How to Continue the forEach Loop in JavaScript

1. Continue the forEach Loop in JavaScript
2. Conclusion

This tutorial will teach you how to continue the forEach loop in JavaScript.

Continue the forEach Loop in JavaScript

The forEach loop is a JavaScript array method that performs a custom callback function on every item in an array. Only on the array can you utilize the forEach loop.

Let’s start with a forEach loop example:

Assume you have a numbers array with 5 to 10 numbers. How will you print the value using the forEach loop?

See the demonstration below:

const numb = [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];

numb.forEach((num) => {
  console.log(num);
});

Run Code

Output:

5,6,7,8,9,10

Assume you want to do something else; you want to skip any items in your numb array that are even. How will you accomplish this?

In that loop, you append continue. However, a problem will arise if you utilize continue in a forEach loop.

Let’s start with the problem:

const numb = [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

numb.forEach(num => {
  if (num % 2 === 0) {
    continue;
  }
})

Run Code

Output:

Uncaught SyntaxError: Illegal continue statement: no surrounding iteration statement

As you can see, a continue statement inside a JavaScript forEach loop results in an Uncaught SyntaxError. Hence the return statement is the better alternative.

We got a syntax error because the forEach loop behaves more like a function than a loop. That is why you are unable to continue performing on it.

However, if you must use continue in a forEach loop, there is an option. A return may be used to exit the forEach loop.

Look at the code below:

const numb = [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];

numb.forEach((num) => {
  if (num % 2 === 0) {
    return;
  }
  console.log(num);
});

Run Code

Output:

5,7,9

Though return may be used to get the necessary output, there is a more efficient method. You can easily remove the undesired values using the filter() function.

Example:

const numb = [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];

numb.filter((num) => num % 2 !== 0).forEach((num) => {
  console.log(num);
});

Output:

5,7,9

Conclusion

To conclude this article, you cannot use a continue statement directly inside a forEach loop. Instead, the return statement is the ideal solution.

If you cannot utilize the return statement, you must substitute your forEach loop with a for or while loop to use the continue statement.