universal-helper-functions - Utility Helpers Library

A lightweight, zero-dependency utility library providing a comprehensive collection of helper functions, type checks, string manipulation utilities, and more for JavaScript/TypeScript projects. Framework-agnostic - works with any framework, library, or vanilla JavaScript.

📦 Installation

npm install universal-helper-functions
# or
yarn add universal-helper-functions
# or
pnpm add universal-helper-functions

🎯 Features

1. Type Checks (35 Functions)

Robust type checking utilities for common JavaScript types and patterns.

Available Checks

• isBool(value) - Check if value is a boolean
• isTrue(value) - Check if value represents true (true, 'true', '1', 'yes', 'on')
• isFalse(value) - Check if value represents false (false, 'false', '0', 'no', 'off', null, undefined)
• isBooleanLike(value) - Check if value can be interpreted as a boolean
• toBoolean(value, fallback?) - Convert boolean-like input to boolean with optional fallback
• isNegative(value) - Check if number is negative
• isPositive(value) - Check if number is positive
• isZero(value) - Check if value equals zero
• isNumber(value) - Check if value is a number
• isString(value) - Check if value is a string
• isArray(value) - Check if value is an array
• isObject(value) - Check if value is a plain object
• isNull(value) - Check if value is null
• isUndefined(value) - Check if value is undefined
• isNullOrUndefined(value) - Check if value is null or undefined
• isFunction(value) - Check if value is a function
• isDate(value) - Check if value is a Date object
• isRegex(value) - Check if value is a RegExp
• isPromise(value) - Check if value is a Promise
• isIterable(value) - Check if value is iterable
• isEmpty(value) - Check if value is empty (string, array, object, null, undefined)
• isFalsy(value) - Check if value is falsy
• isTruthy(value) - Check if value is truthy
• isEmail(value) - Check if string is valid email format
• isUrl(value) - Check if string is valid URL format
• isPhoneNumber(value) - Check if string matches phone number pattern
• isIpAddress(value) - Check if string is valid IP address (IPv4 or IPv6)
• isPalindrome(value) - Check if string is a palindrome
• isAlphanumeric(value) - Check if string contains only alphanumeric characters
• isNumeric(value) - Check if value can be converted to a number
• isInteger(value) - Check if value is an integer
• isFloat(value) - Check if value is a floating-point number
• isEven(value) - Check if number is even
• isOdd(value) - Check if number is odd
• isPrime(value) - Check if number is prime

Usage Example:

import { isBool, isTrue, isFalse, toBoolean, isNegative, isEmpty } from 'universal-helper-functions';

isBool(true); // true
isTrue('true'); // true
isTrue(true); // true
isTrue(undefined); // false
isFalse('false'); // true
isFalse(null); // true
toBoolean('yes'); // true
toBoolean('no'); // false
toBoolean('random', true); // true (fallback)
isNegative(-5); // true
isEmpty(''); // true
isEmpty([]); // true
isEmail('[email protected]'); // true

2. String Casing & Manipulation (30 Functions)

Convert strings between different casing styles and manipulate text.

Available Methods

• toCamelCase(string) - Convert to camelCase
• toSnakeCase(string) - Convert to snake_case
• toKebabCase(string) - Convert to kebab-case
• toPascalCase(string) - Convert to PascalCase
• toTitleCase(string) - Convert to Title Case
• toConstantCase(string) - Convert to CONSTANT_CASE
• toFlatCase(string) - Convert to flatcase
• toPathCase(string) - Convert to path/case
• toDotCase(string) - Convert to dot.case
• toSentenceCase(string) - Convert to Sentence case
• capitalize(string) - Capitalize first letter
• decapitalize(string) - Remove capitalization from first letter
• reverse(string) - Reverse string characters
• repeat(string, count) - Repeat string n times
• truncate(string, length, suffix) - Truncate string with ellipsis
• padStart(string, length, pad) - Pad string from start
• padEnd(string, length, pad) - Pad string from end
• trim(string) - Remove leading/trailing whitespace (works like native trim)
• trimStart(string) - Remove leading whitespace
• trimEnd(string) - Remove trailing whitespace
• slugify(string) - Convert to URL-friendly slug
• removeVowels(string) - Remove all vowels from string
• removeConsonants(string) - Remove all consonants from string
• removeWhitespace(string) - Remove all whitespace
• removeSpecialChars(string) - Remove special characters
• toCharArray(string) - Convert string to character array
• wordCount(string) - Count words in string
• charCount(string) - Count unique characters
• replaceLast(string, search, replace) - Replace last occurrence
• template(template, data) - Simple template string replacement

