How to Remove the First element from an array in PHP

You can use the PHP array_shift() function remove the first element from an array in PHP. The array_shift() function returns the first value of the array. If array is empty or is not an array then NULL will be returned.

Read Also: How to Remove Last Element From An Array In PHP

PHP array_shift() Function Syntax

array_shift(array)

First let’s see the $stack array output :

<?php
$stack = array("yellow", "red", "green", "orange", "purple");
print_r($stack);
?>

Output:

Array
(
    [0] => yellow
    [1] => red
    [2] => green
    [3] => orange
    [4] => purple
)

$stack array have 5 elements and we want to remove the first element has value “yellow”.

Remove the First element from an array

Now we will use PHP array_shift() function to remove first element of an array like in below example

<?php
$stack = array("yellow", "red", "green", "orange", "purple");

// delete the first element of an array
$removed = array_shift($stack);
print_r($stack);
?>

Output:

Array
(
    [0] => red
    [1] => green
    [2] => orange
    [3] => purple
)

and “yellow” will be assigned to $removed.

<?php
echo $removed;
?>

Output:

yellow