import re
regex = re.compile(r"""
\\autocites((?:\{[^}]*\}|\[[^]]*\])+)
""", flags=re.VERBOSE)
test_str = ("\\autocites[a1][a2]{a3}[b1][b2]{b3}\n"
"\\autocites[a1][a2]{a3}[b1][b2]{b3}[c1][c2]{c3}")
matches = regex.finditer(test_str)
for match_num, match in enumerate(matches, start=1):
print(f"Match {match_num} was found at {match.start()}-{match.end()}: {match.group()}")
for group_num, group in enumerate(match.groups(), start=1):
print(f"Group {group_num} found at {match.start(group_num)}-{match.end(group_num)}: {group}")
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 Python, please visit: https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html