What happens to a line that doesn't start with the prefix?

That line is left unchanged. Each line is checked independently, so only lines that actually start with the prefix have it stripped.

Does it remove the prefix from the whole text at once, or line by line?

It processes each line independently after splitting on newlines, so a prefix present on one line has no effect on any other line.

Is the match case-sensitive?

Yes. The comparison is an exact, case-sensitive match against the start of each line, so a differently-cased prefix won't be detected.

Line Prefix Remover Online - Strip Leading Text per Line

Overview

Introduction

Cleaning up a shared leading marker from every line of a list, a bullet dash, a repeated indent tag, or a bracketed label, is tedious to do one line at a time in a text editor.

It runs entirely client-side, so nothing you paste is ever uploaded to a server.

What Is Line Prefix Remover?

A line-based prefix-removal tool that checks each line of the input independently and strips your chosen prefix from any line that actually starts with it.

It runs entirely client-side as part of this site's String Tools collection, so nothing you paste is ever uploaded to a server.

How Line Prefix Remover Works

The tool splits the input on newlines, and for each line checks `line.startsWith(prefix)`; matching lines get `prefix.length` characters sliced off the start, while other lines pass through unchanged, then rejoins with newlines.

The transformation happens synchronously in JavaScript the moment you type, with no network round trip involved.

When To Use Line Prefix Remover

Use it to strip bullet dashes from a pasted list, remove a shared indent marker from every line, or clean up a repeated label left over from another format.

It's a fast way to get the answer without opening a code editor, a REPL, or writing a one-off script just to check.

Often used alongside Line Suffix Remover, Line Prefix Adder and Whitespace Trimmer.

Features

Advantages

Safe by design: only lines that actually start with the prefix are modified, leaving the rest untouched.
Handles mixed input where some lines have the prefix and others don't.
Runs instantly in the browser with no upload or processing delay.

Limitations

The match is case-sensitive and exact, so a differently-cased prefix won't be detected.
Doesn't remove the prefix from the middle of a line, only from the very start.

Examples

Stripping bullet dashes from a pasted list

Input

- apple
- banana
- cherry

Output

apple
banana
cherry

With prefix '- ', all three lines lose their leading bullet dash and space.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

If only some lines have the prefix, that's fine; the tool leaves non-matching lines untouched instead of erroring.
Include any trailing space in the prefix field itself, since matching is exact.
Preview the result before pasting it elsewhere to confirm no unwanted lines were affected.

Developer Notes

The implementation is `input.split("\n").map((line) => (prefix.length > 0 && line.startsWith(prefix) ? line.slice(prefix.length) : line)).join("\n")`, checking each line independently rather than operating on the whole string at once.

Line Prefix Remover Use Cases

Removing bullet dashes or list markers from a pasted list
Stripping a repeated leading tag or marker from every line
Cleaning indent markers left over after converting between formats

Common Mistakes

Assuming every line will be modified, when lines that don't start with the prefix are simply left as-is.
Forgetting to include a trailing space in the prefix, leaving an extra space at the start of each stripped line.

Tips

Use Line Prefix Adder first to preview what a prefix would look like before removing it elsewhere.
Copy the exact prefix, including whitespace, from the source text to make sure it matches.

Line Prefix Remover