String.prototype.at()

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since March 2022.

The at() method of String values takes an integer value and returns a new String consisting of the single UTF-16 code unit located at the specified offset. This method allows for positive and negative integers. Negative integers count back from the last string character.

Try it

const sentence = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.";

let index = 5;

console.log(`An index of ${index} returns the character ${sentence.at(index)}`);
// Expected output: "An index of 5 returns the character u"

index = -4;

console.log(`An index of ${index} returns the character ${sentence.at(index)}`);
// Expected output: "An index of -4 returns the character d"

Syntax

at(index)

Parameters

index

The index (position) of the string character to be returned. Supports relative indexing from the end of the string when passed a negative index; i.e., if a negative number is used, the character returned will be found by counting back from the end of the string.

js
// A function which returns the last character of a given string
function returnLast(str) {
  return str.at(-1);
}

let invoiceRef = "my-invoice01";

console.log(returnLast(invoiceRef)); // '1'

invoiceRef = "my-invoice02";

console.log(returnLast(invoiceRef)); // '2'

Comparing methods

Here we compare different ways to select the penultimate (last but one) character of a String. Whilst all below methods are valid, it highlights the succinctness and readability of the at() method.

js
const myString = "Every green bus drives fast.";

// Using length property and charAt() method
const lengthWay = myString.charAt(myString.length - 2);
console.log(lengthWay); // 't'

// Using slice() method
const sliceWay = myString.slice(-2, -1);
console.log(sliceWay); // 't'

// Using at() method
const atWay = myString.at(-2);
console.log(atWay); // 't'