How can I remove a specific item from an array in JavaScript?

Is there a simple method like myArray.remove(value)? I need to remove an item from the array!

Well, unfortunately a method like that doesn't exist 🥺 - BUT JavaScript does have array methods that can help with this!

Using filter()

As per the MDN docs on the filter() method: "The filter() method of Array instances creates a shallow copy of a portion of a given array, filtered down to just the elements from the given array that pass the test implemented by the provided function."

So, that means you pass filter() a function that gets called on every element in the array (iteratively) and if you return a truthy value, that element gets passed to the new array.

const arrayOfNums = [1, 2, 3, 4, 2];
const numIDontWant = 2;

const newArray = arrayOfNums.filter(item => item !== numIDontWant);  // returns a new array!
console.log(newArray); // [1, 3, 4]

Note that when we call filter() on the arrayOfNums array, we're assigning it to a new variable; filter doesn't modify the original array, but returns a new one.

Using indexOf() + splice()

If you only want to remove the first occurrence of a certain item, you can use the indexOf() method to find the index of that element in the array and splice() to remove it from the array.

const arrayOfNums = [1, 2, 3, 4, 2];
const numIDontWant = 2;
const indexOfNumberIHate = arrayOfNums.indexOf(numIDontWant);

if (indexOfNumberIHate !== -1) {  // if the index even exists, run the code to remove it
  arrayOfNums.splice(indexOfNumberIHate, 1);  // remove the single instance
}

console.log(arrayOfNums); // [1, 3, 4, 2]

Keep this in mind if you use these methods to remove something from an array: splice() will change the array in place (not return a new array like filter()).

Conclusion

You've got some simple ways to remove an item in an array in JavaScript; I'd personally go with filter(), as it can result in a few less lines of code; BUT could potentially be an issue if your array is massive. Hope this helps. Below are some links to the specific methods used here in MDN, but I highly recommend perusing through all the array methods.

Useful Links