# JavaScript String split() Method: Split into an Array

> Use the String.prototype.split() method to divide a string into an array of substrings in JavaScript, with examples for strings, regex, and limit options

**URL:** https://sentry.io/answers/split-a-string-in-javascript/

---

## The problem

How do I split a string in JavaScript?

## The solution

We can use JavaScript's [`String.prototype.split()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/split) method. When called on a string, this will split the string at every instance of the provided separator, discard the separator, and return an array of substrings. The following code provides an example:

```javascript
const myString = "This is a sentence.";
const words = myString.split(" "); // split on single space characters

console.log(words); // will output ["This", "is", "a", "sentence."]
```

The separator can be a string or a regular expression, so we could also do something like this:

```javascript
const myString = "This is a sentence.";
const words = myString.split(/[ t]/); // split on single space characters and lowercase t's

console.log(words); // will output ["This", "is", "a", "sen", "ence."]
```

If we would like to retain the separator when splitting, we can use a regular expression with a [positive lookahead assertion](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions/Assertions#other_assertions), as below:

```javascript
const myString = "This is a sentence.";
const words = myString.split(/(?= )/); // split on but retain single space characters

console.log(words); // will output ["This", " is", " a", " sentence."]
```

We can also truncate the final array by setting the optional `limit` parameter:

```javascript
const myString = "This is a sentence.";
const words = myString.split(" "); // split on single space characters
words.length = 3;

console.log(words); // will output ["This", "is", "a"]
```

---

*Source: [sentry.io/answers/split-a-string-in-javascript/](https://sentry.io/answers/split-a-string-in-javascript/)*