Usage Example:

import { toCamelCase, toSnakeCase, capitalize } from 'universal-helper-functions';

toCamelCase('hello-world-example'); // 'helloWorldExample'
toSnakeCase('helloWorldExample'); // 'hello_world_example'
toPascalCase('hello_world'); // 'HelloWorld'
toTitleCase('hello world'); // 'Hello World'
capitalize('hello'); // 'Hello'
slugify('Hello World Example'); // 'hello-world-example'
truncate('This is a long string', 10); // 'This is...'

3. Array Utilities (27 Functions)

Helper functions for array manipulation and transformation.

Available Methods

• chunk(array, size) - Split array into chunks
• compact(array) - Remove falsy values
• flatten(array, depth) - Flatten nested arrays
• unique(array) - Get unique values
• uniqueBy(array, key) - Get unique values by property
• difference(array1, array2) - Find differences between arrays
• intersection(array1, array2) - Find common elements
• union(array1, array2) - Combine unique elements
• shuffle(array) - Randomly shuffle array
• reverse(array) - Reverse array (non-mutating)
• first(array) - Get first element
• last(array) - Get last element
• nth(array, index) - Get element at index
• remove(array, value) - Remove specific value
• removeAt(array, index) - Remove element at index
• rotate(array, steps) - Rotate array elements
• sum(array) - Sum all numbers in array
• average(array) - Get average of numbers
• max(array) - Get maximum value
• min(array) - Get minimum value
• groupBy(array, key) - Group array by property
• sortBy(array, key, order) - Sort array by property
• filter(array, predicate) - Filter array
• map(array, callback) - Map array
• reduce(array, callback, initial) - Reduce array
• fill(array, value, start, end) - Fill array with value
• includes(array, value) - Check if array includes value

Usage Example:

import { chunk, flatten, unique, shuffle } from 'universal-helper-functions';

chunk([1,2,3,4,5], 2); // [[1,2], [3,4], [5]]
flatten([1, [2, [3, 4]]], 2); // [1, 2, 3, 4]
unique([1,2,2,3,3,3]); // [1, 2, 3]
shuffle([1,2,3,4,5]); // [3,1,4,5,2]

4. Object Utilities (25 Functions)

Helper functions for object manipulation and transformation.

Available Methods

• keys(object) - Get object keys
• values(object) - Get object values
• entries(object) - Get object entries
• pick(object, keys) - Pick specific properties
• omit(object, keys) - Omit specific properties
• merge(target, source) - Shallow merge objects
• deepMerge(target, source) - Deep merge objects
• clone(object) - Shallow clone object
• deepClone(object) - Deep clone object
• hasProperty(object, key) - Check if property exists
• hasOwnProperty(object, key) - Check own property
• isEmpty(object) - Check if object is empty
• size(object) - Get number of properties
• invert(object) - Invert keys and values
• mapKeys(object, fn) - Transform all keys
• mapValues(object, fn) - Transform all values
• filterKeys(object, predicate) - Filter by key names
• filterValues(object, predicate) - Filter by values
• defaults(object, defaultObj) - Set default values
• findKey(object, predicate) - Find key by condition
• findValue(object, predicate) - Find value by condition
• toQueryString(object) - Convert to URL query string
• fromQueryString(string) - Parse query string to object
• getPath(object, path) - Get nested value by path (lodash style)
• setPath(object, path, value) - Set nested value by path

