Develop Reference

How to deeply remove null values, empty objects and empty array from an object

I have an object that looks like this:
var myObject = { a: { b: [{}], c: [{}, {d: 2}], e: 2, f: {} }, g:{}, h:[], i: [null, 2] }
I want to remove null values and and empty objects (array and objects) so that it looks like:
{ a: {c: [ {d: 2} ], e: 2 }, i: [ 2 ] }
The function should remove null values, empty objects and empty arrays. Any elegant way to do it ?

Here is a function that clean the object recursively. It will loop deeply through all the properties and remove null values, null arrays and null objects:
cleanUpObject(jsonObject: object): object {
Object.keys(jsonObject).forEach(function (key, index) {
const currentObj = jsonObject[key]
if (_.isNull(currentObj)) {
delete jsonObject[key]
} else if (_.isObject(currentObj)) {
if (_.isArray(currentObj)) {
if (!currentObj.length) {
delete jsonObject[key]
} else {
const cleanupArrayObj = []
for (const obj of currentObj) {
if (!_.isNull(obj)) {
const cleanObj = this.cleanUpJson(obj)
if (!_.isEmpty(cleanObj)) {
cleanupArrayObj.push(cleanObj)
}
}
}
if (!cleanupArrayObj.length) {
delete jsonObject[key]
} else {
jsonObject[key] = cleanupArrayObj
}
}
} else {
if (_.isEmpty(Object.keys(jsonObject[key]))) {
delete jsonObject[key]
} else {
jsonObject[key] = this.cleanUpJson(currentObj)
if (_.isEmpty(Object.keys(jsonObject[key]))) {
delete jsonObject[key]
}
}
}
}
}, this)
return jsonObject
}

We don't know what you mean by clean, but from what I understand, you want to remove all null and empty values. This algorithm is straight-forward: recursively check for and remove any empty / null values (which are recursively checked).
function clean(obj) {
// clean array
if (Array.isArray(obj)) {
for (let i=0; i<obj.length; i++) {
if (isNothing(obj[i])) obj.splice(i, 1); // remove value if falsy
else if (typeof obj[i] === 'object') clean(obj[i]); // recurse if it's a truthy object
}
// clean other object
} else {
for (let prop in obj) {
if (!obj.hasOwnProperty(prop)) continue;
if (isNothing(obj[prop])) delete obj[prop]; // remove value if falsy
else if (typeof obj[prop] === 'object') clean(obj[prop]); // recurse if it's a truthy object
}
}
}
// Recursively check for populated or nonnull content. If none found, return `true`. Recursive so [{}] will be treated as empty.
function isNothing(item) {
// null / undefined
if (item == null) return true;
// deep object falsiness
if (typeof item === 'object') {
if (Array.isArray(item)) {
// array -> check for populated/nonnull value
for (let i=0; i<item.length; i++) {
if (!isNothing(item[i])) return false;
}
return true;
}
// other object -> check for populated/nonnull value
for (let prop in item) {
if (!item.hasOwnProperty(prop)) continue;
if (!isNothing(item[prop])) return false;
}
return true;
}
return false;
}
var myObject = { a: { b: [{}], c: [{}, {d: 2}], e: 2, f: {} }, g:{}, h:[], i: [null, 2] };
console.log("Before: " + JSON.stringify(myObject));
clean(myObject);
console.log("After: " + JSON.stringify(myObject));

To reduce repetitive code, one option is to define a function (let's call it itemToBool) that can determine whether a generic value passed to it is truthy, or recursively truthy somewhere, should the value be an array or object. Then, in the function that gets passed the original object (or, gets recursively passed an object or array), you can call that itemToBool function whenever there's a value to validate.
In the case of arrays, map by itemToBool and then filter by Boolean. In the case of objects, reduce the entries of the object into another object: pass each value of the object through itemToBool to recursively transform it (in case the value is an array or object), and if the transformed value has any keys (or is a truthy primitive), assign it to the accumulator. No need to depend a library:
var myObject = {
a: {
b: [{}],
c: [{}, {
d: 2
}],
e: 2,
f: {}
},
g: {},
h: [],
i: [null, 2]
};
// Returns a falsey value if the item is falsey,
// or if the deep cleaned array or object is empty:
const itemToBool = item => {
if (typeof item !== 'object' || item === null) return item;
const cleanedItem = clean(item);
return Object.keys(cleanedItem).length !== 0 && cleanedItem;
};
const clean = obj => {
if (Array.isArray(obj)) {
const newArr = obj.map(itemToBool).filter(Boolean);
return newArr.length && newArr;
}
const newObj = Object.entries(obj).reduce((a, [key, val]) => {
const newVal = itemToBool(val);
if (newVal) a[key] = newVal;
return a;
}, {});
return Object.keys(newObj).length > 0 && newObj;
};
console.log(clean(myObject));
Hmm... you also might abstract the check of the number of keys into a function as well:
var myObject={a:{b:[{}],c:[{},{d:2}],e:2,f:{}},g:{},h:[],i:[null,2]}
// Returns the object / array if it has at least one key, else returns false:
const validObj = obj => Object.keys(obj).length && obj;
const itemToBool = item => (
typeof item !== 'object' || item === null
? item
: validObj(clean(item))
);
const clean = obj => validObj(
Array.isArray(obj)
? obj.map(itemToBool).filter(Boolean)
: Object.entries(obj).reduce((a, [key, val]) => {
const newVal = itemToBool(val);
if (newVal) a[key] = newVal;
return a;
}, {})
);
console.log(clean(myObject));

Removing object properties with Lodash

I have to remove unwanted object properties that do not match my model. How can I achieve it with Lodash?
My model is:
var model = {
fname: null,
lname: null
}
My controller output before sending to the server will be:
var credentials = {
fname: "xyz",
lname: "abc",
age: 23
}
I am aware I can use
delete credentials.age
but what if I have lots of unwanted properties? Can I achieve it with Lodash?

