$re = '/step.+\s+script: \".*blr/(.*).py\"\s+.*\s+args: \[([\"\w\W\s]+?)\]\n/m';
$str = 'step1:
script: "/workspace/feature-test-lib/tests/upgrade_blr/BQT.py"
skip: 0
args: ["testbed"]
step2:
script: "/workspace/feature-test-lib/tests/upgrade_blr/DC_init.py"
skip: 0
args: ["testbed", "dcinit"]
step3:
script: "/workspace/feature-test-lib/tests/upgrade_blr/sensor_upgrade.py"
skip: 0
args: ["testbed", "upgrade"]
step4:
script: "/workspace/feature-test-lib/tests/upgrade_blr/Apply_Policy.py"
skip: 0
args: ["testbed"]
step5:
script: "/workspace/feature-test-lib/tests/upgrade_blr/sensor_checks.py"
skip: 0
args: ["testbed"]
step6:
script: "/workspace/feature-test-lib/tests/upgrade_blr/delete_device.py"
skip: 0
args: ["testbed", "dcinit"]
step7:
script: "/workspace/feature-test-lib/tests/upgrade_blr/DC_init.py"
skip: 0
args: ["testbed", "dcinit"]
';
$subst = "\1, \2";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
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 PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php