Get the last N elements of an Array in JavaScript

# Get the last N elements of an Array

Use the Array.slice() method to get the last N elements of an array, e.g. const last3 = arr.slice(-3).

The Array.slice() method will return a new array containing the last N elements of the original array.

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const arr = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'];

const last3 = arr.slice(-3); // 👉️ ['c', 'd', 'e']
console.log(last3);

const last2 = arr.slice(-2); // 👉️ ['d', 'e']
console.log(last2);

The only argument we passed to the Array.slice method is the start index.

The Array.slice() method can be passed negative indexes to count backward.

This is the same as passing an argument of array.length - 3 to the slice() method.

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const arr = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'];

const last3 = arr.slice(-3);
console.log(last3); // 👉️ ['c', 'd', 'e']

const last3Again = arr.slice(arr.length - 3);
console.log(last3Again); // 👉️ ['c', 'd', 'e']

Either way, we tell the slice() method to copy the last 3 elements of the array and place them in a new array.

Even if we try to get more elements than the array contains, Array.slice() won't throw an error.

Instead, it returns a new array with all elements of the original array.

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const arr = ['a', 'b', 'c'];

const last100 = arr.slice(-100);
console.log(last100); // 👉️ ['a', 'b', 'c']

We tried to get the last 100 elements of an array that only contains 3 elements.

In this case, all elements of the original array get copied to the new array.

# Getting the last N elements, excluding the first

If you need to get the last N elements, excluding the first, use the slice() method with Math.max().

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const arr = ['a', 'b', 'c'];

// 👇️ get last 3 elements, excluding the first
console.log(arr.slice(Math.max(arr.length - 3, 1))); // [ 'b', 'c' ]

// 👇️ get last 2 elements, excluding the first
console.log(arr.slice(Math.max(arr.length - 2, 1))); // [ 'b', 'c' ]

// 👇️ get last element, excluding the first
console.log(arr.slice(Math.max(arr.length - 1, 1))); // [ 'c' ]

The Math.max() method returns the larger of the given numbers.

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console.log(Math.max(5, 1)); // 5
console.log(Math.max(3, 1)); // 3
console.log(Math.max(0, 1)); // 1
console.log(Math.max(-1, 1)); // 1

We used the method to specify a min index of 1.

This way, the array slice returns the last N elements of the array, excluding the first item.

# Get the last N elements of an array using lodash

You can also use the lodash module to get the last N elements of an array.

First, make sure you have lodash installed by running the following command from your terminal.

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# 👇️ initialize package.json if you don't have one
npm init -y

npm install lodash

Now you can import and use the takeRight() method to get the last N elements.

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import _ from 'lodash';

const arr = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'];

console.log(_.takeRight(arr, 4)); // [ 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e' ]
console.log(_.takeRight(arr, 3)); // [ 'c', 'd', 'e' ]
console.log(_.takeRight(arr, 2)); // [ 'd', 'e' ]

The takeRight() method takes an array and n as parameters and returns the last N elements of the array.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

• Get one or Multiple Random Elements from an Array in JS
• Get the first N elements of an Array in JavaScript
• Get the First and Last Elements of an Array in JavaScript
• Get every Nth Element of Array using JavaScript
• Get the Second to Last Element in Array in JavaScript