How to get items from the first or last (start or end) items from a JavaScript array

In this code snippet we’ll show examples to get items from the first or last (start or end) items from a JavaScript array.

Get the first item from an array

const take = (arr, n = 1) => arr.slice(0, n);

take([1, 2, 3], 0); // []
take([1, 2, 3], 2); // [1, 2]
take([1, 2, 3], 5); // [1, 2, 3]

Get the last item from an array

const takeRight = (arr, n = 1) => n === 0 ? [] : arr.slice(-n);

takeRight([1, 2, 3], 2); // [2, 3]
takeRight([1, 2, 3], 0); // [] 
takeRight([1, 2, 3], 5); // [1, 2, 3]

Note: Negative values can cause erroneous results.

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Tags: n items from array, start items from array, last items from array, javascript, js, array, array slice, slice, take