Check if Array Contains an Object in JavaScript

Check if an Array contains an Object with Array.some() #

To check if a JavaScript array contains an object:

1. Use the Array.some() method to iterate over the array.
2. Check if each object contains a property with the specified value.
3. Array.some() will return true if the object is contained in the array.

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const people = [
  {id: 1, name: 'John'},
  {id: 2, name: 'Adam'},
];

const isFound = people.some(element => {
  if (element.id === 1) {
    return true;
  }

  return false;
});

console.log(isFound); // 👉️ true

if (isFound) {
  // object is contained in the array
}

The function we passed to the Array.some() method gets called with each value (object) in the array.

On each iteration, we check if the current object has an id property with a value of 1.

If the condition is met, we return true, otherwise, we return false.

If the Array.some() method returns true, the object is contained in the array.

If you need to get the matching object, use the Array.find() method.

Check if an Array Contains an Object with Array.find() #

To check if a JavaScript array contains an object:

1. Use the Array.find() method to iterate over the array.
2. Check if each object in contains a property with the specified value.
3. Array.find() will return the object if the object is contained in the array.

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const people = [
  {id: 1, name: 'John'},
  {id: 2, name: 'Adam'},
];

const person = people.find(element => {
  if (element.id === 1) {
    return true;
  }

  return false;
});

console.log(person); // 👉️ { id: 1, name: 'John' }

if (person !== undefined) {
  // 👉️ object is contained in the array
}

The function we passed to the Array.find() method gets called with each element in the array until it returns a truthy value or iterates over the entire array.

There is an object with an id of 1, so the find() method returns the object.

If you need to get the index of the matching object, use the Array.findIndex() method.

Check if an Array Contains an Object with Array.findIndex() #

To check if a JavaScript array contains an object:

1. Use the Array.findIndex() method to iterate over the array.
2. Check if each object contains a property with the specified value.
3. The findIndex() method will return the index of the object in the array, or -1 if the object isn't in the array.

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const people = [
  {id: 1, name: 'John'},
  {id: 2, name: 'Adam'},
];

const index = people.findIndex(element => {
  if (element.id === 1) {
    return true;
  }

  return false;
});

console.log(index); // 👉️ 0

if (index !== -1) {
  // 👉️ object is contained in the array
}

The Array.findIndex() method is very similar to the Array.find() method, but it returns the index of the element that satisfies the condition and not the element itself.

The Array.findIndex() method calls its callback function with each element in the array until a truthy value is returned or the values in the array are exhausted.

if you need to get all matching objects, use the Array.filter() method.

Check if an Array Contains an Object with Array.filter() #

To check if a JavaScript array contains an object:

1. Use the Array.filter() method to iterate over the array.
2. Check if each object contains a property with the specified value.
3. The Array.filter() method will return an array containing the objects that meet the condition (if any).

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const people = [
  {id: 1, name: 'John'},
  {id: 2, name: 'Adam'},
];

const filteredArray = people.filter(element => {
  if (element.id === 1) {
    return true;
  }

  return false;
});

console.log(filteredArray); // 👉️ [ { id: 1, name: 'John' } ]

if (filteredArray.length > 0) {
  // 👉️ object is contained in the array
}

The function we passed to the Array.filter() method gets called with each element in the array.

We check if each element (object) in the array contains an id property with a value of 1. If the new array isn't empty, there are matching objects.

Note that the Array.filter() method returns an array with all of the elements that meet the condition.

If we had multiple objects with an id equal to 1, all of them would get included in the new array.

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const people = [
  {id: 1, name: 'John'},
  {id: 2, name: 'Adam'},
  {id: 1, name: 'Bobby'},
];

const filteredArray = people.filter(element => {
  if (element.id === 1) {
    return true;
  }

  return false;
});

// 👇️ [ { id: 1, name: 'John' }, { id: 1, name: 'Bobby' } ]
console.log(filteredArray);

if (filteredArray.length > 0) {
  // 👉️ object is contained in the array
}

There are multiple objects in the array with an id of 1, so they all get included in the new array.

You can also use the Array.includes() method to check if an object is contained in an array.

Check if an Array Contains an Object with Array.includes() #

To check if an array contains an object:

1. Store the object in a variable.
2. Push the object into the array.
3. Use the Array.include() method to check if the object is contained in the array.

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const obj = {id: 2, name: 'Adam'};

const people = [{id: 1, name: 'John'}];

people.push(obj);

if (people.includes(obj)) {
  // 👇️ this runs
  console.log('The object is contained in the array');
} else {
  console.log('The object is NOT contained in the array');
}

Note that this approach only works if you have access to the object that was pushed into the array.

The Array.includes() method returns true if the supplied value is contained in the array and false otherwise.

However, when we use the includes() method with an object, it checks by reference and not by value.

This wouldn't work if you have an object that has the same key-value pairs but has a different reference.

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const people = [{id: 1, name: 'John'}];

// 👇️ false
console.log(people.includes({id: 1, name: 'John'}));

The code sample returns false because the object we passed to the Array.includes() method has a different reference, even though it has the same key-value pairs.

Only use the includes() method to check if an array contains an object if you have access to the same object (the same location in memory) that is stored in the array.

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const obj = {id: 2, name: 'Adam'};

const people = [{id: 1, name: 'John'}];

people.push(obj);

if (people.includes(obj)) {
  // 👇️ this runs
  console.log('The object is contained in the array');
} else {
  console.log('The object is NOT contained in the array');
}

You can also use a for...of loop to check if an array contains an object.

Check if an Array Contains an Object using a for...of loop #

To check if an array contains an object:

1. Use a for...of loop to iterate over the array.
2. Check if each object has a property with the specified value.
3. If the condition is met, set a boolean variable to true.

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const people = [
  {id: 1, name: 'John'},
  {id: 2, name: 'Adam'},
];

let isContained = false;

for (const obj of people) {
  if (obj.id === 1) {
    isContained = true;
    console.log(obj); // 👉️ { id: 1, name: 'John' }
    break;
  }
}

console.log(isContained); // 👉️ true

We declared a new variable and initialized it to false.

The for...of statement is used to loop over iterable objects like arrays, strings, Map, Set and NodeList objects and generators.

On each iteration, we check if the current object has an id property with a value of 1.

The break statement helps us avoid iterating over the array needlessly once we've found the matching object.

You can also use a basic for loop to check if an array contains an object.

Check if an Array Contains an Object using a for loop #

To check if an array contains an object:

1. Use a for loop to iterate over the array.
2. Check if the object at the current index has a property with the specified value.
3. Set a boolean variable to true if the condition is met.

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const people = [
  {id: 1, name: 'John'},
  {id: 2, name: 'Adam'},
];

let isContained = false;

for (let index = 0; index < people.length; index++) {
  if (people[index].id === 1) {
    isContained = true;
    console.log(people[index]); // 👉️ { id: 1, name: 'John' }
    break;
  }
}

console.log(isContained); // 👉️ true

We used a basic for loop to iterate over the array.

On each iteration, we check if the object at the current index has an id property with a value of 1.

If the condition is met, we set the isContained variable to true and exit the for loop.

Which approach you pick is a matter of personal preference. I'd use the Array.some() method as I find it quite direct and intuitive.