To get the first N characters of a string, call the `slice` method on the string, passing in `0` as the first parameter and the number of characters to get as the second, e.g. `str.slice(0, 3)` returns a new string with the first 3 characters of the original string.

Get the first N characters of a String in JavaScript


## Get the first N characters of a String

**To get the first N characters of a string, call the `slice` method on the
string, passing in `0` as the first parameter and the number of characters to
get as the second, e.g. `str.slice(0, 3)` returns a new string with the first 3
characters of the original string.**

```javascript:index.js
const str = 'Hello World';

const first3 = str.slice(0, 3); // 👉️ Hel
console.log(first3);

const first2 = str.slice(0, 2); // 👉️ He
console.log(first2);
```

The
[String.slice](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/slice)
method does not mutate the original string, it returns a new string. Strings are
immutable in JavaScript.

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The first parameter we pass to the `String.slice` method is **the
`start index` - the index at which we begin extraction of characters**.

The second parameter is the **`end index` - extract characters up to this index,
but not including.**

<Alert>
  Even if the <code>end index</code> you provide to the{' '}
  <code>String.slice</code> method is greater than the string's length, the
  method does not throw an error, instead it returns a copy of the entire
  string.
</Alert>

```javascript:index.js
const str = 'Hello World';

const first100 = str.slice(0, 100); // 👉️ Hello World
console.log(first100);
```

In the example we try to get the first `100` characters of a string, which only
contains `11` characters. As a result the `slice` method returns the whole
string.

<Alert>
  You might know that the <code>String.substring</code> method can also be used
  to get the first <code>N</code> characters of a string, however{' '}
  <code>String.slice</code> is more flexible and intuitive to use.
</Alert>

If you want to read about the difference between `String.substring` and
`String.slice`, check out the
[MDN docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/substring#differences_between_substring_and_slice).

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Get the first N characters of a String in JavaScript

Get the first N characters of a String #

Borislav Hadzhiev

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Get the first N characters of a String in JavaScript