You can approach it from either an "allow list" or a "block list" way:
// Block list
// Remove the values you don't want
var result = _.omit(credentials, ['age']);
// Allow list
// Only allow certain values
var result = _.pick(credentials, ['fname', 'lname']);
If it's reusable business logic, you can partial it out as well:
// Partial out a "block list" version
var clean = _.partial(_.omit, _, ['age']);
// and later
var result = clean(credentials);
Note that Lodash 5 will drop support for omit
A similar approach can be achieved without Lodash:
const transform = (obj, predicate) => {
return Object.keys(obj).reduce((memo, key) => {
if(predicate(obj[key], key)) {
memo[key] = obj[key]
}
return memo
}, {})
}
const omit = (obj, items) => transform(obj, (value, key) => !items.includes(key))
const pick = (obj, items) => transform(obj, (value, key) => items.includes(key))
// Partials
// Lazy clean
const cleanL = (obj) => omit(obj, ['age'])
// Guarded clean
const cleanG = (obj) => pick(obj, ['fname', 'lname'])
// "App"
const credentials = {
fname:"xyz",
lname:"abc",
age:23
}
const omitted = omit(credentials, ['age'])
const picked = pick(credentials, ['age'])
const cleanedL = cleanL(credentials)
const cleanedG = cleanG(credentials)

Get a list of properties from model using _.keys(), and use _.pick() to extract the properties from credentials to a new object:
var model = {
fname:null,
lname:null
};
var credentials = {
fname:"xyz",
lname:"abc",
age:23
};
var result = _.pick(credentials, _.keys(model));
console.log(result);
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/lodash.js/4.16.4/lodash.min.js"></script>
If you don't want to use Lodash, you can use Object.keys(), and Array.prototype.reduce():
var model = {
fname:null,
lname:null
};
var credentials = {
fname:"xyz",
lname:"abc",
age:23
};
var result = Object.keys(model).reduce(function(obj, key) {
obj[key] = credentials[key];
return obj;
}, {});
console.log(result);

You can easily do this using _.pick:
var model = {
fname: null,
lname: null
};
var credentials = {
fname: 'abc',
lname: 'xyz',
age: 2
};
var result = _.pick(credentials, _.keys(model));
console.log('result =', result);
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/lodash/4.16.4/lodash.min.js"></script>
But you can simply use pure JavaScript (specially if you use ECMAScript 6), like this:
const model = {
fname: null,
lname: null
};
const credentials = {
fname: 'abc',
lname: 'xyz',
age: 2
};
const newModel = {};
Object.keys(model).forEach(key => newModel[key] = credentials[key]);
console.log('newModel =', newModel);

Lodash unset is suitable for removing a few unwanted keys.
const myObj = {
keyOne: "hello",
keyTwo: "world"
}
unset(myObj, "keyTwo");
console.log(myObj); /// myObj = { keyOne: "hello" }

Here I have used omit() for the respective 'key' which you want to remove... by using the Lodash library:
var credentials = [{
fname: "xyz",
lname: "abc",
age: 23
}]
let result = _.map(credentials, object => {
return _.omit(object, ['fname', 'lname'])
})
console.log('result', result)

You can use _.omit() for emitting the key from a JSON array if you have fewer objects:
_.forEach(data, (d) => {
_.omit(d, ['keyToEmit1', 'keyToEmit2'])
});
If you have more objects, you can use the reverse of it which is _.pick():
_.forEach(data, (d) => {
_.pick(d, ['keyToPick1', 'keyToPick2'])
});

To select (or remove) object properties that satisfy a given condition deeply, you can use something like this:
function pickByDeep(object, condition, arraysToo=false) {
return _.transform(object, (acc, val, key) => {
if (_.isPlainObject(val) || arraysToo && _.isArray(val)) {
acc[key] = pickByDeep(val, condition, arraysToo);
} else if (condition(val, key, object)) {
acc[key] = val;
}
});
}
https://codepen.io/aercolino/pen/MWgjyjm

This is my solution to deep remove empty properties with Lodash:
const compactDeep = obj => {
const emptyFields = [];
function calculateEmpty(prefix, source) {
_.each(source, (val, key) => {
if (_.isObject(val) && !_.isEmpty(val)) {
calculateEmpty(`${prefix}${key}.`, val);
} else if ((!_.isBoolean(val) && !_.isNumber(val) && !val) || (_.isObject(val) && _.isEmpty(val))) {
emptyFields.push(`${prefix}${key}`);
}
});
}
calculateEmpty('', obj);
return _.omit(obj, emptyFields);
};

