The JavaScript `String.trim()` method explained

Technophile - Dec 24 '22 - - Dev Community

In JavaScript, the trim() method removes whitespace from both ends of a string. It returns a new copy of the string with whitespace removed.

Table of Contents


How it works

Syntax

string.trim();
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Example:

const string = "  Hello World!  ";
console.log(string.trim()); // "Hello World!"
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Parameters

The trim() method does not take any parameters.

Return value

A new string with whitespace removed from both ends while leaving the original string unchanged.


Alternative methods

If you want to remove whitespace either from the beginning or the end of a string, you can use the trimStart() or trimEnd() methods.

const string = "  Hello World!  ";
console.log(string.trimStart());
// "Hello World!  "

console.log(string.trimEnd());
// "  Hello World!"

console.log(string.trim());
// "Hello World!"

console.log(string);
// "  Hello World!  "
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Alternatively, it's possible to use the regular expression to achieve the same result.

const string = "  Hello World!  ";
console.log(string.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, ""));
// "Hello World!"
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If you're really curious about how this regex works, check out this Stack Overflow answer.


More examples

The trim() method can come in handy when you need to remove unwanted whitespace from a string in user input or search queries.

See the Pen
The JavaScript trim() explained
by Technophile (@dostonnabotov)
on CodePen.


Browser compatibility

Since the trim() method is part of the ECMAScript5 (ES5 - JavaScript 2009) standard, it's well supported in all browsers.


Conclusion

I hope this article helped you understand how the trim() method works. Regarding any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading! 🙂


Resources

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