How to Check if Variable Exists in JavaScript

Kirill Ibrahim Feb 02, 2024 JavaScript JavaScript Variable
  1. Use the typeof Operator to Check if Variable Exists in JavaScript:
  2. Use if (varibale) Statement to Check if Variable Exists in JavaScript:
How to Check if Variable Exists in JavaScript

In this article, we will introduce multiple ways to check if a variable is defined/initialized. Every method below will have a code example, which you can run on your machine.

Use the typeof Operator to Check if Variable Exists in JavaScript:

The typeof operator checks if a variable is defined/null, but it does not throw a ReferenceError if used with an undeclared variable.

Example:

<!DOCTYPE html>  
<html>  
  
<head>  
    <title>  
        How to check if variable exists in JavaScript?
    </title> 
</head>  
          
<body style = "text-align:center;">  
      
    <h2 >  
        How to check if variable exists in JavaScript?
    </h2>  
              
    <p> 
        variable-name : Vatiable1 
    </p> 
  
    <button onclick="checkVariable()">  
        Check Variable
    </button>  
      
    <h4 id = "result" style="color:blue;"></h4> 
              
    <!-- Script to check existence of variable -->
    <script>  
       const checkVariable = () => {
              
            let Vatiable1;  
            
            let result = document.getElementById("result"); 
            
            if (typeof Vatiable1 === 'undefined') {
                result.innerHTML = "Variable is Undefined"; 
            } 
            else {
                result.innerHTML = "Variable is defined and" 
                    + " value is " + Vatiable1; 
            } 
        } 
    </script>  
</body>

Example:

We will use the same html as above.

<script>  
    const checkVariable = () => {

        let Vatiable1 = "variable 1";  

        let result = document.getElementById("result"); 

        if (typeof Vatiable1 === 'undefined') {
            result.innerHTML = "Variable is Undefined"; 
        } 
        else {
            result.innerHTML = "Variable is defined and" 
                + " value is " + Vatiable1 ; 
        } 
    } 
</script>

Example:

We will use the same html above, to check if the variable is null:

<script>  
       const checkVariable = () => {
              
            
            let Vatiable1 = null;  
            let result = document.getElementById("result"); 
            
            if (typeof Vatiable1 === 'undefined' ) {
                result.innerHTML = "Variable is Undefined"; 
            } 
            else if (Vatiable1 === null){
              result.innerHTML = "Variable is null and not declared"; 
            }
            else {
                result.innerHTML = "Variable is defined and" 
                    + " value is " + Vatiable1 ; 
            } 
        } 
    </script>

Use if (varibale) Statement to Check if Variable Exists in JavaScript:

We can also use the if statement to check if a variable exists because it covers and checks many cases like it checks whether the variable is undefined, null, '', 0, Nan, and false. But the typeof operator checks only undefined or null.

Example:

We will use the same html above:

<script>  
    const checkVariable = () => {

        //let Vatiable1;
        let Vatiable1 = null;  
        // let Vatiable1 = '';  
        let result = document.getElementById("result"); 
        if(Vatiable1){
            result.innerHTML = "Variable is defined and" 
                + " value is " + Vatiable1 ; 
        }
        else{
            result.innerHTML = "Variable is Undefined"
        }

    } 
</script>
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