parseInt()

The parseInt() function parses a string argument and returns an integer of the specified radix (the base in mathematical numeral systems).

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Syntax

parseInt(string [, radix])

Parameters

string

The value to parse. If this argument is not a string, then it is converted to one using the ToString abstract operation. Leading whitespace in this argument is ignored.

radix Optional

An integer between 2 and 36 that represents the radix (the base in mathematical numeral systems) of the string. Be careful—this does not default to 10!

The description below explains in more detail what happens when radix is not provided.

Return value

An integer parsed from the given string.

Or NaN when

• the radix is smaller than 2 or bigger than 36, or
• the first non-whitespace character cannot be converted to a number.

Description

The parseInt function converts its first argument to a string, parses that string, then returns an integer or NaN.

If not NaN, the return value will be the integer that is the first argument taken as a number in the specified radix. (For example, a radix of 10 converts from a decimal number, 8 converts from octal, 16 from hexadecimal, and so on.)

For radices above 10, letters of the English alphabet indicate numerals greater than 9. For example, for hexadecimal numbers (base 16), A through F are used.

If parseInt encounters a character that is not a numeral in the specified radix, it ignores it and all succeeding characters and returns the integer value parsed up to that point. parseInt truncates numbers to integer values. Leading and trailing spaces are allowed.

Because some numbers use the e character in their string representation (e.g. 6.022e23 for 6.022 × 10²³), using parseInt to truncate numbers will produce unexpected results when used on very large or very small numbers. parseInt should not be used as a substitute for Math.floor().

parseInt understands exactly two signs: + for positive, and - for negative (since ECMAScript 1). It is done as an initial step in the parsing after whitespace is removed. If no signs are found, the algorithm moves to the following step; otherwise, it removes the sign and runs the number-parsing on the rest of the string.

If radix is undefined, 0, or unspecified, JavaScript assumes the following:

1. If the input string begins with "0x" or "0X" (a zero, followed by lowercase or uppercase X), radix is assumed to be 16 and the rest of the string is parsed as a hexidecimal number.
2. If the input string begins with "0" (a zero), radix is assumed to be 8 (octal) or 10 (decimal). Exactly which radix is chosen is implementation-dependent. ECMAScript 5 clarifies that 10 (decimal) should be used, but not all browsers support this yet. For this reason, always specify a radix when using parseInt.
3. If the input string begins with any other value, the radix is 10 (decimal).

If the first character cannot be converted to a number, parseInt returns NaN.

For arithmetic purposes, the NaN value is not a number in any radix. You can call the isNaN function to determine if the result of parseInt is NaN. If NaN is passed on to arithmetic operations, the operation result will also be NaN.

To convert a number to its string literal in a particular radix, use thatNumber.toString(radix).

Octal interpretations with no radix

Although discouraged by ECMAScript 3 and forbidden by ECMAScript 5, many implementations interpret a numeric string beginning with a leading 0 as octal. The following may have an octal result, or it may have a decimal result. Always specify a radix to avoid this unreliable behavior.

parseInt('0e0')  // 0
parseInt('08')   // 0, because '8' is not an octal digit.

The ECMAScript 5 specification of the function parseInt no longer allows implementations to treat Strings beginning with a 0 character as octal values.

ECMAScript 5 states:

The parseInt function produces an integer value dictated by interpretation of the contents of the string argument according to the specified radix. Leading whitespace in string is ignored. If radix is undefined or 0, it is assumed to be 10 except when the number begins with the character pairs 0x or 0X, in which case a radix of 16 is assumed.

This differs from ECMAScript 3, which merely discouraged (but allowed) octal interpretation.

Many implementations have not adopted this behavior as of 2013. And, because older browsers must be supported, always specify a radix.

A stricter parse function

It is sometimes useful to have a stricter way to parse integers.

Regular expressions can help:

function filterInt(value) {
  if (/^[-+]?(\d+|Infinity)$/.test(value)) {
    return Number(value)
  } else {
    return NaN
  }
}

console.log(filterInt('421'))                // 421
console.log(filterInt('-421'))               // -421
console.log(filterInt('+421'))               // 421
console.log(filterInt('Infinity'))           // Infinity
console.log(filterInt('421e+0'))             // NaN
console.log(filterInt('421hop'))             // NaN
console.log(filterInt('hop1.61803398875'))   // NaN
console.log(filterInt('1.61803398875'))      // NaN

Examples

Using parseInt

The following examples all return 15:

parseInt('0xF', 16)
parseInt('F', 16)
parseInt('17', 8)
parseInt(021, 8)
parseInt('015', 10)    // but `parseInt(015, 10)` will return 13
parseInt(15.99, 10)
parseInt('15,123', 10)
parseInt('FXX123', 16)
parseInt('1111', 2)
parseInt('15 * 3', 10)
parseInt('15e2', 10)
parseInt('15px', 10)
parseInt('12', 13)

The following examples all return NaN:

parseInt('Hello', 8)  // Not a number at all
parseInt('546', 2)    // Digits other than 0 or 1 are invalid for binary radix

The following examples all return -15:

parseInt('-F', 16)
parseInt('-0F', 16)
parseInt('-0XF', 16)
parseInt(-15.1, 10)
parseInt('-17', 8)
parseInt('-15', 10)
parseInt('-1111', 2)
parseInt('-15e1', 10)
parseInt('-12', 13)

The following examples all return 4.

parseInt(4.7, 10)
parseInt(4.7 * 1e22, 10)        // Very large number becomes 4
parseInt(0.00000000000434, 10)  // Very small number becomes 4

If the number is greater than 1e+21 (including) or less than 1e-7 (including), it will return 1. (when using radix 10).

parseInt(0.0000001,10);
parseInt(0.000000123,10);
parseInt(1e-7,10);
parseInt(1000000000000000000000,10);
parseInt(123000000000000000000000,10);
parseInt(1e+21,10);

The following example returns 224:

parseInt('0e0', 16)

BigInt values lose precision:

parseInt('900719925474099267n')
// 900719925474099300

parseInt doesn't work with numeric separators:

parseInt('123_456')
// 123

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• parseFloat()
• Number.parseFloat()
• Number.parseInt()
• isNaN()
• Number.toString()
• Object.valueOf