Regular Expressions 101

Save & Share

Flavor

  • PCRE2 (PHP >=7.3)
  • PCRE (PHP <7.3)
  • ECMAScript (JavaScript)
  • Python
  • Golang
  • Java 8
  • .NET 7.0 (C#)
  • Rust
  • Regex Flavor Guide

Function

  • Match
  • Substitution
  • List
  • Unit Tests

Tools

Sponsors
There are currently no sponsors. Become a sponsor today!
An explanation of your regex will be automatically generated as you type.
Detailed match information will be displayed here automatically.
  • All Tokens
  • Common Tokens
  • General Tokens
  • Anchors
  • Meta Sequences
  • Quantifiers
  • Group Constructs
  • Character Classes
  • Flags/Modifiers
  • Substitution
  • A single character of: a, b or c
    [abc]
  • A character except: a, b or c
    [^abc]
  • A character in the range: a-z
    [a-z]
  • A character not in the range: a-z
    [^a-z]
  • A character in the range: a-z or A-Z
    [a-zA-Z]
  • Any single character
    .
  • Alternate - match either a or b
    a|b
  • Any whitespace character
    \s
  • Any non-whitespace character
    \S
  • Any digit
    \d
  • Any non-digit
    \D
  • Any word character
    \w
  • Any non-word character
    \W
  • Non-capturing group
    (?:...)
  • Capturing group
    (...)
  • Zero or one of a
    a?
  • Zero or more of a
    a*
  • One or more of a
    a+
  • Exactly 3 of a
    a{3}
  • 3 or more of a
    a{3,}
  • Between 3 and 6 of a
    a{3,6}
  • Start of string
    ^
  • End of string
    $
  • A word boundary
    \b
  • Non-word boundary
    \B

Regular Expression

/
/
gm

Test String

Code Generator

Generated Code

import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class Example { public static void main(String[] args) { final String regex = "^.*TELEPHONE NUMBER(.*)DATE ACCOUNT OPENED(.*)LANG CODE(.*)CHAIN CODE(.*)TRANSIT ROUTING NUM(.*)DATE OF LAST REVIEW(.*)DATE OF NEXT REVIEW(.*)ALT TRANSIT ROUTING NUM(.*)AVERAGE FLOAT DAYS(.*)SPECIAL CONTROL FLAGS(.*)SEASONAL MERCHANT(.*)STATEMENT HOLD CODE(.*)SEND ACQUIRER(.*)STATEMENT MAIL FLAG(.*)MONTHLY ACH FLAG(.*)MERCHANT NAME(.*)MERCHANT TYPE(.*)DDA NUMBER(.*)ALT DDA NUMBER(.*)AUTH INC GRID(.*)AUTH EXP GRID(.*)CROSS REFERENCE NO.(.*)ETC NON FDR FLAG(.*)ETC VENDOR ID(.*)SALES RESPONSIBILITY(.*)USER DEF INC GRID(.*)USER DEF EXP GRID(.*)TAXPAYER ID(.*)ACCOUNT1 FEE FLAG(.*)ACCOUNT1 START(.*)STOP(.*)MRCH ADV FLAG(.*)ACCOUNT2 FEE FLAG(.*)ACCOUNT2 START(.*)STOP(.*)TERMINAL START(.*)STOP(.*)ACCOUNT3 FEE FLAG(.*)ACCOUNT3 START(.*)STOP(.*)SPARK EXCLUSION CD(.*)ACCOUNT4 FEE FLAG(.*)ACCOUNT4 START(.*)STOP(.*)PAYEE FLAG CD(.*)ACCOUNT5 FEE FLAG(.*)ACCOUNT5 START(.*)STOP(.*)EIDS IND(.*)RECURRING FEE FLAG(.*)RECURRING FEE IND(.*)BUW INDICATOR(.*)TURF CD(.*)TURF EFF DT(.*)TAX EFF YEAR(.*)BANKCARD DBA(.*)TIMS ACCT ID(.*) RETAIL DBA(.*)CUST BUSINESS ID(.*)CUST BUS RELATIONSHIP CD(.*)DEPOSIT TYPE(.*)ETC ACCOUNT TYPE(.*)DEVICE TYPE(.*)EXCLUDE ADJ FLAG(.*)MC\\/V POS(.*)DISCOUNT CALCULATION(.*)ROUND DISCOUNT(.*)REBATE DISTRIBUTE(.*)REBATE OPTION(.*)REBATE PERIOD(.*)"; final String string = "0 TELEPHONE NUMBER 612-874-8702 DATE ACCOUNT OPENED 01/27/14\n" + " LANG CODE - EN CHAIN CODE TRANSIT ROUTING NUM 96001013\n" + " DATE OF LAST REVIEW 00/00 DATE OF NEXT REVIEW 01/15 ALT TRANSIT ROUTING NUM\n" + " AVERAGE FLOAT DAYS 00-00 SPECIAL CONTROL FLAGS SEASONAL MERCHANT NO\n" + " STATEMENT HOLD CODE Y - SEND ACQUIRER STATEMENT MAIL FLAG M - MERCH ADDRESS MONTHLY ACH FLAG 1 - MERCHANT NAME\n" + " MERCHANT TYPE REGULAR DDA NUMBER 12000069001 ALT DDA NUMBER\n" + " AUTH INC GRID P801 AUTH EXP GRID 000 CROSS REFERENCE NO. 0000326\n" + " ETC NON FDR FLAG N ETC VENDOR ID SALES RESPONSIBILITY 0001\n" + " USER DEF INC GRID 000 USER DEF EXP GRID 000 TAXPAYER ID 30-0016022\n" + " ACCOUNT1 FEE FLAG 3 ACCOUNT1 START 00/00 STOP 00/00 MRCH ADV FLAG 0\n" + " ACCOUNT2 FEE FLAG 1 ACCOUNT2 START 00/00 STOP 00/00 TERMINAL START 00/00 STOP 00/00\n" + " ACCOUNT3 FEE FLAG 1 ACCOUNT3 START 00/00 STOP 05/17 SPARK EXCLUSION CD N\n" + " ACCOUNT4 FEE FLAG 0 ACCOUNT4 START 00/00 STOP 00/00 PAYEE FLAG CD S\n" + " ACCOUNT5 FEE FLAG 1 ACCOUNT5 START 00/00 STOP 00/00 EIDS IND N\n" + " RECURRING FEE FLAG RECURRING FEE IND BUW INDICATOR\n" + " TURF CD A TURF EFF DT 00/00/0000 TAX EFF YEAR 0000\n" + " BANKCARD DBA - ACADIA CAFE /MINNEAPOLIS /MN TIMS ACCT ID O0529808390100022000\n" + " RETAIL DBA - ACADIA CAFE MINNEAPOLIS MN\n" + " CUST BUSINESS ID CUST BUS RELATIONSHIP CD\n" + " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MERCHANT OPTIONS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n" + " DEPOSIT TYPE 3 - ETC ETC ACCOUNT TYPE 7 - RESERVED DEVICE TYPE NONE\n" + " EXCLUDE ADJ FLAG Y - EXCL ADJ/CB MC/V POS 0922\n" + " DISCOUNT CALCULATION - 2 ROUND DISCOUNT - N\n" + " REBATE DISTRIBUTE REBATE OPTION N - NO REBATE REBATE PERIOD "; final Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex, Pattern.MULTILINE); final Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(string); while (matcher.find()) { System.out.println("Full match: " + matcher.group(0)); for (int i = 1; i <= matcher.groupCount(); i++) { System.out.println("Group " + i + ": " + matcher.group(i)); } } } }

Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Java, please visit: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/regex/Pattern.html