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A lightweight, zero-dependency TypeScript library for masking credit card numbers to protect sensitive payment information.

npm version License: MIT TypeScript

Features

  • 🔒 PCI DSS friendly - Defaults align with common display guidelines (last 4 digits)
  • Lightweight - Small footprint, zero dependencies
  • 📦 TypeScript - Full type safety and IntelliSense support
  • 🎨 Auto-format - maskCardAuto picks spacing by detected card brand (Visa, Amex, Diners, etc.)
  • 🏷️ Card type detection - detectCardType and getCardTypeGrouping for BIN-style routing
  • Luhn checks - isValidCardLuhn / isValidCard for checksum (and optional 13–19 length)
  • 📋 Batch - maskCardBatch to mask many numbers with one options object
  • 🧩 Helpers - getCardLast, getCardFirst, getCardLast4, getCardFirst6
  • ⚙️ Flexible - Mask character, grouping, shortened masks, preserve separators, validation
  • 🎯 Universal - Works with major brands (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, JCB, Diners, UnionPay, Maestro)

Installation

npm install @ekaone/mask-card
yarn add @ekaone/mask-card
pnpm add @ekaone/mask-card

Quick Start

import { maskCard } from '@ekaone/mask-card';

maskCard('4532123456789012');
// Output: '************9012'

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

import { maskCard } from '@ekaone/mask-card';

// Default masking (shows last 4 digits)
maskCard('4532123456789012');
// Output: '************9012'

// Accepts number input
maskCard(4532123456789012);
// Output: '************9012'

// Auto-strips formatting
maskCard('4532-1234-5678-9012');
// Output: '************9012'

Show Beginning Digits

Control how many digits to show at the start:

// Show first 4 digits (card type indicator)
maskCard('4532123456789012', { unmaskedStart: 4 });
// Output: '4532********9012'

// Show first 6 digits (BIN number)
maskCard('4532123456789012', { unmaskedStart: 6 });
// Output: '453212******9012'

// Show only first digit
maskCard('4532123456789012', { unmaskedStart: 1, unmaskedEnd: 0 });
// Output: '4***************'

Show Ending Digits

Control how many digits to show at the end:

// Show last 6 digits
maskCard('4532123456789012', { unmaskedEnd: 6 });
// Output: '**********789012'

// Hide all digits (complete masking)
maskCard('4532123456789012', { unmaskedStart: 0, unmaskedEnd: 0 });
// Output: '****************'

Custom Mask Character

Change the masking character from the default *:

maskCard('4532123456789012', { maskChar: '•' });
// Output: '••••••••••••9012'

maskCard('4532123456789012', { maskChar: 'X' });
// Output: 'XXXXXXXXXXXX9012'

maskCard('4532123456789012', { maskChar: '#' });
// Output: '############9012'

Grouping Digits

Add spacing for better readability:

// Group by 4 digits (standard format)
maskCard('4532123456789012', { grouping: 4 });
// Output: '**** **** **** 9012'

// Amex-style grouping (4-6-5)
maskCard('378282246310005', { grouping: [4, 6, 5] });
// Output: '**** ****** *0005'

// Group by 3 digits
maskCard('4532123456789012', { grouping: 3 });
// Output: '*** *** *** *** 9012'

Preserve Original Spacing

Maintain the formatting from the input:

maskCard('4532 1234 5678 9012', { preserveSpacing: true });
// Output: '**** **** **** 9012'

maskCard('4532-1234-5678-9012', { preserveSpacing: true });
// Output: '****-****-****-9012'

maskCard('4532.1234.5678.9012', { preserveSpacing: true });
// Output: '****.****.****.9012'

Shortened Mask

Show a shorter mask for compact displays:

maskCard('4532123456789012', { showLength: false });
// Output: '****9012'

maskCard('4532123456789012', { showLength: false, unmaskedEnd: 6 });
// Output: '****789012'

maskCard('4532123456789012', { showLength: false, unmaskedStart: 4 });
// Output: '4532****9012'

Input Validation

Validate card number length:

// Valid card (13-19 digits)
maskCard('4532123456789012', { validateInput: true });
// Output: '************9012'

