5 Ways To Convert JavaScript Array To String

In this article, we are going to see how to convert Javascript array to string in 5 different ways. You will see converting an array to a string with commas, without commas, using the join() method, etc.

We need to convert an array to a string in JavaScript for various reasons like: the need to send an array to the server for processing, the need to store an array in local storage, the data set stored in an array to be displayed on a web page, etc.

# Quick solution

For your quick answer, convert the Javascript array to string using join() method.

The join() method will join all the elements of an array into a string by separating them with a specified character. Here is an example:

var arr = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"];

var str = arr.join();
console.log(str); // a,b,c,d,e

// join array elements
// without separator
str = arr.join("");
console.log(str);

Output

a,b,c,d,e
abcde

The code above demonstrates how you can easily convert an array to a string in JavaScript. We discuss more methods to convert an array to a string below and also explore the join() method in detail.

Table Of Contents

1. Using join() method
2. Using toString() method
3. Stringifying array to string
4. Using coercion

1. Convert Array To String Using join() Method

The join() is an array method in JavaScript. It is used to join all the elements of an array into a string by separating them with a given character.

The method takes one argument, which is the separator. The separator is used to separate the elements of an array. The default separator is a comma (,).

arr.join();
// or
arr.join(separator);

After joining all the elements the string is returned.

var arr = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"];

// join array elements
var str = arr.join();
console.log(str); // a,b,c,d,e

// join with underscore
str = arr.join("_"); // a_b_c_d_e
console.log(str);

Output

a,b,c,d,e
a_b_c_d_e

In the above example when we do not pass any separator, the array is joined with a comma (,) as the default separator. And when you passed underscore (_) as the separator, the array is joined with an underscore as the separator.

Let's try adding multiple characters as the separator.

var arr = ["John", "is", "a", "good", "coder"];

var str = arr.join("###");
console.log(str);

Output

John###is###a###good###coder

2. Using toString() Method

The toString() method is a Javascript method that converts an array to a string by separating the elements with commas.

The method takes no arguments and returns a string.

var arr = ["John", "is", "a", "good", "coder"];

// convert array to string
var str = arr.toString();
console.log(str); // John,is,a,good,coder

Output

John,is,a,good,coder

In the above example, the toString method converts an array to a string by separating the elements with a comma (,).

Later if you want then you can replace these commas with any other character using the replaceAll() method.

The following example shows how to replace the commas with an underscore.

var arr = ["John", "is", "a", "good", "coder"];

// using toString() method
var str = arr.toString();

str = str.replaceAll(",", "_");
console.log(str); // John_is_a_good_coder

Output

John_is_a_good_coder

Note: If the array element itself contains a comma then you have to take care of it using your own logic.

3. Stringifying array to string

You can directly convert an array to a string by using the JSON.stringify() method.

The method takes every element of an array wraps it in double-quotes, separates them with a comma, and returns a string with a square bracket at the beginning and a square bracket at the end.

var arr = ["John", "is", "a", "good", "coder"];

// using JSON.stringify() method
var str = JSON.stringify(arr);
console.log(str); // ["John","is","a","good","coder"]

Output

["John","is","a","good","coder"]

JSON.stringify() method is mostly used to convert a data structure to a string before sending it to the server. Or the data sent by the server is stringified before sending it to the client.

4. Using String() Method

The String() method in Javascript is can convert any value to a string and can so do for an array. It converts an array to a string by separating the elements with commas.

The method takes a array itself as an argument and returns a string.

var arr = ["John", "is", "a", "good", "coder"];

// using String() method
var str = String(arr);
console.log(str); // John,is,a,good,coder

Output

John,is,a,good,coder

5. Using Coercion

Coercion is the process of converting a value to a different type.

In Javascript using an operator over an operand can change the data type of the operand. For example, the operator + can be used to convert a string to a number, adding an empty string to a number will convert the number to a string.

In the same way, if you add a blank array to any existing array, the existing array will be converted to a string. The same happens if you add a string to an array.

Here is an example to show this in action.

var arr = ["John", "is", "a", "good", "coder"];

var str1 = arr + []; // John,is,a,good,coder
console.log(str1);
console.log(typeof str1); // string

var str2 = arr + ""; // John,is,a,good,coder
console.log(str2);
console.log(typeof str2); // string

Output

John,is,a,good,coder
string
John,is,a,good,coder
string

The above method methods to convert Javascript array to string can be generalized into 2 categories:

1. JavaScript array to string with commas
2. JavaScript array to string without commas

JavaScript array to string with commas

Methods that can be used to convert an array to a string with commas are:

1. Using toString() method
2. Using join() method
3. Using String() method
4. Using coercion process

JavaScript array to string without commas

Methods that can be used to convert an array to a string without commas is using the arr.join(" ") with any separator other than a comma or leave it blank.

var arr = ["Ja", "va", "S", "cript"];

var str = arr.join("");
console.log(str); // JavaScript

Output

JavaScript

Conclusion

In this short guide, you have learned 5 different ways to convert Javascript array to string. Among all these methods, the join() method is robust and most commonly used for this purpose.