# ltrimN
> Trim `n` characters from the end of a string.
## Usage
```javascript
var ltrimN = require( '@stdlib/string/left-trim-n' );
```
#### ltrimN( str, n\[, chars] )
Trims `n` characters from the beginning of a string.
```javascript
var str = ' foo ';
var out = ltrimN( str, str.length );
// returns 'foo '
out = ltrimN( str, 1 );
// returns ' foo '
```
By default, the function trims whitespace characters. To trim a different set of characters instead, provide a string or an array of characters to trim:
```javascript
var str = '🐶🐶🐶 Animals 🐶🐶🐶';
var out = ltrimN( str, str.length, [ '🐶', ' ' ] );
// returns 'Animals 🐶🐶🐶'
out = ltrimN( str, str.length, '🐶 ' );
// returns 'Animals 🐶🐶🐶'
```
## Examples
```javascript
var ltrimN = require( '@stdlib/string/left-trim-n' );
var out = ltrimN( ' Whitespace ', 3 );
// returns 'Whitespace '
out = ltrimN( '\t\t\tTabs\t\t\t', 2 );
// returns '\tTabs\t\t\t'
out = ltrimN( '~~~CUSTOM~~~', 3, '~' );
// returns 'CUSTOM~~~'
```
* * *
## CLI
### Usage
```text
Usage: ltrimn [options] --n=
Options:
-h, --help Print this message.
-V, --version Print the package version.
--n number Number of characters to trim.
--chars str Characters to trim. Default: whitespace.
--split sep Delimiter for stdin data. Default: '/\\r?\\n/'.
```
### Notes
- If the split separator is a [regular expression][mdn-regexp], ensure that the `split` option is either properly escaped or enclosed in quotes.
```bash
# Not escaped...
$ echo -n $' foo \n bar \n' | ltrimn --split /\r?\n/
# Escaped...
$ echo -n $' foo \n bar \n' | ltrimn --split /\\r?\\n/
```
- The implementation ignores trailing delimiters.
### Examples
```bash
$ ltrimn ' Whitespace ' --n=3
Whitespace
```
To use as a [standard stream][standard-streams],
```bash
$ echo -n '~~~beep~boop~' | ltrimn --n=2 --chars '~'
~beep~boop~
```
By default, when used as a [standard stream][standard-streams], the implementation assumes newline-delimited data. To specify an alternative delimiter, set the `split` option.
```bash
$ echo -n '~~~foo~~~\t~~~bar~~~\t~~~baz~~~' | ltrimn --split '\t' --chars '~' --n=3
foo~~~
bar~~~
baz~~~
```
[mdn-regexp]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions
[standard-streams]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_streams