String replaceAll() in JavaScript

To replace a string in JavaScript, you can use the replaceAll() function. The first argument is a regular expression/pattern or string that defines what needs to be replaced. The second argument can either be a string that is the replacement, or a function that will be invoked to create the replacement.

const sentence = 'The world is a cruel place.';
sentence.replaceAll('cruel', 'wonderful'); // The world is a wonderful place.

// Strings are immutable in JavaScript, so the original string stays the same
sentence; // The world is a cruel place.

Keep in mind that replaceAll() is a relatively new addition to JavaScript, introduced as part of ES2021. Support for String.prototype.replaceAll() was introduced in Chrome 85 (August 2020) and Node.js 15.

As of 2022, we do not recommend using replaceAll() due to limited support. Use String.prototype.replace() with a regular expression instead.

const sentence = 'The world is a cruel place.';
sentence.replace(/cruel/g, 'wonderful'); // The world is a wonderful place.

Using a regular expression

You can use a regular expression in place of a string if you want to cover more cases of what needs to be replaced. It is important to not that your regular expression must have the g flag enabled. If not, JavaScript will throw a TypeError.

const sentence = 'The world is a cruel place. Only cruel people thrive here.';
sentence.replaceAll(/cruel/ig, 'wonderful'); // The world is a wonderful place. Only wonderful people thrive here.

// TypeError: String.prototype.replaceAll called with a non-global RegExp argument
sentence.replaceAll(/cruel/i, 'wonderful');

Using a function

The invoked function runs for every match it finds. JavaScript calls the function with the below parameters:

1. match, what the function found that matched the search criteria.
2. pN/$N, where N is the nth string found by a parenthesized capture group. So for example /(\a+)(\b+)/ has two.
3. offset, where in the string the match was found.
4. string, the string being examined.

const sentence = 'abcd abcd';
sentence.replaceAll(/(a+)(b+)/ig, function(match, p1, p2, offset, string) {
  match; // ab
  p1; // a
  p2; // b
  offset; // 0 then 5 on the next iteration
  string; // abcd abcd
  return 'Hello';
}) // Hellocd Hellocd

However, when running this example, namedGroups returns undefined. Could be the parameter is no longer supported.

When replaceAll() is called with a string, JavaScript calls the replacer function with the below 3 arguments:

1. match
2. offset
3. string

const sentence = 'The world is a cruel place. Only cruel people thrive here.';
sentence.replaceAll('cruel', function(match, offset, string) {
  match; // cruel
  offset; // 15 then 33
  string; // The world is a cruel place. Only cruel people thrive here.
  return match.toUpperCase();
}); // The world is a CRUEL place. Only CRUEL people thrive here.

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