For array of objects
model = _.filter(model, a => {
if (!a.age) { return a }
})

Recursively removing paths.
I just needed something similar, not removing just keys, but keys by with paths recursively.
Thought I'd share.
Simple readable example, no dependencies
/**
* Removes path from an object recursively.
* A full path to the key is not required.
* The original object is not modified.
*
* Example:
* const original = { a: { b: { c: 'value' } }, c: 'value' }
*
* omitPathRecursively(original, 'a') // outputs: { c: 'value' }
* omitPathRecursively(original, 'c') // outputs: { a: { b: {} } }
* omitPathRecursively(original, 'b.c') // { a: { b: {} }, c: 'value' }
*/
export const omitPathRecursively = (original, path, depth = 1) => {
const segments = path.split('.')
const final = depth === segments.length
return JSON.parse(
JSON.stringify(original, (key, value) => {
const match = key === segments[depth - 1]
if (!match) return value
if (!final) return omitPathRecursively(value, path, depth + 1)
return undefined
})
)
}
Working example: https://jsfiddle.net/webbertakken/60thvguc/1/

While looking for a solution that would work for both arrays and objects, I didn't find one and so I created it.
/**
* Recursively ignore keys from array or object
*/
const ignoreKeysRecursively = (obj, keys = []) => {
const keyIsToIgnore = (key) => {
return keys.map((a) => a.toLowerCase()).includes(key)
}
const serializeObject = (item) => {
return Object.fromEntries(
Object.entries(item)
.filter(([key, value]) => key && value)
.reduce((prev, curr, currIndex) => {
if (!keyIsToIgnore(curr[0]))
prev[currIndex] =
[
curr[0],
// serialize array
Array.isArray(curr[1])
? // eslint-disable-next-line
serializeArray(curr[1])
: // serialize object
!Array.isArray(curr[1]) && typeof curr[1] === 'object'
? serializeObject(curr[1])
: curr[1],
] || []
return prev
}, []),
)
}
const serializeArray = (item) => {
const serialized = []
for (const entry of item) {
if (typeof entry === 'string') serialized.push(entry)
if (typeof entry === 'object' && !Array.isArray(entry)) serialized.push(serializeObject(entry))
if (Array.isArray(entry)) serialized.push(serializeArray(entry))
}
return serialized
}
if (Array.isArray(obj)) return serializeArray(obj)
return serializeObject(obj)
}
// usage
const refObject = [{name: "Jessica", password: "ygd6g46"}]
// ignore password
const obj = ignoreKeysRecursively(refObject, ["password"])
// expects returned array to only have name attribute
console.log(obj)

let asdf = [{"asd": 12, "asdf": 123}, {"asd": 121, "asdf": 1231}, {"asd": 142, "asdf": 1243}]
asdf = _.map(asdf, function (row) {
return _.omit(row, ['asd'])
})

How to get the path from javascript object from key and value

I have a javascript object width depth.
I need to know the exact path from this key within the object ex: "obj1.obj2.data1"
I already know the key is data1, the value is 123.
My javascript object look like this
{
obj1: {
obj2: {
data1: 213,
data2: "1231",
obj3: {
data: "milf"
}
}
},
obj4: {
description: "toto"
}
}
How could I achieve that ?
here is a jsfiddle : http://jsfiddle.net/3hvav8xf/8/
I am trying to implement getPath.

I think recursive function can help to you (Updated version, to check value)
function path(c, name, v, currentPath, t){
var currentPath = currentPath || "root";
for(var i in c){
if(i == name && c[i] == v){
t = currentPath;
}
else if(typeof c[i] == "object"){
return path(c[i], name, v, currentPath + "." + i);
}
}
return t + "." + name;
};
console.log(path({1: 2, s: 5, 2: {3: {2: {s: 1, p: 2}}}}, "s", 1));

The following finds the path in any level of nested objects. Also with arrays.
It returns all the paths found, which is something you want if you have keys with the same name.
I like this approach because it works with lodash methods get and set out-of-the-box.
function findPathsToKey(options) {
let results = [];
(function findKey({
key,
obj,
pathToKey,
}) {
const oldPath = `${pathToKey ? pathToKey + "." : ""}`;
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
results.push(`${oldPath}${key}`);
return;
}
if (obj !== null && typeof obj === "object" && !Array.isArray(obj)) {
for (const k in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(k)) {
if (Array.isArray(obj[k])) {
for (let j = 0; j < obj[k].length; j++) {
findKey({
obj: obj[k][j],
key,
pathToKey: `${oldPath}${k}[${j}]`,
});
}
}
if (obj[k] !== null && typeof obj[k] === "object") {
findKey({
obj: obj[k],
key,
pathToKey: `${oldPath}${k}`,
});
}
}
}
}
})(options);
return results;
}
findPathsToKey({ obj: objWithDuplicates, key: "d" })
// ["parentKey.arr[0].c.d", "parentKey.arr[1].c.d", "parentKey.arr[2].c.d"]
Try it here - https://jsfiddle.net/spuhb8v7/1/
If you want the result to be a single key (first encountered), you can change the results to be a string and if defined, then return the function with it.

