb3

Colloquialism answered 17/12, 2016 at 13:44 Comment(0)
P
2

See this example: http://jsfiddle.net/89C54/

for (i = 0; i < myArray.length; i++) {
    if (myArray[i].hello === 'stevie') {
        alert('position: ' + i);
        return;
    }
}

It starts to count with zero.

Playhouse answered 29/12, 2011 at 13:10 Comment(0)
B
2

I have made a generic function to check the below is the code & works for any object

function indexOfExt(list, item) {
    var len = list.length;

    for (var i = 0; i < len; i++) {
        var keys = Object.keys(list[i]);
        var flg = true;
        for (var j = 0; j < keys.length; j++) {
            var value = list[i][keys[j]];
            if (item[keys[j]] !== value) {
                flg = false;
            }
        }
        if (flg == true) {
            return i;
        }
    }
    return -1;
}

var items = [{ "hello": 'world', "foo": 'bar' }];
var selectedItem = { "hello": 'world', "foo": 'bar' };
alert(items.indexOf(selectedItem));
alert(indexOfExt(items, selectedItem));

The first alert will return -1 (means match not found) & second alert will return 0 (means match found).

Betsey answered 25/8, 2014 at 11:2 Comment(0)
E
2

Use _.findIndex from underscore.js library

Here's the example _.findIndex([{a:1},{a: 2,c:10},{a: 3}], {a:2,c:10}) //1

Extravagancy answered 18/5, 2015 at 10:2 Comment(2)
If suggesting methods from additional libraries you should mention where they come from.Percyperdido
@Steve Bennett nice use.of the library now its in lodashBergess
M
2

Using the ES6 findIndex method, without lodash or any other libraries, you can write:

function deepIndexOf(arr, obj) {
  return arr.findIndex(function (cur) {
    return Object.keys(obj).every(function (key) {
      return obj[key] === cur[key];
    });
  });
}

This will compare the immediate properties of the object, but not recurse into the properties.

If your implementation doesn't provide findIndex yet (most don't), you can add a light polyfill that supports this search:

function deepIndexOf(arr, obj) {
  function findIndex = Array.prototype.findIndex || function (pred) {
    for (let i = 0; i < this.length; ++i) {
      if (pred.call(this, this[i], i)) {
        return i;
      }
    }

    return -1;
  }

  return findIndex.call(arr, function (cur) {
    return Object.keys(obj).every(function (key) {
      return obj[key] === cur[key];
    });
  });
}

(from my answer on this dupe)

Moorer answered 4/2, 2016 at 17:19 Comment(0)
N
2

Furthor of @Monika Garg answer, you can use findIndex() (There is a polyfill for unsupprted browsers).

I saw that people downvoted this answer, and I hope that they did this because of the wrong syntax, because on my opinion, this is the most elegant way.

The findIndex() method returns an index in the array, if an element in the array satisfies the provided testing function. Otherwise -1 is returned.

For example:

var hello = {
  hello: 'world',
  foo: 'bar'
};
var qaz = {
  hello: 'stevie',
  foo: 'baz'
}

var myArray = [];
myArray.push(hello,qaz);

var index = myArray.findIndex(function(element) {
  return element.hello == 'stevie';
});

alert(index);
Nether answered 21/3, 2016 at 8:52 Comment(2)
The method seems elegant, but no IE support according to MDN? developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/…Archi
Try to use the polyfill (link in the answer).Nether
C
1

This is the way to find the object's index in array

    var myArray = [{  hello: 'world',
        foo: 'bar'
    },{
        hello: 'stevie',
        foo: 'baz'
    }];



    for (i = 0; i < myArray.length; i++) {
        if (myArray[i].hello === 'stevie') {
            alert('position: ' + i);
            return;
        }
    }
Cordellcorder answered 9/1, 2015 at 12:51 Comment(0)
S
1

This works without custom code

var arr, a, found;
arr = [{x: 1, y: 2}];
a = {x: 1, y: 2};
found = JSON.stringify(arr).indexOf(JSON.stringify(a)) > - 1;
// found === true

Note: this does not give the actual index, it only tells if your object exists in the current data structure

Symptomatology answered 1/8, 2015 at 3:28 Comment(1)
This is not valid as this doesn't allow to get any indexCleave
E
0

You can simply use

const someId = 2;
const array = [{id:1}, {id:2}, {id:3}];
const index = array.reduce((i, item, index) => item.id === someId ? index : i, -1);
alert('someId ' + someId + ' is at index ' + index);

No underscore, no for, just a reduce.

Esthonia answered 14/6, 2016 at 5:11 Comment(0)
K
0
var hello = {hello: "world",  foo: "bar"};
var qaz = {hello: "stevie", foo: "baz"};
var myArray = [];
myArray.push(hello,qaz);

function indexOfObject( arr, key, value   ) {
    var j = -1;
    var result = arr.some(function(obj, i) { 
        j++;
        return obj[key] == value;
    })

    if (!result) {
        return -1;
    } else {
        return j;
    };
}

alert(indexOfObject(myArray,"hello","world"));
Keifer answered 5/11, 2017 at 22:9 Comment(1)
Use Array some method.Keifer
B
0

Most answers response here do not resolve all cases. I found this solution better:

const isInarray = myArr.filter((obj) => obj.hello === 'stevie' && obj.foo === 'baz').length > 0;
if (!isInArray) {
 ....
}
Bergson answered 31/3, 2021 at 17:14 Comment(0)
G
-1

You can create your own prototype to do this:

something like:

Array.prototype.indexOfObject = function (object) {
    for (var i = 0; i < this.length; i++) {
        if (JSON.stringify(this[i]) === JSON.stringify(object))
            return i;
    }
}
Gschu answered 17/4, 2014 at 22:29 Comment(2)
Bad practice, breaking encapsulation: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/…Afghani
This also would break on recursively defined objects.Barbrabarbuda
W
-2

I will prefer to use findIndex() method:

 var index = myArray.findIndex('hello','stevie');

index will give you the index number.

Welldisposed answered 4/2, 2014 at 5:37 Comment(2)
Answer , Spellings and Code indentation and :) are wrong?Bake
findIndex is not in any javascript standard implementation. There is an upcoming (ecma 6) proposal for such a method, but its signature is not like that. Please, clarify what you mean (maybe the name of the method), give the findIndex method declaration or name the library you are using.Vidrine

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