# How to get the first n items in an array in JS

> Learn how to get the first n items of a JavaScript array using the built-in slice() method, passing 0 and n, without modifying the original array.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2020-04-09 | Topics: [JavaScript](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/js/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/how-to-get-first-items-in-array-js/

Given a [JavaScript](https://flaviocopes.com/javascript/) array, how do you get just the first X items of it?

Use the built-in `slice()` method that comes with each array instance:

```js
const arrayToCut = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

const n = 5 //get the first 5 items

const newArray = arrayToCut.slice(0, n)
```

Note that the original array is not modified in this operation.