# How to add items to an array in JavaScript

By Atta Ur Rehman Shah (https://attacomsian.com/about). Published May 17, 2020, updated May 20, 2020. Topics: JavaScript.
Canonical URL: https://attacomsian.com/blog/javascript-array-add-items

> A quick article to learn about three different ways to add new items to an array using JavaScript.

In vanilla JavaScript, you can use the `Array.push()` method to add new items to an array. This method appends one or more items at the end of the array and returns the new length.

Here is an example:

```javascript
const fruits = ['Orange', 'Mango', 'Banana'];

// add more fruits
fruits.push('Apple', 'Lemon');

console.log(fruits);

// ['Orange', 'Mango', 'Banana', 'Apple', 'Lemon']
```

If you want to **append items to the beginning** of an array, use the `Array.unshift()` method instead. This method works similar to `Array.push()` except that the given items are added at the start of the array:

```javascript
const fruits = ['Orange', 'Mango', 'Banana'];

// add more fruits
fruits.unshift('Kiwi', 'Lemon');

console.log(fruits);

// ['Kiwi', 'Lemon', 'Orange', 'Mango', 'Banana']
```

## Adding item at a specific index

To add a new item at a particular index in an array, you can use the [Array.splice()](https://attacomsian.com/blog/javascript-arrays#splice) method. This method adds new items at the specified starting index and returns the removed items if any.

Here is an example that demonstrates how to add a new item at 3rd index in an array using `Array.splice()`:

```javascript
const fruits = ['Apple', 'Orange', 'Mango', 'Banana'];

const removed = fruits.splice(2, 0, 'Cherry');

console.log(fruits); // ['Apple', 'Orange', 'Cherry', 'Mango', 'Banana']
console.log(removed); // []
```

## Merging two arrays

What if you want to add all items of an array to another array? You can use the `Array.concat()` method to [merge two or more arrays](https://attacomsian.com/blog/javascript-merge-arrays) together. This method takes one or more arrays as input and merges all subsequent arrays into the first:

```javascript
const fruits = ['Orange', 'Mango', 'Banana'];

const moreFruits = ['Kiwi', 'Lemon'];

// merge all fruits
const allFruits = fruits.concat(moreFruits);

console.log(allFruits);

// ['Orange', 'Mango', 'Banana', 'Kiwi', 'Lemon']
```

The `Array.concat()` method doesn't change the original arrays. Instead, it always returns a new array.

Take a look at [this article](https://attacomsian.com/blog/javascript-arrays) to learn more about JavaScript arrays and how to use them to store multiple pieces of information in one single variable.