// Invalid card (throws error)
try {
  maskCard('123', { validateInput: true });
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error.message);
  // Output: 'Invalid card number: must be 13-19 digits'
}

Combined Options

Mix and match options for custom behavior:

maskCard('4532123456789012', {
  maskChar: '•',
  unmaskedStart: 4,
  grouping: 4
});
// Output: '4532 •••• •••• 9012'

maskCard('4532123456789012', {
  maskChar: 'X',
  unmaskedEnd: 6,
  grouping: 4
});
// Output: 'XXXX XXXX XX78 9012'

Auto-format (maskCardAuto)

Detects the card brand from the number and applies brand-typical spacing (Amex 4-6-5, Diners 4-6-4, most others 4-4-4-4). Group sizes are adjusted for PAN lengths that are not 16 digits (e.g. 13- or 19-digit numbers). You can still pass grouping in options to override detection. preserveSpacing is always turned off for this helper so the output uses normalized spaces (not the input’s dashes or spaces).

import { maskCardAuto } from '@ekaone/mask-card';

maskCardAuto('4532123456789012');
// '**** **** **** 9012'

maskCardAuto('378282246310005');
// '**** ****** *0005'

maskCardAuto('4532123456789012', { maskChar: '•', unmaskedStart: 4 });
// '4532 •••• •••• 9012'

Batch masking (maskCardBatch)

Applies the same MaskCardOptions to every element. Non-arrays or nullish inputs return an empty array.

import { maskCardBatch } from '@ekaone/mask-card';

maskCardBatch(['4532123456789012', '5500000000000004'], { grouping: 4 });
// ['**** **** **** 9012', '**** **** **** 0004']

For brand-specific spacing on each row, map with maskCardAuto instead of a single grouping in batch.

Card type detection

import { detectCardType, getCardTypeGrouping } from '@ekaone/mask-card';

detectCardType('4532123456789012'); // 'visa'

getCardTypeGrouping('amex'); // [4, 6, 5]

detectCardType returns one of: visa, mastercard, amex, discover, jcb, diners, unionpay, maestro, or unknown (see CardType below). It ignores non-digits; empty or invalid input yields unknown.

Luhn validation

import { isValidCardLuhn, isValidCard } from '@ekaone/mask-card';

isValidCardLuhn('4532123456789014'); // true (mod-10 + formatting stripped)

isValidCard('4111111111111111'); // true — Luhn + length 13–19
isValidCard('4111111111111111', false); // true — Luhn only, skips length check

// All-zero strings fail intentionally (checksum would pass but not a real PAN)
isValidCardLuhn('0000000000000000'); // false

Helpers (first / last digits)

Useful for labels, BIN display, or “last four” copy (still follow your PCI / retention policies).

import { getCardLast, getCardFirst, getCardLast4, getCardFirst6 } from '@ekaone/mask-card';

getCardLast(4, '4532-1234-5678-9012'); // '9012'
getCardFirst(6, '4532123456789012');   // '453212'
getCardLast4('4532123456789012');      // '9012'
getCardFirst6('4532123456789012');     // '453212'

getCardLast(0, '4532123456789012');    // '' — counts ≤ 0 return ''

API Reference

maskCard(input, options?)

Masks a credit card number according to the provided options.

Parameter Description
input CardInput — string or number; non-digits are stripped
options MaskCardOptions (optional)
returns MaskedResult — masked string

MaskCardOptions

Option Type Default Description
maskChar string '*' Character used for masking
unmaskedStart number 0 Digits to show at the start
unmaskedEnd number 4 Digits to show at the end
preserveSpacing boolean false Keep non-digit separators from the input (spaces, dashes, dots, etc.)
grouping number | number[] undefined Uniform group size (e.g. 4) or pattern (e.g. [4, 6, 5]). Arrays are adjusted so the full masked length is covered
showLength boolean true If false, collapse the middle to a short mask
validateInput boolean false If true, require 13–19 digits or throw

maskCardAuto(input, options?)

Same options as maskCard, except grouping defaults from getCardTypeGrouping(detectCardType(input)) when omitted, and preserveSpacing is forced to false.

