Filter array of objects whose properties contains a value in JavaScript

Filtering an array of objects based on property values is a common task in JavaScript. This technique allows you to search through all properties of objects to find matches based on a keyword.

Sample Data

Let's start with an array of objects containing user information:

const arr = [{
   name: 'Paul',
   country: 'Canada',
}, {
   name: 'Lea',
   country: 'Italy',
}, {
   name: 'John',
   country: 'Italy',
}];

The Problem

We need to filter objects where any property contains a specific value. For example:

When searching "lea", return objects containing "lea" in any property
When searching "italy", return objects containing "italy" in any property

Using Regular Expression Filter

The most flexible approach uses regular expressions for case-insensitive matching:

const arr = [{
   name: 'Paul',
   country: 'Canada',
}, {
   name: 'Lea',
   country: 'Italy',
}, {
   name: 'John',
   country: 'Italy',
}];

const filterByValue = (arr = [], query = '') => {
   const reg = new RegExp(query, 'i');
   return arr.filter((item) => {
      let flag = false;
      for (prop in item) {
         if (reg.test(item[prop])) {
            flag = true;
         }
      }
      return flag;
   });
};

console.log(filterByValue(arr, 'ita'));

[
   { name: 'Lea', country: 'Italy' },
   { name: 'John', country: 'Italy' }
]

Using Object.values() Method

A more modern approach using Object.values() for cleaner code:

const filterByValueModern = (arr = [], query = '') => {
   const searchTerm = query.toLowerCase();
   return arr.filter(item => 
      Object.values(item).some(value => 
         value.toString().toLowerCase().includes(searchTerm)
      )
   );
};

console.log(filterByValueModern(arr, 'lea'));

[
   { name: 'Lea', country: 'Italy' }
]

Comparison

Key Points

• Regular expressions provide case-insensitive matching with the 'i' flag
• Object.values() creates cleaner, more readable code
• Convert values to strings to handle different data types
• Use some() to stop searching once a match is found

Conclusion

Both approaches effectively filter arrays of objects by property values. Choose the regular expression method for advanced pattern matching, or Object.values() for simpler, more readable code.