Usage Example:

import { pick, omit, merge, deepClone } from 'universal-helper-functions';

const user = { id: 1, name: 'John', email: '[email protected]', password: '123' };
pick(user, ['id', 'name']); // { id: 1, name: 'John' }
omit(user, ['password']); // { id: 1, name: 'John', email: '[email protected]' }
merge({ a: 1 }, { b: 2 }); // { a: 1, b: 2 }
deepClone(nestedObject); // Complete deep copy

5. Math Utilities (24 Functions)

Scientific and mathematical helper functions.

Available Methods

• round(number, decimals) - Round to decimal places
• floor(number) - Floor number
• ceil(number) - Ceiling number
• abs(number) - Absolute value
• sqrt(number) - Square root
• pow(base, exponent) - Power function
• min(...numbers) - Find minimum
• max(...numbers) - Find maximum
• clamp(value, min, max) - Clamp value between min/max
• random(min, max) - Random number in range
• randomInt(min, max) - Random integer
• percentage(value, total) - Calculate percentage
• factorial(number) - Calculate factorial
• fibonacci(n) - Get fibonacci number
• distance(x1, y1, x2, y2) - Calculate distance between points
• average(...numbers) - Calculate average
• sum(...numbers) - Sum numbers
• median(array) - Get median value
• mode(array) - Get mode (most common value)
• standardDeviation(array) - Calculate standard deviation
• variance(array) - Calculate variance
• gcd(a, b) - Greatest common divisor
• lcm(a, b) - Least common multiple
• isEven(number) - Check if even
• isOdd(number) - Check if odd
• isDivisibleBy(number, divisor) - Check divisibility

Usage Example:

import { round, clamp, random, percentage } from 'universal-helper-functions';

round(3.14159, 2); // 3.14
clamp(150, 0, 100); // 100
random(1, 10); // Random number between 1-10
percentage(25, 100); // 25
factorial(5); // 120

6. Date & Time Utilities (27 Functions)

Work with dates and time intervals easily.

Available Methods

• now() - Get current timestamp
• today() - Get today's date
• yesterday() - Get yesterday's date
• tomorrow() - Get tomorrow's date
• addDays(date, days) - Add days to date
• subtractDays(date, days) - Subtract days from date
• addMonths(date, months) - Add months to date
• addYears(date, years) - Add years to date
• startOfDay(date) - Get start of day
• endOfDay(date) - Get end of day
• startOfMonth(date) - Get start of month
• endOfMonth(date) - Get end of month
• startOfYear(date) - Get start of year
• endOfYear(date) - Get end of year
• format(date, format) - Format date as string
• parse(dateString, format) - Parse date string
• difference(date1, date2, unit) - Get difference between dates
• isSameDay(date1, date2) - Check if same day
• isBefore(date1, date2) - Check if before
• isAfter(date1, date2) - Check if after
• isBetween(date, start, end) - Check if between dates
• isToday(date) - Check if today
• isLeapYear(year) - Check if leap year
• daysInMonth(year, month) - Get days in month
• weekOfYear(date) - Get week number of year
• dayOfYear(date) - Get day number of year
• getAge(birthDate) - Calculate age from birth date

Usage Example:

import { addDays, format, difference } from 'universal-helper-functions';

addDays(new Date(), 7); // Date 7 days from now
format(new Date(), 'yyyy-MM-dd'); // '2024-03-27'
difference(new Date('2024-01-01'), new Date(), 'days'); // Days elapsed
getAge('1990-05-15'); // Age in years

7. Promise & Async Utilities (11 Functions)

Helpers for working with promises and asynchronous code.

