Regex Tester

Test and validate regular expressions with real-time matching, syntax highlighting, and detailed explanations. Perfect for pattern matching and data validation.

Quick Examples:

How to Use Regex Tester

  1. Enter Pattern: Type your regular expression in the pattern field
  2. Set Flags: Choose global, case-insensitive, or multiline options
  3. Add Test Text: Enter the text you want to test against
  4. Test: Click "Test Regex" to see matches and results
  5. Refine: Adjust your pattern based on the results

Common Regex Patterns

Email Validation:

^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$

Phone Number (US):

^\(?([0-9]{3})\)?[-. ]?([0-9]{3})[-. ]?([0-9]{4})$

URL Validation:

^https?:\/\/(www\.)?[-a-zA-Z0-9@:%._\+~#=]{1,256}\.[a-zA-Z0-9()]{1,6}\b([-a-zA-Z0-9()@:%_\+.~#?&//=]*)$

Date (MM/DD/YYYY):

^(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\/\d{4}$

IP Address:

^(?:(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)\.){3}(?:25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)$

Regex Syntax Guide

Symbol Meaning Example
. Any character a.c matches "abc", "axc"
* Zero or more ab*c matches "ac", "abc", "abbc"
+ One or more ab+c matches "abc", "abbc"
? Zero or one ab?c matches "ac", "abc"
^ Start of string ^abc matches "abc..." not "...abc"
$ End of string abc$ matches "...abc" not "abc..."
[abc] Character class [abc] matches "a", "b", or "c"
\d Digit (0-9) \d+ matches "123", "4567"
\w Word character \w+ matches "hello", "test123"
\s Whitespace \s+ matches spaces, tabs, newlines

Regex Flags Explained

  • Global (g): Find all matches, not just the first one
  • Ignore Case (i): Case-insensitive matching
  • Multiline (m): ^ and $ match line breaks

Common Use Cases

  • Form Validation: Validate email, phone, and other inputs
  • Data Extraction: Extract specific patterns from text
  • Search & Replace: Find and replace text patterns
  • Log Analysis: Parse log files for specific entries
  • Data Cleaning: Remove or format unwanted characters

Tips for Better Regex

  • Start simple and build complexity gradually
  • Use online regex testers to validate patterns
  • Comment complex regex patterns for future reference
  • Consider performance - avoid excessive backtracking
  • Test with various input scenarios

Last updated: 2025-11-07

Best Practices

Performance Tips

Limitations

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my pattern match too much?

Use non-greedy quantifiers like .*? and anchor patterns to start/end of string.

How can I test multiline inputs?

Enable the m flag and use ^/$ to match line starts/ends.

What regex flavor is supported?

This tool uses JavaScript-style regular expressions, similar to PCRE basics.

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