snippetjavascriptTip

How can I split a JavaScript array into two groups?

Submitted by: @import:30-seconds-of-code·Mar 2, 2026·

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javascriptintotwohowgroupscansplitarray

Problem

Splitting a JavaScript array into two groups is relatively easy. Depending on your needs, you might know which group each value belongs to in advance or you might need to use a function to determine that.
Conceptually, both solutions are very similar. Array.prototype.reduce() is used with a callback function that will determine which group each element belongs to. A truthy value will place the element in the first group, while a falsy value will place it in the second group.
If the values that go into each group are known in advance, you can use an array of booleans to determine which group each element belongs to.
Note that the filter array must have the same length as the arr array. If it's shorter, the remaining elements will be placed in the second group. If it's longer, the extra elements will be ignored.
If the values that go into each group are not known in advance, you can use a function to determine which group each element belongs to. The function will take the current element and its index as arguments and should return a truthy value if the element belongs to the first group or a falsy value if it belongs to the second group.

Solution

const bifurcate = (arr, filter) =>
  arr.reduce(
    (acc, val, i) => {
      acc[filter[i] ? 0 : 1].push(val);
      return acc;
    },
    [[], []]
  );

bifurcate(['beep', 'boop', 'foo', 'bar'], [true, true, false, true]);
// [ ['beep', 'boop', 'bar'], ['foo'] ]

If the values that go into each group are known in advance, you can use an array of booleans to determine which group each element belongs to.
Note that the filter array must have the same length as the arr array. If it's shorter, the remaining elements will be placed in the second group. If it's longer, the extra elements will be ignored.
If the values that go into each group are not known in advance, you can use a function to determine which group each element belongs to. The function will take the current element and its index as arguments and should return a truthy value if the element belongs to the first group or a falsy value if it belongs to the second group.
Note that the value returned by fn will be coerced to a boolean.

Code Snippets

const bifurcate = (arr, filter) =>
  arr.reduce(
    (acc, val, i) => {
      acc[filter[i] ? 0 : 1].push(val);
      return acc;
    },
    [[], []]
  );

bifurcate(['beep', 'boop', 'foo', 'bar'], [true, true, false, true]);
// [ ['beep', 'boop', 'bar'], ['foo'] ]

const bifurcateBy = (arr, fn) =>
  arr.reduce(
    (acc, val, i) => {
      acc[fn(val, i) ? 0 : 1].push(val);
      return acc;
    },
    [[], []]
  );

bifurcateBy(['beep', 'boop', 'foo', 'bar'], x => x[0] === 'b');
// [ ['beep', 'boop', 'bar'], ['foo'] ]

Context

From 30-seconds-of-code: bifurcate-array

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