NodeList.item()

Returns a node from a NodeList by index. This method doesn't throw exceptions as long as you provide arguments. A value of null is returned if the index is out of range, and a TypeError is thrown if no argument is provided.

Syntax

nodeItem = nodeList.item(index)
  • nodeList is a NodeList. This is usually obtained from another DOM property or method, such as childNodes.
  • index is the index of the node to be fetched. The index is zero-based.
  • nodeItem is the indexth node in the nodeList returned by the item method.

Alternate Syntax

JavaScript also offers an array-like bracketed syntax for obtaining an item from a NodeList by index: 

nodeItem = nodeList[index]

Example

var tables = document.getElementsByTagName("table");
var firstTable = tables.item(1); // or tables[1] - returns the second table in the DOM

Specifications

Specification
DOM Standard
# ref-for-dom-nodelist-item①

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser