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

/
/
igm

Test String

Code Generator

Generated Code

# coding=utf8 # the above tag defines encoding for this document and is for Python 2.x compatibility import re regex = r"android|avantgo|blackberry|bolt|boost|cricket|docomo|fone|hiptop|mini|mobi|palm|phone|pie|tablet|up\.browser|up\.link|webos|wos" test_str = ("###Android Mobile User Agents###\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy S9\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 8.0.0; SM-G960F Build/R16NW) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/62.0.3202.84 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy S8\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 7.0; SM-G892A Build/NRD90M; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/60.0.3112.107 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy S7\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 7.0; SM-G930VC Build/NRD90M; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/58.0.3029.83 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0.1; SM-G935S Build/MMB29K; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/55.0.2883.91 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy S6\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0.1; SM-G920V Build/MMB29K) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/52.0.2743.98 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.1.1; SM-G928X Build/LMY47X) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/47.0.2526.83 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Nexus 6P\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0.1; Nexus 6P Build/MMB29P) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/47.0.2526.83 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Sony Xperia XZ\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 7.1.1; G8231 Build/41.2.A.0.219; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/59.0.3071.125 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "Sony Xperia Z5\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0.1; E6653 Build/32.2.A.0.253) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/52.0.2743.98 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "HTC One X10\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0; HTC One X10 Build/MRA58K; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/61.0.3163.98 Mobile Safari/537.36\n\n" "HTC One M9\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0; HTC One M9 Build/MRA58K) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/52.0.2743.98 Mobile Safari/537.3\n\n" "###iPhone User Agents###\n\n" "Apple iPhone XR(Safari)\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 12_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/12.0 Mobile/15E148 Safari/604.1\n\n" "Apple iPhone XS(Chrome)\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 12_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) CriOS/69.0.3497.105 Mobile/15E148 Safari/605.1\n\n" "Apple iPhone XS Max(Firefox)\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 12_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) FxiOS/13.2b11866 Mobile/16A366 Safari/605.1.15\n\n" "Apple iPhone X\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 11_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/604.1.38 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/11.0 Mobile/15A372 Safari/604.1\n\n" "Apple iPhone 8\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 11_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/604.1.34 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/11.0 Mobile/15A5341f Safari/604.1\n\n" "Apple iPhone 8 Plus\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 11_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/604.1.38 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/11.0 Mobile/15A5370a Safari/604.1\n\n" "Apple iPhone 7\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone9,3; U; CPU iPhone OS 10_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/602.1.50 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.0 Mobile/14A403 Safari/602.1\n\n" "Apple iPhone 7 Plus\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone9,4; U; CPU iPhone OS 10_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/602.1.50 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.0 Mobile/14A403 Safari/602.1\n\n" "Apple iPhone 6\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Apple-iPhone7C2/1202.466; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/1A543 Safari/419.3\n\n" "###MS Windows Phone User Agents###\n\n" "Microsoft Lumia 650\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows Phone 10.0; Android 6.0.1; Microsoft; RM-1152) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/52.0.2743.116 Mobile Safari/537.36 Edge/15.15254\n\n" "Microsoft Lumia 550\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows Phone 10.0; Android 4.2.1; Microsoft; RM-1127_16056) AppleWebKit/537.36(KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.135 Mobile Safari/537.36 Edge/12.10536\n\n" "Microsoft Lumia 950\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows Phone 10.0; Android 4.2.1; Microsoft; Lumia 950) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/46.0.2486.0 Mobile Safari/537.36 Edge/13.1058\n\n" "###Tablet User Agents###\n\n" "Google Pixel C\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 7.0; Pixel C Build/NRD90M; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/52.0.2743.98 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0.1; SGP771 Build/32.2.A.0.253; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/52.0.2743.98 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Nvidia Shield Tablet K1\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 6.0.1; SHIELD Tablet K1 Build/MRA58K; wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/55.0.2883.91 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy Tab S3\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 7.0; SM-T827R4 Build/NRD90M) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/60.0.3112.116 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Samsung Galaxy Tab A\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.0.2; SAMSUNG SM-T550 Build/LRX22G) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) SamsungBrowser/3.3 Chrome/38.0.2125.102 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 4.4.3; KFTHWI Build/KTU84M) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Silk/47.1.79 like Chrome/47.0.2526.80 Safari/537.36\n\n" "LG G Pad 7.0\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.0.2; LG-V410/V41020c Build/LRX22G) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/34.0.1847.118 Safari/537.36\n\n" "###Desktop User Agents###\n\n" "Windows 10-based PC using Edge browser\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/42.0.2311.135 Safari/537.36 Edge/12.246\n\n" "Chrome OS-based laptop using Chrome browser (Chromebook)\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS x86_64 8172.45.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/51.0.2704.64 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Mac OS X-based computer using a Safari browser\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_11_2) AppleWebKit/601.3.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/9.0.2 Safari/601.3.9\n\n" "Windows 7-based PC using a Chrome browser\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/47.0.2526.111 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Linux-based PC using a Firefox browser\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux x86_64; rv:15.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/15.0.1\n\n" "###Set Top Boxes User Agents###\n\n" "Chromecast\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (CrKey armv7l 1.5.16041) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/31.0.1650.0 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Roku Ultra\n" "Roku4640X/DVP-7.70 (297.70E04154A)\n\n" "Minix NEO X5\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 4.2.2; he-il; NEO-X5-116A Build/JDQ39) AppleWebKit/534.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Safari/534.30\n\n" "Amazon 4K Fire TV\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.1; AFTS Build/LMY47O) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/41.99900.2250.0242 Safari/537.36\n\n" "Google Nexus Player\n" "Dalvik/2.1.0 (Linux; U; Android 6.0.1; Nexus Player Build/MMB29T)\n\n" "Apple TV 5th Gen 4K\n" "AppleTV6,2/11.1\n\n" "Apple TV 4th Gen\n" "AppleTV5,3/9.1.1\n\n" "###Game Console User Agents###\n\n" "Nintendo Wii U\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Nintendo WiiU) AppleWebKit/536.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) NX/3.0.4.2.12 NintendoBrowser/4.3.1.11264.US\n\n" "Xbox One S\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; XBOX_ONE_ED) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/51.0.2704.79 Safari/537.36 Edge/14.14393\n\n" "Xbox One\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows Phone 10.0; Android 4.2.1; Xbox; Xbox One) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/46.0.2486.0 Mobile Safari/537.36 Edge/13.10586\n\n" "Playstation 4\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (PlayStation 4 3.11) AppleWebKit/537.73 (KHTML, like Gecko)\n\n" "Playstation Vita\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (PlayStation Vita 3.61) AppleWebKit/537.73 (KHTML, like Gecko) Silk/3.2\n\n" "Nintendo 3DS\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Nintendo 3DS; U; ; en) Version/1.7412.EU\n\n" "###Bots And Crawlers User Agents###\n\n" "Google bot\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Googlebot/2.1; +http://www.google.com/bot.html)\n\n" "Bing bot\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; bingbot/2.0; +http://www.bing.com/bingbot.htm)\n\n" "Yahoo! bot\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Yahoo! Slurp; http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/slurp)\n\n" "###E Readers User Agents\n\n" "Amazon Kindle 4\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux armv7l like Android; en-us) AppleWebKit/531.2+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0 Safari/533.2+ Kindle/3.0+\n\n" "Amazon Kindle 3\n" "Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; en-US) AppleWebKit/528.5+ (KHTML, like Gecko, Safari/528.5+) Version/4.0 Kindle/3.0 (screen 600x800; rotate)") matches = re.finditer(regex, test_str, re.IGNORECASE | re.MULTILINE) for matchNum, match in enumerate(matches, start=1): print ("Match {matchNum} was found at {start}-{end}: {match}".format(matchNum = matchNum, start = match.start(), end = match.end(), match = match.group())) for groupNum in range(0, len(match.groups())): groupNum = groupNum + 1 print ("Group {groupNum} found at {start}-{end}: {group}".format(groupNum = groupNum, start = match.start(groupNum), end = match.end(groupNum), group = match.group(groupNum))) # Note: for Python 2.7 compatibility, use ur"" to prefix the regex and u"" to prefix the test string and substitution.

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