Regex Tester
Test regular expressions against any text and see matches highlighted in real‑time. All processing happens locally in your browser – your data never leaves your device.
How to Use the Regex Tester
- Enter your text – Paste the text you want to search through.
- Write a regular expression – Type your pattern in the input field. For example, try
\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}for a Social Security number. - Adjust flags – Use the checkboxes to toggle case‑insensitive, global, or multiline matching.
- Click "Test Regex" – The tool highlights every match directly in the text and shows the total match count.
Regular Expression Quick Reference
| Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
. | Any character except newline |
\d | Any digit (0-9) |
\w | Word character (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, _) |
\s | Whitespace (space, tab, newline) |
+ | One or more of the preceding character |
* | Zero or more |
? | Zero or one (optional) |
{n,m} | Between n and m occurrences |
^ | Start of string (or line with m flag) |
$ | End of string (or line with m flag) |
[abc] | Any character inside brackets |
(abc) | Capture group |
Real‑World Use Cases
- Validate email addresses: Quickly test that an email pattern matches sample data.
- Extract phone numbers: Pull phone numbers from a large document.
- Scrape data: Use regex to find URLs, dates, or custom formats.
- Clean code: Identify patterns like trailing spaces, unused imports, or specific function names.
Pro Tip: When writing complex patterns, test step‑by‑step. Start with a small part of the regex, test it, and gradually add more. The instant highlight helps you catch mistakes early.
From the Textify Team
We built this regex tester because debugging regular expressions without visual feedback is painful. Now you can see exactly what your pattern matches, right in your browser, without sending any data anywhere. Whether you're a developer, data analyst, or just curious about regex, we hope this tool becomes your go‑to testing ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Everything runs locally in your browser. Your text and regex patterns are never uploaded.
Yes, the tool uses JavaScript's RegExp engine which supports Unicode patterns. You can use
\u escapes or Unicode property escapes like \p{L}.The tool works with one pattern at a time. For multiple patterns, you can run them sequentially or combine them using alternation (
|).The tool will display an error message if the pattern is syntactically incorrect, helping you debug it.
Absolutely. The page is fully responsive and works on all modern devices.