# Access random element in an array, in a short and concise manner

Get a random item from a JavaScript array.

## Get a random int

First we need to get a random number that is an `int` and isn’t too large. We
can extract this into a small helper:

```js
const getRandomInt = max => Math.floor(Math.random() * max)
```

Explanation:

`Math.floor()`

Returns the largest integer less than or equal to a given number.

`Math.random()`

Returns a pseudo-random number between 0 and 1, usually not an integer, but
    it can be 0, but never 1.
    in the range 0 to less than 1 (inclusive of 0, but not 1).

Or in a fancier way, with `min` and `max` arguments:

```js
const getRandomInt = (max, min = 0) => {
  min = Math.ceil(min)
  max = Math.floor(max)

  return Math.floor(Math.random() * (max - min + 1)) + min
}
```

## Get the random array item

Then use bracket notation to access the array at the random index provided by
the helper function:

```js
const arr = ['foo', 'bar', 'baz', 'quix', 'fooz']

const randomItem = arr[getRandomInt(arr.length)]
```

## How random is that random int generator?

I wrote a post about it, where I’m
[visualizing that random data](/visualize-data-with-css).

To be precise, it’s about this random:

[![Graph showing a random distribution of numbers](/images/random-distribution-of-number-from-javascript.png)](/visualize-data-with-css)