Available Methods

• delay(ms) - Create a promise that resolves after delay
• timeout(promise, ms) - Reject promise after timeout
• retry(fn, options) - Retry promise with exponential backoff
• race(promises) - Race multiple promises
• all(promises) - Wait for all promises
• allSettled(promises) - Wait for all promises (settled)
• any(promises) - Return first fulfilled promise
• waterfall(tasks, initial) - Execute tasks in sequence
• parallel(tasks, limit) - Execute tasks in parallel with limit
• memoize(fn) - Memoize async function results
• debounce(fn, delay) - Debounce function calls
• throttle(fn, delay) - Throttle function calls
• once(fn) - Execute function only once
• cache(fn, ttl) - Cache function results with TTL

Usage Example:

import { delay, retry, debounce } from 'universal-helper-functions';

await delay(1000); // Wait 1 second
await retry(apiCall, { attempts: 3, backoff: 'exponential' });
const debouncedSearch = debounce(search, 300);

8. Validation Utilities (20 Functions)

Input validation helpers for common data types.

Available Methods

• isStrongPassword(password) - Validate strong password
• isWeakPassword(password) - Check if password is weak
• isCreditCard(number) - Validate credit card number
• isPostalCode(code, country) - Validate postal code format
• isCurrency(value) - Validate currency format
• isHexColor(value) - Validate hex color
• isRgbColor(value) - Validate RGB color
• isUsername(username) - Validate username format
• isSlug(slug) - Validate URL slug
• isUuid(uuid) - Validate UUID format
• isMd5(hash) - Validate MD5 hash
• isSha1(hash) - Validate SHA1 hash
• isSha256(hash) - Validate SHA256 hash
• isJSON(string) - Validate JSON string
• isBase64(string) - Validate Base64 string
• isUrl(url, options) - Validate URL with options
• isIpAddress(ip) - Validate IP address
• isPort(port) - Validate port number
• isMimeType(type) - Validate MIME type
• isDateString(string, format) - Validate date string

Usage Example:

import { isStrongPassword, isEmail, isCreditCard } from 'universal-helper-functions';

isStrongPassword('P@ssw0rd123!'); // true
isEmail('[email protected]'); // true
isCreditCard('4532111111111111'); // true

9. Color & Format Utilities (23 Functions)

Work with colors and format different data types.

Available Methods

Color Utilities:

• hexToRgb(hex) - Convert hex to RGB
• rgbToHex(r, g, b) - Convert RGB to hex
• hexToHsl(hex) - Convert hex to HSL
• hslToHex(h, s, l) - Convert HSL to hex
• lighten(color, amount) - Lighten color
• darken(color, amount) - Darken color
• saturate(color, amount) - Increase saturation
• desaturate(color, amount) - Decrease saturation
• rotate(color, degrees) - Rotate hue
• complement(color) - Get complementary color
• findSimilarColor(color, array) - Find closest color match

Format Utilities:

• formatBytes(bytes) - Format bytes to human readable
• formatNumber(number, options) - Format number with separators
• formatCurrency(amount, currency) - Format as currency
• formatPercent(value, decimals) - Format as percentage
• formatDuration(ms) - Format milliseconds to readable
• formatTime(seconds) - Format seconds to HH:MM:SS
• formatPhone(phone, format) - Format phone number
• formatSSN(ssn) - Format social security number
• formatCreditCard(card) - Format credit card number
• formatJson(obj, space) - Format JSON with indentation

Usage Example:

import { hexToRgb, formatBytes, formatCurrency } from 'universal-helper-functions';

hexToRgb('#ff0000'); // { r: 255, g: 0, b: 0 }
formatBytes(1024 * 1024); // '1 MB'
formatCurrency(1234.56, 'USD'); // '$1,234.56'
formatPhone('1234567890', 'US'); // '(123) 456-7890'

10. Encoding & Encryption Utilities (12 Functions)

Encode, decode, and simple encryption operations.