I ended up with the following function, that works with nested objects/arrays :
function findPath (obj, name, val, currentPath) {
currentPath = currentPath || ''
let matchingPath
if (!obj || typeof obj !== 'object') return
if (obj[name] === val) return `${currentPath}['${name}']`
for (const key of Object.keys(obj)) {
if (key === name && obj[key] === val) {
matchingPath = currentPath
} else {
matchingPath = findPath(obj[key], name, val, `${currentPath}['${key}']`)
}
if (matchingPath) break
}
return matchingPath
}
const treeData = [{
id: 1,
children: [{
id: 2
}]
}, {
id: 3,
children: [{
id: 4,
children: [{
id: 5
}]
}]
}]
console.log(findPath (treeData, 'id', 5))

Here you go!
function getPath(obj, value, path) {
if(typeof obj !== 'object') {
return;
}
for(var key in obj) {
if(obj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
console.log(key);
var t = path;
var v = obj[key];
if(!path) {
path = key;
}
else {
path = path + '.' + key;
}
if(v === value) {
return path;
}
else if(typeof v !== 'object'){
path = t;
}
var res = getPath(v, value, path);
if(res) {
return res;
}
}
}
}
getPath(yourObject, valueYouWantToFindPath);
Rerutns path if found, else returns undefined.
I have only tested it with objects & comparison is very strict(ie: used ===).
Update:
Updated version that takes key as an argument.
function getPath(obj, key, value, path) {
if(typeof obj !== 'object') {
return;
}
for(var k in obj) {
if(obj.hasOwnProperty(k)) {
console.log(k);
var t = path;
var v = obj[k];
if(!path) {
path = k;
}
else {
path = path + '.' + k;
}
if(v === value) {
if(key === k) {
return path;
}
else {
path = t;
}
}
else if(typeof v !== 'object'){
path = t;
}
var res = getPath(v, key, value, path);
if(res) {
return res;
}
}
}
}
getPath(yourObject, key, valueYouWantToFindPath);

JSON Object can be handled in JavaScript as associative array.
So You can cycle through and store indexes of "parents" in some variables.
Assume the whole object to be stored in variable called obj.
for( var p1 in obj )
{
for( var p2 in obj[ p1 ] )
{
for( var p3 in obj[ p1 ][ p2 ] )
{
// obj[ p1 ][ p2 ][ p3 ] is current node
// so for Your example it is obj.obj1.obj2.data1
}
}
}
Hope answer was helpful.

I would do this job as follows;
Object.prototype.paths = function(root = [], result = {}) {
var ok = Object.keys(this);
return ok.reduce((res,key) => { var path = root.concat(key);
typeof this[key] === "object" &&
this[key] !== null ? this[key].paths(path,res)
: res[this[key]] == 0 || res[this[key]] ? res[this[key]].push(path)
: res[this[key]] = [path];
return res;
},result);
};
var myObj = {
obj1: {
obj2: {
data1: 213,
data2: "1231",
obj3: {
data: "milf"
}
}
},
obj4: {
description: "toto",
cougars: "Jodi",
category: "milf"
}
},
value = "milf",
milfPath = myObj.paths()[value]; // the value can be set dynamically and if exists it's path will be listed.
console.log(milfPath);
A few words of warning: We should be cautious when playing with the Object prototype. Our modification should have the descriptor enumerable = false or it will list in the for in loops and for instance jQuery will not work. (this is how silly jQuery is, since apparently they are not making a hasOwnProperty check in their for in loops) Some good reads are here and here So we have to add this Object method with Object.defineProperty() to make it enumerable = false;. But for the sake of simplicity and to stay in the scope of the question i haven't included that part in the code.

Here is a pretty short, and relatively easy to understand function I wrote for retrieving the JSON Path for every property/field on an Object (no matter how deeply nested, or not).
The getPaths(object) function just takes the Object you'd like the JSON Paths for and returns an array of paths. OR, if you would like the initial object to be denoted with a symbol that is different from the standard JSON Path symbol, $, you can call getPaths(object, path), and each JSON Path will begin with the specified path.
For Example: getPaths({prop: "string"}, 'obj'); would return the following JSON Path: obj.prop, rather than $.prop.
See below for a more detailed, in depth example of what getPaths returns, and how it is used.
object = {
"firstName": "John",
"lastName": "doe",
"age": 26,
"fakeData": true,
"address": {
"streetAddress": "fake street",
"city": "fake city",
"postalCode": "12345"
},
"phoneNumbers": [{
"type": "iPhone",
"number": "0123-4567-8888"
}, {
"type": "home",
"number": "0123-4567-8910"
}]
};
function getPaths(object, path = "$") {
return Object.entries(object).flatMap(function(o, i) {
if (typeof o[1] === "object" && !o[1].length) {
return `${getPaths(o[1], path + '.' + o[0])}`.split(',');
} else if (typeof o[1] === "object" && o[1].length) {
return Object.entries(o[1]).flatMap((no, i) => getPaths(no[1], `${path}.${o[0]}[${i}]`));
} else {
return `${path}.${o[0]}`;
}
});
}
console.log(`%o`, getPaths(object));