Parameter Description
input CardInput
options MaskCardOptions (optional)
returns MaskedResult

maskCardBatch(cards, options?)

Parameter Description
cards CardInput[]
options MaskCardOptions (optional), applied to each item
returns MaskedResult[] — empty array if cards is missing or not an array

detectCardType(input)

Parameter Description
input CardInput
returns CardType

getCardTypeGrouping(cardType)

Parameter Description
cardType CardType
returns number[] — e.g. [4, 6, 5] for Amex, [4, 6, 4] for Diners, [4, 4, 4, 4] for most other labels

getCardLast(count, input) / getCardFirst(count, input)

Parameter Description
count Positive finite number; ≤ 0 or non-finite → ''
input CardInput
returns string — digits only (non-digits stripped); up to count from end or start

getCardLast4(input) / getCardFirst6(input)

Convenience wrappers: getCardLast(4, input) and getCardFirst(6, input).

Parameter Description
input CardInput
returns string — digits only

isValidCardLuhn(input)

Luhn (mod 10) on digits after stripping non-digits. Requires at least two digits. Returns false for all-zero strings, nullish input, or failed checksum.

Parameter Description
input CardInput
returns boolean

isValidCard(input, checkLength?)

Parameter Description
input CardInput
checkLength boolean (default true) — if true, length must be 13–19 inclusive
returns boolean

TypeScript types

export type MaskChar = string;

export type CardType =
  | 'visa'
  | 'mastercard'
  | 'amex'
  | 'discover'
  | 'jcb'
  | 'diners'
  | 'unionpay'
  | 'maestro'
  | 'unknown';

export interface MaskCardOptions {
  maskChar?: MaskChar;
  unmaskedStart?: number;
  unmaskedEnd?: number;
  preserveSpacing?: boolean;
  grouping?: number | number[];
  showLength?: boolean;
  validateInput?: boolean;
}

export type CardInput = string | number;
export type MaskedResult = string;
import {
  maskCard,
  maskCardAuto,
  maskCardBatch,
  detectCardType,
  getCardTypeGrouping,
  getCardLast4,
  isValidCard,
  type MaskCardOptions,
  type CardInput,
  type CardType,
} from '@ekaone/mask-card';

Real-World Use Cases

E-commerce Checkout Display

const cardNumber = '4532123456789012';
const maskedCard = maskCard(cardNumber);

console.log(`Payment method: Card ending in ${maskedCard.slice(-4)}`);
// Output: "Payment method: Card ending in 9012"

Banking App - Card Selection

const userCards = [
  { type: 'Visa', number: '4532123456789012' },
  { type: 'Mastercard', number: '5500000000000004' },
  { type: 'Amex', number: '378282246310005' }
];

userCards.forEach(card => {
  const masked = maskCard(card.number, { unmaskedStart: 4 });
  console.log(`${card.type}: ${masked}`);
});
// Output:
// Visa: 4532********9012
// Mastercard: 5500********0004
// Amex: 3782*******0005

Receipt/Invoice Printing

const receiptCard = '4532123456789012';
const formatted = maskCard(receiptCard, {
  maskChar: '•',
  grouping: 4
});

console.log(`Card: ${formatted}`);
// Output: "Card: •••• •••• •••• 9012"

Security Levels

function maskCardBySecurityLevel(card: string, level: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high') {
  switch (level) {
    case 'low':
      return maskCard(card, { unmaskedEnd: 8 });
    case 'medium':
      return maskCard(card, { unmaskedEnd: 4 });
    case 'high':
      return maskCard(card, { unmaskedStart: 0, unmaskedEnd: 0 });
  }
}

const card = '4532123456789012';
console.log('Low:   ', maskCardBySecurityLevel(card, 'low'));
console.log('Medium:', maskCardBySecurityLevel(card, 'medium'));
console.log('High:  ', maskCardBySecurityLevel(card, 'high'));
// Output:
// Low:    ********56789012
// Medium: ************9012
// High:   ****************

Customer Service Display

// Show more context for verification
function displayForSupport(cardNumber: string) {
  return maskCard(cardNumber, {
    unmaskedStart: 6,
    unmaskedEnd: 4,
    grouping: 4
  });
}

console.log(displayForSupport('4532123456789012'));
// Output: '4532 12** **** 9012'

