Get a random item from an array

Return one item at a random index.

JavaScriptNode.js & browsers Version 1.0.0 · MIT · .md

function randomItem(values) { return values[Math.floor(Math.random() * values.length)]; }

Usage

['ana', 'rui', 'lia'].includes(randomItem(['ana', 'rui', 'lia'])); // → true
randomItem([]); // → undefined

Lines marked → were executed in Node.js 22 and in headless Chromium, and each result was compared with the value shown. Lines marked e.g. are illustrative.

Know the limits

• An empty array returns undefined. The original’s | 0 behaves like Math.floor only below 2³¹.

The function above is the code the usage lines run. It does not validate its arguments; add checks where it receives untrusted input.

Keep exploring

• Generate a random boolean — Return true or false with equal probability.
• Generate a random floating point number in given range — Scale Math.random into [min, max).
• Generate a random hex color — Return a #rrggbb color from 24 random bits.