I really liked Roland Jegorov's answer, but I had a very complex object that I needed to search through and that answer could not account for it.
If you were in a situation like mine you may want to first make sure you have no circular references (or else you'll run into an infinite search). There are a few ways to do this, but I was having to stringify my object to copy it into other windows, so I ended up using this circular replacer: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Errors/Cyclic_object_value
(Update here - I made a small change to the getCircularReplacer function from MDN so it no longer leaves out function references since that is what I was looking for!)
(Update 3 - I also wanted to check on methods of any instances of classes, but I was returning just 'function' too early, so I have adjusted it to include instance methods. I think it finally works as I intended!)
const getCircularReplacer = () => {
const seen = new WeakSet();
return (key, value) => {
if (typeof value === "function") {
if (value?.prototype) {
if (seen.has(value.prototype)) {
return;
}
seen.add(value.prototype)
return value.prototype
}
return "function";
}
if (typeof value === "object" && value !== null) {
if (seen.has(value)) {
return;
}
seen.add(value);
}
return value;
};
};
const nonCyclicObject = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(myComplexObject, getCircularReplacer()));
Then I used this modified version of Roland's answer:
(Update 2: I had to make sure not to return after the key was found as it would always simply return after only calling the function once if the first level of the object had that key)
function findPathsToKey(options) {
let count = 0;
let results = [];
(function findKey({
key,
obj,
pathToKey,
}) {
count += 1;
if (obj === null) return;
const oldPath = `${pathToKey ? pathToKey + "." : ""}`;
if (Object.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, key)) {
results.push(`${oldPath}${key}`);
}
if (typeof obj === "object" && !Array.isArray(obj)) {
for (const k in obj) {
if (Object.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, k)) {
if (Array.isArray(obj[k])) {
for (let j = 0; j < obj[k].length; j++) {
findKey({
obj: obj[k][j],
key,
pathToKey: `${oldPath}${k}[${j}]`,
});
}
}
if (typeof obj[k] === "object") {
findKey({
obj: obj[k],
key,
pathToKey: `${oldPath}${k}`,
});
}
}
}
}
})(options);
return { count, results };
};
The count was just to troubleshoot a little bit and make sure it was actually running through the amount of keys I thought it was. Hope this helps any others looking for a solution!

⚠️ This code doesn't answer the question but does related: transforms nested object to query object with dot.divided.path as keys and non-object values; compatible with URlSearchParams & qs. Maybe will be useful for someone.
const isPlainObject = (v) => {
if (Object.prototype.toString.call(v) !== '[object Object]') return false;
const prototype = Object.getPrototypeOf(v);
return prototype === null || prototype === Object.prototype;
};
const objectToQueryObject = (obj, path) => {
return Object.entries(obj).reduce((acc, [key, value]) => {
const newPath = path ? `${path}.${key}` : key;
if (isPlainObject(value)) {
return {
...acc,
...objectToQueryObject(value, newPath)
};
}
acc[newPath] = value;
return acc;
}, {})
};
const queryObjectRaw = {
value: {
field: {
array: {
'[*]': {
field2: {
eq: 'foo',
ne: 'bar',
}
}
},
someOtherProp: { in: [1, 2, 3],
ne: 'baz',
}
},
someOtherField: {
gt: 123
},
},
otherValue: {
eq: 2
},
};
const result = objectToQueryObject(queryObjectRaw);
console.log('result', result);
const queryString = new URLSearchParams(result).toString();
console.log('queryString', queryString);

If you know only the value and not the key, and want to find all paths with this value use this.
It will find all property with that value, and print the complete path for every founded value.
const createArrayOfKeys = (obj, value) => {
const result = []
function iter(o) {
Object.keys(o).forEach(function(k) {
if (o[k] !== null && typeof o[k] === 'object') {
iter(o[k])
return
}
if (o[k]=== value) {
result.push(k)
return
}
})
}
iter(obj)
return result
}
function findPath (obj, name, val, currentPath) {
currentPath = currentPath || ''
let matchingPath
if (!obj || typeof obj !== 'object') return
if (obj[name] === val) return `${currentPath}/${name}/${val}`
for (const key of Object.keys(obj)) {
if (key === name && obj[key] === val) {
matchingPath = currentPath
} else {
matchingPath = findPath(obj[key], name, val, `${currentPath}/${key}`)
}
if (matchingPath) break
}
return matchingPath
}
const searchMultiplePaths = (obj, value) => {
const keys = createArrayOfKeys(obj, value)
console.log(keys);
keys.forEach(key => {
console.log(findPath(obj, key, value))
})
}
var data = { ffs: false, customer: { customer_id: 1544248, z_cx_id: '123456' }, selected_items: { '3600196': [{ id: 4122652, name: 'Essential Large (up to 8\'x10\')', selected: true }] }, service_partner: { id: 3486, name: 'Some String', street: '1234 King St.', hop: '123456' }, subject: 'Project-2810191 - Orange Juice Stain (Rug)', description: 'Product Type: \n\nIssue: (copy/paste service request details here)\n\nAction Required:', yes: '123456' };
searchMultiplePaths(data, '123456')

