JavaScript (ES2026) reference · String Methods

JavaScript String charAt() Method

Return the character at a given index as a new string, or an empty string if the index is out of range.

JavaScript (ES2026) Since ES1

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Syntax

string.charAt(index)

Parameter	Description
`index` optional	Position from 0. Default: `0`

A one-character string, or "".

Characters by positionTry it yourself

const name = "Ada";
console.log(name.charAt(0), name.charAt(2), JSON.stringify(name.charAt(9)));

Output

A a ""

charAt(), brackets and at()Try it yourself

const s = "hello";
console.log(s.charAt(1), s[1], s.at(1)); // three ways

Output

e e e

Version	Change
JavaScript ES1	Added

string.at() · Return the character at an index, where negative indexes count from the end: str.at(-1) is the last character.
string.charCodeAt() · Return the UTF-16 code unit (0 to 65535) at an index. For emoji and other astral characters use codePointAt().
string.codePointAt() · Return the full Unicode code point at an index, correctly handling emoji and other characters outside the BMP.
JavaScript Strings · tutorial
JavaScript String Methods · tutorial