Audit Logging

function logPayment(cardNumber: string, amount: number) {
  const maskedCard = maskCard(cardNumber, {
    unmaskedStart: 1,
    unmaskedEnd: 0
  });
  
  console.log(`Payment of $${amount} using card ${maskedCard}`);
}

logPayment('4532123456789012', 99.99);
// Output: "Payment of $99.99 using card 4***************"

Security & Compliance

PCI DSS Guidelines

This library follows PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) requirements for card display:

⚠️ PCI DSS Requirement 3.3: When displaying Primary Account Numbers (PAN):

  • Maximum visible: First 6 digits + Last 4 digits
  • Recommended: Last 4 digits only (default)
// ✅ PCI Compliant (Last 4 only - Default)
maskCard('4532123456789012');
// Output: '************9012'

// ✅ PCI Compliant (Maximum allowed: First 6 + Last 4)
maskCard('4532123456789012', { unmaskedStart: 6 });
// Output: '453212******9012'

// ⚠️ Exceeds PCI recommendation (use only for non-production)
maskCard('4532123456789012', { unmaskedStart: 8, unmaskedEnd: 4 });
// Output: '45321234****9012'

Security Best Practices

  1. Never log unmasked card numbers in production
  2. Use last 4 digits for user identification (default behavior)
  3. Enable validation in production: { validateInput: true }
  4. This library is for display only - Never store unmasked cards
  5. Backend compliance - Ensure your server properly handles card data

Important Notice

🔒 This library is designed for display, logging, and light client-side validation. It does not:

  • Store card data securely
  • Tokenize cards for payment processing
  • Replace server-side validation (always verify payments on your backend)
  • Handle actual payment transactions by itself
  • Encrypt or hash card data

Luhn (isValidCardLuhn / isValidCard) checks the checksum only: a passing result does not mean the account is open, has funds, or was issued. Never log full PANs in production.

This is a pure masking utility that works in both frontend and backend environments (Node.js, browser, serverless functions, etc.).

Always ensure your systems comply with PCI DSS requirements when handling real payment card data.

Supported Card Types

Works with all major card brands:

// Visa (16 digits)
maskCard('4532123456789012');
// Output: '************9012'

// Mastercard (16 digits)
maskCard('5500000000000004');
// Output: '************0004'

// American Express (15 digits)
maskCard('378282246310005');
// Output: '***********0005'

// Discover (16 digits)
maskCard('6011000000000004');
// Output: '************0004'

// JCB (16 digits)
maskCard('3530111333300000');
// Output: '************0000'

// Diners Club (14 digits)
maskCard('30569309025904');
// Output: '**********5904'

Edge Cases

The library handles various edge cases gracefully:

// Very short numbers
maskCard('1234');
// Output: '1234' (all visible when length ≤ unmaskedEnd)

// Empty input
maskCard('');
// Output: ''

// Null/undefined
maskCard(null);
// Output: ''

// Mixed characters (auto-strips non-digits)
maskCard('4532-ABCD-5678-9012');
// Output: '************9012'

// Whitespace only
maskCard('   ');
// Output: ''

// Very long numbers
maskCard('45321234567890123456789');
// Output: '*******************6789' (validates with validateInput: true)

Performance

  • ⚡ Lightweight: < 2KB gzipped (minified)
  • 🚀 Zero dependencies
  • 💨 Fast execution (< 1ms for typical cards)
  • 🌳 Tree-shakeable

Browser Support

This library works in all modern browsers and Node.js environments that support ES2015+.

  • ✅ Chrome (latest)
  • ✅ Firefox (latest)
  • ✅ Safari (latest)
  • ✅ Edge (latest)
  • ✅ Node.js 14+

TypeScript Support

Full TypeScript support with types exported from the package entry (see TypeScript types under API Reference).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
  3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
  4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
  5. Open a Pull Request

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Build
npm run build

# Run examples
npm run example

License

MIT © Eka Prasetia

Links

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⭐ If this library helps you, please consider giving it a star on GitHub!

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A pure masking utility, lightweight, zero-dependency TypeScript library for masking credit card numbers

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