Remove the last Element from an Array in JavaScript

Remove the Last Element from an Array #

To remove the last element from an array, call the pop() method on the array, e.g. arr.pop(). The pop method removes the last element from the array and returns it. The method mutates the original array, changing its length.

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

const removeLast = arr.pop();
console.log(removeLast); // 👉️ d

console.log(arr); // 👉️ ['a','b','c']

We used the Array.pop method to remove the last element from the array.

If the Array.pop method is called on an empty array, it doesn't throw an error, instead it returns undefined.

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const arr = [];

const removeLast = arr.pop();
console.log(removeLast); // 👉️ undefined

console.log(arr); // 👉️ []

Changing the contents of the array can be difficult to reason about, especially when you have to mutate the same array multiple times.

Alternatively, yuo can use the Array.slice method.

Use the Array.slice() method to remove the last element from an array, e.g. const withoutLast = arr.slice(0, -1);. The slice method will return a copy of the original array excluding the last element.

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

const withoutLast = arr.slice(0, -1);
console.log(withoutLast); // 👉️ ['a','b','c']

console.log(arr); // 👉️ ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']

The Array.slice() method doesn't change the original array. Instead, the method returns a new array.

The parameters we passed to the slice method are:

1. start index - the index of the first character to be included in the new array.
2. end index - extract up to, but not including this index. A negative index of -1 means go up to, but not including the last element of the array

The benefit of this approach is that the contents of the original array remain unchanged.

Further Reading #

• Get the first N elements from an Array in JavaScript
• Get the last N elements from an Array in JavaScript
• How to check if an Array Index exists in JavaScript
• How to Append one Array to Another in JavaScript
• Check how many times an Element appears in JS Array
• Count Occurrences of each Element in Array in JavaScript
• Count the Unique Elements in an Array in JavaScript
• How to Push multiple Values to an Array in JavaScript
• Check if Array Doesn't include a Value in JavaScript
• Check if Array contains Empty Elements in JavaScript
• Check if Array contains Empty String in JavaScript
• Check if all Values in Array are Equal in JavaScript