string-length

What is string-length?

The string-length npm package is used to get the real length of a string, taking into account Unicode characters and ansi escape codes that might be present in the string. It provides a more accurate count of visual symbols in a string, which can be different from the string's `.length` property due to such characters.

What are string-length's main functionalities?

Counting characters in a basic string

This feature allows you to count the number of characters in a basic string, which is straightforward and similar to the native JavaScript `.length` property, but it also correctly handles Unicode characters that are represented by surrogate pairs in JavaScript.

"string-length": "^4.0.1"

Counting characters in a string with Unicode

This feature is particularly useful for strings containing Unicode characters, such as emojis or characters from non-Latin scripts, which may be represented by multiple code units in JavaScript. The `string-length` package accurately counts these as single characters.

"string-length": "^4.0.1"

Counting characters in a string with ansi escape codes

When dealing with strings that include ansi escape codes, such as those used for coloring terminal output, `string-length` can correctly count the visible characters, ignoring the escape codes that do not contribute to the visible length of the string.

"string-length": "^4.0.1"

Other packages similar to string-length

string-width

The `string-width` package is similar to `string-length` in that it calculates the visual width of a string in the terminal, considering Unicode and ansi escape codes. It is useful for aligning output in the terminal or for determining how much visual space a string will take up.

strip-ansi

While `strip-ansi` does not directly calculate string length, it is related in that it removes ansi escape codes from a string. This can be used in conjunction with the native `.length` property to determine the visual length of a string that contains such codes.

README

string-length

Get the real length of a string - by correctly counting astral symbols and ignoring ansi escape codes

String#length erroneously counts astral symbols as two characters.

Install

npm install string-length

Usage

import stringLength from 'string-length';

'🐴'.length;
//=> 2

stringLength('🐴');
//=> 1

stringLength('\u001B[1municorn\u001B[22m');
//=> 7

API

stringLength(string, options?)

options

Type: object

countAnsiEscapeCodes

Type: boolean
Default: false

Whether ANSI escape codes should be counted. They are ignored by default.

Related

• string-length-cli - CLI for this module
• string-width - Get visual width of a string