I know the post is old but the answers don't really satisfy me.
A simple solution is to add the object path to each object in the structure. Then you can easily read the path when you need it.
let myObject = {
name: 'abc',
arrayWithObject: [
{
name: "def"
},
{
name: "ghi",
obj: {
name: "jkl"
}
}
],
array: [15, 'mno'],
arrayArrayObject: [
[
{
name: '...'
}
]
]
}
function addPath(obj, path = [], objectPathKey = '_path') {
if (Array.isArray(obj)) {
obj.map((item, idx) => addPath(item, [...path, idx]))
} else if (typeof obj === "object") {
obj[objectPathKey] = path;
for (const key in obj) {
obj[key] = addPath(obj[key], [...path, key])
}
}
return obj
}
myObject = addPath(myObject);
let changeMe = _.cloneDeep(myObject.arrayWithObject[0])
changeMe.newProp = "NEW"
changeMe.newNested = {name: "new", deeper: {name: "asdasda"}}
changeMe = addPath(changeMe, changeMe._path)
_.set(myObject, changeMe._path, changeMe);
When your updates are done sanitize your object and remove your _path property.
Advantages of this solution:
You do the work once
you keep your code simple
no need for own property checks
no cognitive overload

I can highly suggest you to use lodash for this problem.
In their documentation this should help you out
// using "_.where" callback shorthand
_.find(characters, { 'age': 1 });
// → { 'name': 'pebbles', 'age': 1, 'blocked': false }

Find property by name in a deep object

I have a HUGE collection and I am looking for a property by key someplace inside the collection. What is a reliable way to get a list of references or full paths to all objects containing that key/index? I use jQuery and lodash if it helps and you can forget about infinite pointer recursion, this is a pure JSON response.
fn({ 'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': {'d':{'e':7}}}, "d");
// [o.c]
fn({ 'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': {'d':{'e':7}}}, "e");
// [o.c.d]
fn({ 'aa': 1, 'bb': 2, 'cc': {'d':{'x':9}}, dd:{'d':{'y':9}}}, 'd');
// [o.cc,o.cc.dd]
fwiw lodash has a _.find function that will find nested objects that are two nests deep, but it seems to fail after that. (e.g. http://codepen.io/anon/pen/bnqyh)

This should do it:
function fn(obj, key) {
if (_.has(obj, key)) // or just (key in obj)
return [obj];
// elegant:
return _.flatten(_.map(obj, function(v) {
return typeof v == "object" ? fn(v, key) : [];
}), true);
// or efficient:
var res = [];
_.forEach(obj, function(v) {
if (typeof v == "object" && (v = fn(v, key)).length)
res.push.apply(res, v);
});
return res;
}

a pure JavaScript solution would look like the following:
function findNested(obj, key, memo) {
var i,
proto = Object.prototype,
ts = proto.toString,
hasOwn = proto.hasOwnProperty.bind(obj);
if ('[object Array]' !== ts.call(memo)) memo = [];
for (i in obj) {
if (hasOwn(i)) {
if (i === key) {
memo.push(obj[i]);
} else if ('[object Array]' === ts.call(obj[i]) || '[object Object]' === ts.call(obj[i])) {
findNested(obj[i], key, memo);
}
}
}
return memo;
}
here's how you'd use this function:
findNested({'aa': 1, 'bb': 2, 'cc': {'d':{'x':9}}, dd:{'d':{'y':9}}}, 'd');
and the result would be:
[{x: 9}, {y: 9}]

this will deep search an array of objects (hay) for a value (needle) then return an array with the results...
search = function(hay, needle, accumulator) {
var accumulator = accumulator || [];
if (typeof hay == 'object') {
for (var i in hay) {
search(hay[i], needle, accumulator) == true ? accumulator.push(hay) : 1;
}
}
return new RegExp(needle).test(hay) || accumulator;
}

If you can write a recursive function in plain JS (or with combination of lodash) that will be the best one (by performance), but if you want skip recursion from your side and want to go for a simple readable code (which may not be best as per performance) then you can use lodash#cloneDeepWith for any purposes where you have to traverse a object recursively.
let findValuesDeepByKey = (obj, key, res = []) => (
_.cloneDeepWith(obj, (v,k) => {k==key && res.push(v)}) && res
)
So, the callback you passes as the 2nd argument of _.cloneDeepWith will recursively traverse all the key/value pairs recursively and all you have to do is the operation you want to do with each. the above code is just a example of your case. Here is a working example:
var object = {
prop1: 'ABC1',
prop2: 'ABC2',
prop3: {
prop4: 'ABC3',
prop5Arr: [{
prop5: 'XYZ'
},
{
prop5: 'ABC4'
},
{
prop6: {
prop6NestedArr: [{
prop1: 'XYZ Nested Arr'
},
{
propFurtherNested: {key100: '100 Value'}
}
]
}
}
]
}
}
let findValuesDeepByKey = (obj, key, res = []) => (
_.cloneDeepWith(obj, (v,k) => {k==key && res.push(v)}) && res
)
console.log(findValuesDeepByKey(object, 'prop1'));
console.log(findValuesDeepByKey(object, 'prop5'));
console.log(findValuesDeepByKey(object, 'key100'));
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/lodash.js/4.17.10/lodash.min.js"></script>

With Deepdash you can pickDeep and then get paths from it, or indexate (build path->value object)
var obj = { 'aa': 1, 'bb': 2, 'cc': {'d':{'x':9}}, dd:{'d':{'y':9}}}
var cherry = _.pickDeep(obj,"d");
console.log(JSON.stringify(cherry));
// {"cc":{"d":{}},"dd":{"d":{}}}
var paths = _.paths(cherry);
console.log(paths);
// ["cc.d", "dd.d"]
paths = _.paths(cherry,{pathFormat:'array'});
console.log(JSON.stringify(paths));
// [["cc","d"],["dd","d"]]
var index = _.indexate(cherry);
console.log(JSON.stringify(index));
// {"cc.d":{},"dd.d":{}}
Here is a Codepen demo

