---
title: Iterate with JavaScript for Loops
---
The most common type of JavaScript loop is called a `for loop` because it runs `for` a specific number of times.

    var ourArray = [];
    for(var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
      ourArray.push(i);
    }

ourArray will now contain [0,1,2,3,4]

## More about for loops

    for(var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {  // There are 3 parts here

A **for loop** is made up of three parts, each is separated by a semicolon:

1.  The initialization: `var i = 0;` - This code runs only once at the start of the loop. It's usually used to declare the counter variable (with `var`) and initialize the counter (in this case it is set to 0).

2.  The condition: `i < 5;` - The loop will run as long as this is `true`. That means that as soon as `i` is equal to 5, the loop will stop looping. Note that the inside of the loop will never see `i` as 5 because it will stop before then. If this condition is initially `false`, the loop will never execute.

3.  The increment: `i++` - This code is run at the end of each loop. It's usually a simple increment (`++` operator), but can really be any mathematical transformation. It is used to move the counter (`i`) forward (`++`), backwards (`--`), or some other form of incrementation.