Truthy and Falsy Values: When All is Not Equal in JavaScript

Comparing two things for equality can often trip up the unwary JavaScript developer, as the language has several quirks we need to be aware of.

In this article, we’ll look at why that is, exploring both the double and triple equals operators, as well as the concept of truthy and falsy values in JavaScript. By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll understand how JavaScript makes its comparisons, as well as how truthy and falsy values can help you write cleaner code.

Typing in JavaScript

JavaScript variables are loosely/dynamically typed and the language doesn’t care how a value is declared or changed:

let x;
x = 1;   // x is a number
x = '1'; // x is a string
x = [1]; // x is an array

Seemingly different values equate to true when compared with == (loose or abstract equality) because JavaScript (effectively) converts each to a string representation before comparison:

// all true
1 == '1';
1 == [1];
'1' == [1];

A more obvious false result occurs when comparing with === (strict equality) because the type is considered:

// all false
1 === '1';
1 === [1];
'1' === [1];

Internally, JavaScript sets a value to one of seven primitive data types:

• Undefined (a variable with no defined value)
• Null (a single null value)
• Boolean (a true or false value)
• Number (this includes Infinity and NaN — not a number!)
• BigInt (an integer value larger than 2^53 – 1)
• String (textual data)
• Symbol (a unique and immutable primitive new to ES6/2015)

Everything else is an Object — including arrays.

Truthy vs Falsy Values in JavaScript

As well as a type, each value also has an inherent Boolean value, generally known as either truthy or falsy. Some of the rules that determine how non-Boolean values are translated into true or false values are a little bizarre. Understanding the concepts and their effect on comparison helps when debugging JavaScript applications.

The following values are always falsy:

• false
• 0 (zero)
• -0 (minus zero)
• 0n (BigInt zero)
• '', "", `` (empty string)
• null
• undefined
• NaN

Everything else is truthy. That includes:

• '0' (a string containing a single zero)
• 'false' (a string containing the text “false”)
• [] (an empty array)
• {} (an empty object)
• function(){} (an “empty” function)

A single value can therefore be used within conditions. For example:

if (value) {
  // value is truthy
}
else {
  // value is falsy
  // it could be false, 0, '', null, undefined or NaN
}

document.all

You might also see document.all listed as a falsy value. This returns an HTMLAllCollection which contains a list of all of a document’s elements. And while this is considered false in a Boolean context, it’s a deprecated feature and MDN advises against its use.

Loose Equality Comparisons with ==

Unexpected situations can occur when comparing truthy and falsy values using the == loose equality:

The rules:

• false, zero and empty strings are all equivalent.
• null and undefined are equivalent to themselves and each other but nothing else.
• NaN is not equivalent to anything — including another NaN!.
• Infinity is truthy — but cannot be compared to true or false!.
• An empty array is truthy — yet comparing with true is false and comparing with false is true?!.

Note the difference in how empty values across various types can be evaluated. An empty string or undefined value are falsy, but an empty array or object are truthy.

Examples:

// all true
false == 0;
0 == '';
null == undefined;
[] == false;
!![0] == true;

// all false
false == null;
NaN == NaN;
Infinity == true;
[] == true;
[0] == true;

Strict Equality Comparisons with ===

The situation is clearer when using a strictly equal comparison because the value types must match:

The only exception is NaN, which remains stubbornly inequivalent to everything.

Recommendations for Working with Truthy or Falsy Values

Truthy and falsy values can catch out the most experienced developers. Those new to programming or migrating from other languages have no chance! Fortunately, there are three simple steps for catching the most difficult-to-spot errors when handling truthy and falsy variables. Let’s look at each in turn.

1. Avoid direct comparisons

It’s rarely necessary to compare two truthy and falsy values when a single value will always equate to true or false:

// instead of
if (x == false) // ...
// runs if x is false, 0, '', or []

// use
if (!x) // ...
// runs if x is false, 0, '', NaN, null or undefined

2. Use === strict equality

Use a === strict equality (or !== strict inequality) comparisons to compare values and avoid type conversion issues:

// instead of
if (x == y) // ...
// runs if x and y are both truthy or both falsy
// e.g. x = null and y = undefined

// use
if (x === y) // ...
// runs if x and y are identical...
// except when both are NaN

3. Convert to real Boolean values where necessary

You can convert any value to a real Boolean value in JavaScript using either the Boolean constructor, or a double-negative !!. This will allow you to be absolutely certain a false is generated only by false, 0, "", null, undefined and NaN:

// instead of
if (x === y) // ...
// runs if x and y are identical...
// except when both are NaN

// use
if (Boolean(x) === Boolean(y)) // ...
// or
if (!!x === !!y) // ...
// runs if x and y are identical...
// including when either or both are NaN

The Boolean constructor returns true when passed a truthy value and returns false when passed a falsy value. This could be useful when combined with an iteration method. For example:

const truthy_values = [
  false,
  0,
  ``,
  '',
  "",
  null,
  undefined,
  NaN,
  '0',
  'false',
  [],
  {},
  function() {}
].filter(Boolean);

// Filter out falsy values and log remaining truthy values
console.log(truthy_values);

Conclusion

Truthy and falsy values allow you to write terse JavaScript conditions and ternary operators. However, always consider the edge cases. A rogue empty array or NaN variable could lead to many hours of debugging grief!

Do you need help with anything we’ve covered here? Why not head over to our JavaScript forum and ask a question. We have a team of friendly experts ready to help out.