Something like this would work, converting it to an object and recursing down.
function find(jsonStr, searchkey) {
var jsObj = JSON.parse(jsonStr);
var set = [];
function fn(obj, key, path) {
for (var prop in obj) {
if (prop === key) {
set.push(path + "." + prop);
}
if (obj[prop]) {
fn(obj[prop], key, path + "." + prop);
}
}
return set;
}
fn(jsObj, searchkey, "o");
}
Fiddle: jsfiddle

In case you don't see the updated answer from #eugene, this tweak allows for passing a list of Keys to search for!
// Method that will find any "message" in the Apex errors that come back after insert attempts
// Could be a validation rule, or duplicate record, or pagemessage.. who knows!
// Use in your next error toast from a wire or imperative catch path!
// message: JSON.stringify(this.findNested(error, ['message', 'stackTrace'])),
// Testing multiple keys: this.findNested({thing: 0, list: [{message: 'm'}, {stackTrace: 'st'}], message: 'm2'}, ['message', 'stackTrace'])
findNested(obj, keys, memo) {
let i,
proto = Object.prototype,
ts = proto.toString,
hasOwn = proto.hasOwnProperty.bind(obj);
if ('[object Array]' !== ts.call(memo)) memo = [];
for (i in obj) {
if (hasOwn(i)) {
if (keys.includes(i)) {
memo.push(obj[i]);
} else if ('[object Array]' === ts.call(obj[i]) || '[object Object]' === ts.call(obj[i])) {
this.findNested(obj[i], keys, memo);
}
}
}
return memo.length == 0 ? null : memo;
}

Here's how I did it:
function _find( obj, field, results )
{
var tokens = field.split( '.' );
// if this is an array, recursively call for each row in the array
if( obj instanceof Array )
{
obj.forEach( function( row )
{
_find( row, field, results );
} );
}
else
{
// if obj contains the field
if( obj[ tokens[ 0 ] ] !== undefined )
{
// if we're at the end of the dot path
if( tokens.length === 1 )
{
results.push( obj[ tokens[ 0 ] ] );
}
else
{
// keep going down the dot path
_find( obj[ tokens[ 0 ] ], field.substr( field.indexOf( '.' ) + 1 ), results );
}
}
}
}
Testing it with:
var obj = {
document: {
payload: {
items:[
{field1: 123},
{field1: 456}
]
}
}
};
var results = [];
_find(obj.document,'payload.items.field1', results);
console.log(results);
Outputs
[ 123, 456 ]

We use object-scan for data processing tasks. It's pretty awesome once you've wrapped your head around how to use it.
// const objectScan = require('object-scan');
const haystack = { a: { b: { c: 'd' }, e: { f: 'g' } } };
const r = objectScan(['a.*.*'], { joined: true, rtn: 'entry' })(haystack);
console.log(r);
// => [ [ 'a.e.f', 'g' ], [ 'a.b.c', 'd' ] ]
.as-console-wrapper {max-height: 100% !important; top: 0}
<script src="https://bundle.run/object-scan#13.8.0"></script>
Disclaimer: I'm the author of object-scan
There are plenty more examples on the website.

The shortest and simplest solution:
Array.prototype.findpath = function(item,path) {
return this.find(function(f){return item==eval('f.'+path)});
}

Multiple key names, same pair value

I'm trying to setup an object literal in a JavaScript script that has a key with multiple names. referring to the same object value i.e. something like these that I have already tried:
var holidays: {
"thanksgiving day", "thanksgiving", "t-day": {
someValue : "foo"
}
}
var holidays: {
["thanksgiving day", "thanksgiving", "t-day"]: {
someValue : "foo"
}
}
Is there a way I can accomplish this?

Another approach is to do some postprocessing
function expand(obj) {
var keys = Object.keys(obj);
for (var i = 0; i < keys.length; ++i) {
var key = keys[i],
subkeys = key.split(/,\s?/),
target = obj[key];
delete obj[key];
subkeys.forEach(function(key) { obj[key] = target; })
}
return obj;
}
var holidays = expand({
"thanksgiving day, thanksgiving, t-day": {
someValue : "foo"
}
});

JSON does not offer such a feature, nor do Javascript object literals.
You might be able to make do with something like this:
holidays = {
thanksgiving: {foo: 'foo'},
groundhogDay: {foo: 'bar'},
aliases: {
'thanksgiving day': 'thanksgiving',
't-day': 'thanksgiving',
'Bill Murrays nightmare': 'groundhogDay'
}
}
and then you can check
holidays[name] || holidays[holidays.aliases[name]]
for your data.
It's not a wonderful solution. But it wouldn't be too difficult to write a little function that created this sort of object out of a representation like:
[
{
names: ['thanksgiving', 'thanksgiving day', 't-day'],
obj: {foo: 'foo'}
},
{
names: ['groundhogDay', 'Bill Murrays nightmare'],
obj: {foo: 'bar'}
},
]
if that would be easier to maintain.