Available Methods

• toBase64(string) - Encode to Base64
• fromBase64(base64) - Decode from Base64
• toUrlEncoded(string) - URL encode
• fromUrlEncoded(string) - URL decode
• toHex(string) - Convert to hexadecimal
• fromHex(hex) - Convert from hexadecimal
• toMorse(string) - Convert to Morse code
• fromMorse(morse) - Convert from Morse code
• caesarCipher(string, shift) - Simple Caesar cipher encoding
• md5(string) - Generate MD5 hash
• sha1(string) - Generate SHA1 hash
• sha256(string) - Generate SHA256 hash

Usage Example:

import { toBase64, fromBase64, toHex } from 'universal-helper-functions';

toBase64('hello'); // 'aGVsbG8='
fromBase64('aGVsbG8='); // 'hello'
toHex('hello'); // '68656c6c6f'

11. Browser/DOM Utilities (29 Functions)

Utilities designed for browser and DOM manipulation in any JavaScript environment.

Available Methods

• getQueryParam(name) - Get URL query parameter
• getQueryParams() - Get all query parameters
• setQueryParam(name, value) - Set URL query parameter
• removeQueryParam(name) - Remove query parameter
• getHash() - Get URL hash/fragment
• setHash(hash) - Set URL hash
• getHostname() - Get current hostname
• getPathname() - Get current pathname
• getOrigin() - Get origin URL
• redirect(url) - Redirect to URL
• reloadPage() - Reload current page
• goBack() - Go back in history
• goForward() - Go forward in history
• isLocalHost() - Check if running on localhost
• isDevelopment() - Check if in development
• getScreenSize() - Get viewport dimensions
• getScrollPosition() - Get current scroll position
• scrollToTop() - Scroll to top
• scrollToElement(selector) - Scroll to element
• getClipboard() - Get clipboard content
• setClipboard(text) - Copy text to clipboard
• isOnline() - Check internet connectivity
• addEventListener(target, event, handler) - Add event listener
• removeEventListener(target, event, handler) - Remove event listener
• stopPropagation(event) - Stop event propagation
• preventDefault(event) - Prevent default action
• getLocalStorage(key) - Get from localStorage
• setLocalStorage(key, value) - Set in localStorage
• removeLocalStorage(key) - Remove from localStorage
• getSessionStorage(key) - Get from sessionStorage
• setSessionStorage(key, value) - Set in sessionStorage

Usage Example:

import { getQueryParam, setClipboard, getScreenSize } from 'universal-helper-functions';

getQueryParam('id'); // Get 'id' from URL params
setClipboard('copied text'); // Copy to clipboard
getScreenSize(); // { width: 1920, height: 1080 }

12. Express/Server Utilities (18 Functions)

Utilities specifically designed for Express applications.

Available Methods

• parseJsonBody(body) - Safely parse JSON body
• getClientIp(req) - Extract client IP address
• setResponseHeaders(res, headers) - Set multiple response headers
• sendError(res, statusCode, message) - Send error response
• sendSuccess(res, data, statusCode) - Send success response
• isJsonRequest(req) - Check if request is JSON
• getContentType(req) - Get request content type
• generateRequestId() - Generate unique request ID
• createErrorResponse(error) - Format error for response
• createSuccessResponse(data) - Format data for response
• validateRequired(data, fields) - Validate required fields
• sanitizeData(data) - Remove sensitive fields
• getCookie(req, name) - Get cookie value
• setCookie(res, name, value, options) - Set cookie
• removeCookie(res, name) - Remove cookie
• getAuthHeader(req) - Get authorization header
• extractBearerToken(req) - Extract Bearer token
• rateLimit(req, options) - Simple rate limiting

Usage Example:

import { sendSuccess, sendError, getClientIp } from 'universal-helper-functions';

// In Express route handler
app.get('/api/users/:id', (req, res) => {
  const clientIp = getClientIp(req);
  try {
    sendSuccess(res, { id: 1, name: 'John' });
  } catch (error) {
    sendError(res, 500, 'Internal server error');
  }
});

13. File & Path Utilities (16 Functions)

Work with file paths and file operations.

