UNB/ CS/ David Bremner/ teaching/ cs2613/ books/ mdn/ Reference/ Global Objects/ Array/ Array.prototype.findIndex()

The findIndex() method of Array instances returns the index of the first element in an array that satisfies the provided testing function. If no elements satisfy the testing function, -1 is returned.

See also the find() method, which returns the first element that satisfies the testing function (rather than its index).

Syntax

findIndex(callbackFn)
findIndex(callbackFn, thisArg)

Parameters

Return value

The index of the first element in the array that passes the test. Otherwise, -1.

Description

The findIndex() is an iterative method. It calls a provided callbackFn function once for each element in an array in ascending-index order, until callbackFn returns a truthy value. findIndex() then returns the index of that element and stops iterating through the array. If callbackFn never returns a truthy value, findIndex() returns -1.

callbackFn is invoked for every index of the array, not just those with assigned values. Empty slots in sparse arrays behave the same as undefined.

findIndex() does not mutate the array on which it is called, but the function provided as callbackFn can. Note, however, that the length of the array is saved before the first invocation of callbackFn. Therefore:

Warning: Concurrent modifications of the kind described above frequently lead to hard-to-understand code and are generally to be avoided (except in special cases).

The findIndex() method is generic. It only expects the this value to have a length property and integer-keyed properties.

Examples

Find the index of a prime number in an array

The following example returns the index of the first element in the array that is a prime number, or -1 if there is no prime number.

function isPrime(element) {
  if (element % 2 === 0 || element < 2) {
    return false;
  }
  for (let factor = 3; factor <= Math.sqrt(element); factor += 2) {
    if (element % factor === 0) {
      return false;
    }
  }
  return true;
}

console.log([4, 6, 8, 9, 12].findIndex(isPrime)); // -1, not found
console.log([4, 6, 7, 9, 12].findIndex(isPrime)); // 2 (array[2] is 7)

Using findIndex() on sparse arrays

You can search for undefined in a sparse array and get the index of an empty slot.

console.log([1, , 3].findIndex((x) => x === undefined)); // 1

Calling findIndex() on non-array objects

The findIndex() method reads the length property of this and then accesses each property whose key is a nonnegative integer less than length.

const arrayLike = {
  length: 3,
  "-1": 0.1, // ignored by findIndex() since -1 < 0
  0: 2,
  1: 7.3,
  2: 4,
};
console.log(
  Array.prototype.findIndex.call(arrayLike, (x) => !Number.isInteger(x)),
); // 1

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also