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String.prototype.startsWith()

The startsWith() method determines whether a string begins with the characters of a specified string, returning true or false as appropriate.

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Syntax

startsWith(searchString)
startsWith(searchString, position)

Parameters

searchString

The characters to be searched for at the start of this string. Cannot be a regex.

position Optional

The start position at which searchString is expected to be found (the index of searchString's first character). Defaults to 0.

Return value

true if the given characters are found at the beginning of the string; otherwise, false.

Exceptions

TypeError

If searchString is a regex.

Description

This method lets you determine whether or not a string begins with another string. This method is case-sensitive.

Examples

Using startsWith()

const str = 'To be, or not to be, that is the question.';

console.log(str.startsWith('To be')); // true
console.log(str.startsWith('not to be')); // false
console.log(str.startsWith('not to be', 10)); // true

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile Server
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet Deno Node.js
startsWith
41
12
17
No
28
9
37
36
17
24
9
3.0
1.0
4.0.0
0.12.0

See also

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/startsWith