PHP array_search() Function

What does array_search() do?

array_search() looks for $needle among the array values and returns the key of the first match, or false if nothing matches. Like in_array() it compares loosely unless strict mode is enabled.

Syntax

array_search(mixed $needle, array $haystack, bool $strict = false): int|string|false

Parameters

• $needle - The value to search for.
• $haystack - The array to search.
• $strict - When true, uses === so types must match.

Return value

The key (int or string) of the first match, or false. Because a key can be 0, always test the result with !== false.

array_search() examples

Every example below shows the exact output it produces. Paste any of them into the editor above (or the online compiler) to run it.

1. Find the index of a value

<?php
$colors = ["red", "green", "blue"];
var_dump(array_search("blue", $colors));
var_dump(array_search("red", $colors));
var_dump(array_search("pink", $colors));

Output:

int(2)
int(0)
bool(false)

2. Associative arrays, strict mode and the key-0 trap

<?php
$stock = ["apples" => 0, "pears" => 12, "plums" => "12"];
var_dump(array_search(12, $stock));
var_dump(array_search("12", $stock, true));

$key = array_search("red", ["red", "green"]);
if ($key !== false) {
    echo "Found at index $key\n";
}

Output:

string(5) "pears"
string(5) "plums"
Found at index 0

3. Search a multidimensional array

array_column() extracts one field from every row, then array_search() finds its position. This works when the outer array has sequential keys (0, 1, 2 ...). Use array_keys() to get every matching key.

<?php
$users = [
    ["id" => 10, "name" => "Ann"],
    ["id" => 20, "name" => "Ben"],
    ["id" => 30, "name" => "Cara"],
];
$index = array_search("Ben", array_column($users, "name"));
echo "Ben is at index $index, id " . $users[$index]["id"] . "\n";

print_r(array_keys([1, 2, 1, 3, 1], 1));

Output:

Ben is at index 1, id 20
Array
(
    [0] => 0
    [1] => 2
    [2] => 4
)

Common mistakes and gotchas

• Key 0: if (array_search(...)) fails when the match is at key 0. Compare with !== false.
• First match only: use array_keys($array, $value) to get all keys.
• Non-sequential keys: array_column() re-indexes, so the found index may not be a valid key of the original array. Use array_column($rows, "name", "id") or a loop in that case.