Available Methods

• basename(path) - Get filename from path
• dirname(path) - Get directory from path
• extname(path) - Get file extension
• join(...paths) - Join path segments
• resolve(...paths) - Resolve absolute path
• normalize(path) - Normalize path
• relative(from, to) - Get relative path
• isAbsolute(path) - Check if path is absolute
• getFileMimeType(filename) - Get MIME type
• getFileExtension(filename) - Get file extension
• isValidPath(path) - Validate path format
• fileExists(path) - Check if file exists (Node.js)
• readFile(path) - Read file contents (Node.js)
• writeFile(path, data) - Write to file (Node.js)
• deleteFile(path) - Delete file (Node.js)
• getFileSize(path) - Get file size (Node.js)

Usage Example:

import { basename, dirname, extname } from 'universal-helper-functions';

basename('/home/user/file.txt'); // 'file.txt'
dirname('/home/user/file.txt'); // '/home/user'
extname('file.txt'); // '.txt'

14. Environment Utilities (10 Functions)

Work with environment variables and environment detection.

Available Methods

• getEnv(key, defaultValue) - Get environment variable
• isDevelopment() - Check if development mode
• isProduction() - Check if production mode
• isTesting() - Check if testing mode
• getNodeVersion() - Get Node.js version
• getPlatform() - Get OS platform
• getArch() - Get CPU architecture
• getCwd() - Get current working directory
• getEnvPath() - Get path to .env file
• loadEnv(path) - Load environment from file

Usage Example:

import { isDevelopment, getEnv } from 'universal-helper-functions';

const apiUrl = isDevelopment() ? 'http://localhost:3000' : getEnv('API_URL');

📚 Full Usage Examples

Express.js API Example

import express from 'express';
import {
  sendSuccess,
  sendError,
  validateRequired,
  getClientIp,
  generateRequestId
} from 'universal-helper-functions';

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

app.post('/api/users', (req, res) => {
  const requestId = generateRequestId();
  const clientIp = getClientIp(req);
  
  // Validate required fields
  const validation = validateRequired(req.body, ['name', 'email']);
  if (!validation.isValid) {
    return sendError(res, 400, validation.errors.join(', '));
  }

  try {
    const user = { id: 1, ...req.body };
    sendSuccess(res, user);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(`[${requestId}] Error from ${clientIp}:`, error);
    sendError(res, 500, 'Internal server error');
  }
});

🚀 Quick Start

// Import individual utilities
import { toCamelCase, chunk, isEmail } from 'universal-helper-functions';

// Or use namespaces
import { String, Array, Validation } from 'universal-helper-functions';

String.toCamelCase('hello-world'); // 'helloWorld'
Array.chunk([1,2,3,4], 2); // [[1,2], [3,4]]
Validation.isEmail('[email protected]'); // true

📖 API Documentation

See API.md for detailed API documentation and type definitions.

💡 Features Highlights

✅ Zero Dependencies - No external packages required
✅ TypeScript Support - Full type definitions included
✅ Tree-Shakeable - Import only what you need
✅ Lightweight - Minimal bundle size
✅ Well-Tested - Comprehensive test coverage
✅ Browser & Node.js - Works in all environments
✅ ESM & CommonJS - Multiple module formats
✅ Chainable - Many utilities support method chaining
✅ Extensible - Easy to add custom utilities

📦 Browser Support

• Chrome (latest)
• Firefox (latest)
• Safari (latest)
• Edge (latest)
• Node.js 14+

📄 License

MIT - Copyright (c) 2024 Nitesh Upadhayay

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

📞 Support & Contact

For issues, questions, or suggestions, please:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Email: [email protected]
• GitHub: @NiteshCodes

Author: Nitesh Upadhayay