Another solution, if you can afford RegExp execution, and ES6 Proxy:
let align = new Proxy({
'start|top|left': -1,
'middle|center': 0,
'end|bottom|right': 1,
}, {
get: function(target, property, receiver) {
for (let k in target)
if (new RegExp(k).test(property))
return target[k]
return null
}
})
align.start // -1
align.top // -1
align.left // -1
align.middle // 0
align.center // 0
align.end // 1
align.bottom // 1
align.right // 1
See MDN Proxy
2021 EDIT:
Another (cleaner?) solution using reduce & defineProperty :
const myDict = [
// list of pairs [value, keys],
// note that a key should appear only once
[-1, ['start', 'left', 'top']],
[0, ['center', 'middle']],
[1, ['end', 'right', 'bottom']],
].reduce((obj, [value, keys]) => {
for (const key of keys) {
Object.defineProperty(obj, key, { value })
}
return obj
}, {})

I guess you could do something like this:
var holidays = {
'thanksgiving day': {
foo: 'foo'
}
};
holidays.thanksgiving = holidays['t-day'] = holidays['thanksgiving day'];
If you see yourself doing this often or you have more values consider this pattern:
'thanksgiving, t-day, thanks, thank, thank u'.split(',').forEach(function(key) {
holidays[key] = holidays['thanksgiving day'];
});
A better approach would be to process your data beforehand instead of adding duplicates.

That should work as expected:
function getItem(_key) {
items = [{
item: 'a',
keys: ['xyz','foo']
},{
item: 'b',
keys: ['xwt','bar']
}];
_filtered = items.filter(function(item) {
return item.keys.indexOf(_key) != -1
}).map(function(item) {
return item.item;
});
return !!_filtered.length ? _filtered[0] : false;
}

With ES6 you could do it like this, but it's not ideal:
const holidays = {
"single": {
singleValue: "foo",
},
...([
"thanksgiving day", "thanksgiving", "t-day",
].reduce((a, v) => ({...a, [v]: {
someValue: "foo",
}}), {})),
"other": {
otherValue: "foo",
},
};
I still think the cleanest solution is probably:
let holidays = {
"t-day": {
someValue: "foo",
},
};
holidays["thanksgiving"] = holidays["t-day"];
holidays["thanksgiving day"] = holidays["t-day"];

Now this may be overkill for you, but here's a generic function that will create an object with "multiple keys." What it actually does is have one real property with the actual value, and then defines getters and setters to forward operations from the virtual keys to the actual property.
function multiKey(keyGroups) {
let obj = {};
let props = {};
for (let keyGroup of keyGroups) {
let masterKey = keyGroup[0];
let prop = {
configurable: true,
enumerable: false,
get() {
return obj[masterKey];
},
set(value) {
obj[masterKey] = value;
}
};
obj[masterKey] = undefined;
for (let i = 1; i < keyGroup.length; ++i) {
if (keyGroup.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
props[keyGroup[i]] = prop;
}
}
}
return Object.defineProperties(obj, props);
}
This is less sketchy than you would expect, has basically no performance penalty once the object is created, and behaves nicely with enumeration (for...in loops) and membership testing (in operator). Here's some example usage:
let test = multiKey([
['north', 'up'],
['south', 'down'],
['east', 'left'],
['west', 'right']
]);
test.north = 42;
test.down = 123;
test.up; // returns 42
test.south; // returns 123
let count = 0;
for (let key in test) {
count += 1;
}
count === 4; // true; only unique (un-linked) properties are looped over
Taken from my Gist, which you may fork.

Same reponse (ES6 Proxy, RegExp), but in a shorter way (and significantly less legible)
let align = new Proxy({
'start|top|left': -1,
'middle|center': 0,
'end|bottom|right': 1,
}, { get: (t, p) => Object.keys(t).reduce((r, v) => r !== undefined ? r : (new RegExp(v).test(p) ? t[v] : undefined), undefined) })
align.start // -1
align.top // -1
align.left // -1
align.middle // 0
align.center // 0
align.end // 1
align.bottom // 1
align.right // 1

//create some objects(!) you want to have aliases for..like tags
var {learn,image,programming} =
["learn", "image", "programming"].map(tag=>({toString:()=>tag }));
//create arbitrary many aliases using a Map
var alias = new Map();
alias.set("photo", image);
alias.set("pic", image);
alias.set("learning", learn);
alias.set("coding", programming);
//best put the original tagNames in here too..
//pretty easy huh?
// returns the image object
alias.get("pic");
// ;)

here is a way you can initialize an object with several keys sharing the same value
var holidays = {
...["thanksgiving day", "thanksgiving", "t-day"].reduce((acc, key) => ({ ...acc, [key]: 'foo' }), {})
}
although I would personally think it was more clear if it was written out

Object.fromEntries produces some fairly readable and concise code:
var holidays = Object.fromEntries(
["thanksgiving day", "thanksgiving", "t-day"].map(k => [k, "foo"]));
The spread syntax can be used to include this alongside other key/value pairs:
var holidaysAndMore = {
"A": "a",
...Object.fromEntries(
["thanksgiving day", "thanksgiving", "t-day"].map(k => [k, "foo"])),
"B": "b"
};