Regular Expressions 101

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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
No Match

/
/
g

Test String

Code Generator

Language

Generated Code

$re = '/(?<time>\w{3} \w{3} \d{2} \d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2} \d{4}) (?<xferTime>\d*) (?<remoteHost>\b\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\b) (?<fileSize>\d*) (?<fileName>\S*) (?<transferType>[a|b]) (?<specialActionFlag>\S{1}) (?<direction>\S{1}) (?<accessMode>\S{1}) (?<userName>\S*) (?<serviceName>\S*) (?<authenticationMethod>\S*) (?<authenticatedUserId>\S*) (?<completionStatus>\S*)/'; $str = 'Fri Aug 29 11:47:02 2014 1 85.118.235.147 815472 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_001.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:03 2014 0 172.16.2.254 1678551 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104184.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:04 2014 1 85.118.235.147 831405 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_002.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:05 2014 1 85.118.235.147 727777 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_003.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:07 2014 1 85.118.235.147 827127 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_004.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:08 2014 1 85.118.235.147 878678 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_005.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:10 2014 0 172.16.2.254 1678551 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104185.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:10 2014 1 85.118.235.147 782214 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_006.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:11 2014 1 85.118.235.147 893540 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_007.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:13 2014 1 85.118.235.147 873624 /u01/clients/flynet/source/live-streaming/FLY_1095206_PEREZ_HILTON_008.jpg b _ i r flynet ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:17 2014 0 172.16.2.254 1678551 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104186.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:24 2014 0 172.16.2.254 1678109 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104187.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:26 2014 0 206.150.180.100 639450 /u01/clients/reuters/source/stream/2014-08-29T114707Z_175098360_GM1EA8T1IUK01_RTRMADP_3_FILMFESTIVAL-VENICE.JPG b _ i r reuters ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:26 2014 2 216.169.250.1 2224553 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324358.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:31 2014 0 172.16.2.254 1677404 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104188.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:35 2014 4 216.169.250.1 2905344 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324364.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:38 2014 0 172.16.2.254 1678551 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104189.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:42 2014 9 216.169.250.1 4110945 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed-news/454324356.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:50 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104190.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:53 2014 3 216.169.250.1 2281991 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed-news/454324374.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:56 2014 4 216.169.250.1 2957898 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed-news/454324366.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:57 2014 1 216.169.250.1 1538546 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324370.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:47:58 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104191.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:03 2014 2 216.169.250.1 1613416 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324382.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:05 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104192.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:12 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104193.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:19 2014 0 172.16.2.254 556497 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104194.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:26 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104195.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:27 2014 4 216.169.250.1 1675308 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324378.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:33 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104196.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:36 2014 3 216.169.250.1 2519001 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324376.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:36 2014 4 216.169.250.1 2650387 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324368.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:40 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104197.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:48 2014 0 172.16.2.254 547878 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104198.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:48:49 2014 1 216.169.250.1 728279 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed-sport/454324380.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:00 2014 0 172.16.2.254 575100 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104199.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:07 2014 0 172.16.2.254 556497 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104200.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:19 2014 0 172.16.2.254 639018 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104201.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:31 2014 0 172.16.2.254 639018 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104202.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:37 2014 0 89.187.64.162 2251248 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657242.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:38 2014 0 89.187.64.162 1930371 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657243.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:41 2014 2 89.187.64.162 2181480 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657244.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:43 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2147554 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657245.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:43 2014 0 172.16.2.254 639018 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104203.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:44 2014 4 209.63.42.82 1403942 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613672.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:44 2014 3 209.63.42.82 1259254 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613671.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:47 2014 3 89.187.64.162 2241632 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657246.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:49 2014 4 209.63.42.82 1157640 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613673.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:50 2014 2 89.187.64.162 1949372 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657247.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:51 2014 0 172.16.2.254 639018 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104204.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:52 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2381202 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657248.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:54 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2355449 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657249.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:55 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2427919 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657250.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:56 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2193319 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657251.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:57 2014 6 216.169.250.1 2738054 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324398.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:58 2014 0 172.16.2.254 639018 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104205.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:49:58 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2255569 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657252.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:00 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2386861 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657253.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:01 2014 0 89.187.64.162 2051803 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657254.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:02 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2342745 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657255.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:03 2014 4 209.63.42.82 1332076 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613678.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:04 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2479907 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657256.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:05 2014 0 172.16.2.254 639018 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104206.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:05 2014 3 209.63.42.82 1309323 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613680.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:05 2014 0 89.187.64.162 1994204 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657257.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:07 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2019528 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657258.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:09 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2175488 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657259.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:10 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2494267 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657260.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:11 2014 0 89.187.64.162 2135117 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657261.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:12 2014 0 172.16.2.254 639018 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104207.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:13 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2261582 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657262.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:14 2014 0 89.187.64.162 2351709 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657263.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:14 2014 6 209.63.42.82 1234207 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613682.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:15 2014 0 89.187.64.162 1608221 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657264.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:16 2014 0 89.187.64.162 1942966 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657265.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:16 2014 8 209.63.42.82 1511003 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613683.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:17 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2035558 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657266.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:17 2014 6 209.63.42.82 1181848 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613685.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:18 2014 6 209.63.42.82 1244414 /u01/clients/corbis/source/stream/42-61613687.jpg b _ i r corbis ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:18 2014 1 89.187.64.162 1897281 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657267.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:20 2014 0 172.16.2.254 868345 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104208.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:20 2014 1 89.187.64.162 2253115 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657268.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:21 2014 0 89.187.64.162 2014465 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657269.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:21 2014 12 216.169.250.1 2372836 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed-sport/454324396.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:22 2014 0 89.187.64.162 2314804 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657270.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:23 2014 0 89.187.64.162 2475307 /u01/clients/wenn/source/live-stream/wenn21657271.jpg b _ i r wenn ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:24 2014 0 206.150.180.100 721643 /u01/clients/reuters/source/stream/2014-08-29T115000Z_681847560_GM1EA8T1IXL01_RTRMADP_3_FILMFESTIVAL-VENICE.JPG b _ i r reuters ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:24 2014 15 216.169.250.1 2851176 /u01/clients/gettyimages/source/live-feed/454324418.jpg b _ i r gettyimages ftp 0 * c Fri Aug 29 11:50:27 2014 0 172.16.2.254 868345 /u01/clients/roboturls/source/live-stream/104209.jpg b _ i r roboturls ftp 0 * c'; preg_match_all($re, $str, $matches, PREG_SET_ORDER, 0); // Print the entire match result var_dump($matches);

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