String.prototype.padEnd()

str.padEnd(targetLength[, padString])

String.prototype.padEnd() pads the current string with a given character (or characters) until it reaches the specified length, appending the padding to the end (right side). This method is essential for creating fixed-width columns in tables, CLI output, and formatted text displays.

Syntax

str.padEnd(targetLength)
str.padEnd(targetLength, padString)

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
targetLength	number	—	The length the resulting string should have
padString	string	" " (space)	The string to pad with

Return Value

A new string of the specified length, with the padding appended to the end.

Examples

Basic padding

By default, padEnd() uses spaces:

"hello".padEnd(10);
// "hello     "

"test".padEnd(6);
// "test  "

Custom padding characters

You can specify any character or string to use for padding:

// Pad with zeros
"42".padEnd(5, "0");
// "42000"

// Pad with dots (useful for readability)
"loading".padEnd(10, ".");
// "loading..."

Formatting table data and CLI output

This is where padEnd() shines—creating aligned columns:

const data = [
  { name: "Alice", role: "Admin" },
  { name: "Bob", role: "User" },
  { name: "Charlie", role: "Moderator" }
];

// Print a formatted table
console.log("NAME      | ROLE");
console.log("----------|----------");

data.forEach(({ name, role }) => {
  console.log(`${name.padEnd(10)}| ${role.padEnd(9)}`);
});

// Output:
// NAME      | ROLE
// ----------| ----------
// Alice     | Admin    
// Bob       | User     
// Charlie   | Moderator

Multi-character padding strings

When the padString is longer than needed, it’s truncated:

// Only uses first character if padString has multiple chars
"ab".padEnd(5, "XYZ");
// "abXYZ"

// padString is truncated to fit
"hi".padEnd(6, "ABC");
// "hiABCA" (only first 4 chars used to reach length 6)

// Useful pattern: cycle through characters
"x".padEnd(8, "ab");
// "xabababa" (repeats and truncates)

Edge Cases

// If targetLength <= string length, returns original
"hello".padEnd(3);
// "hello"

// Empty padString repeats nothing (returns original)
"test".padEnd(8, "");
// "test"

// Unicode characters count as single units
"👍".padEnd(4, "x");
// "👍xxx"

Browser Compatibility

padEnd() was introduced in ES2017 (ECMAScript 8) and is supported in:

• Chrome/Edge 57+
• Firefox 48+
• Safari 11+
• Node.js 8.0+

For older environments, use a polyfill:

if (!StringpadEnd) {
  StringpadEnd = function(targetLength, padString) {
    targetLength = targetLength >> 0;
    padString = String(padString || ' ');
    if (this.length > targetLength) return String(this);
    return String(this) + padString.repeat(targetLength - this.length);
  };
}

See Also

• string::padStart — Pad from the beginning (left side)
• string::repeat — Repeat a string
• string::trimEnd — Remove padding from end