Regex Cheat Sheet
A searchable, printable regular-expression reference — character classes, anchors, quantifiers, groups, lookaround, flags and ready-made patterns. Free.
Character classes
12\d
Any digit, equivalent to [0-9]
\D
Any non-digit character
\w
Word character: letter, digit or underscore
\W
Any non-word character
\s
Any whitespace (space, tab, newline)
\S
Any non-whitespace character
.
Any character except newline
[abc]
Any one of a, b or c
[^abc]
Any character except a, b or c
[a-z]
Any lowercase letter in the range
[A-Za-z0-9]
Any alphanumeric character
[\d\s]
Combine classes inside brackets
Anchors & boundaries
8^
Start of string (or line in multiline mode)
$
End of string (or line in multiline mode)
\b
Word boundary between \w and \W
\B
Not a word boundary
\A
Start of the entire string (PCRE)
\z
End of the entire string (PCRE)
\Z
End of string, before a trailing newline (PCRE)
\G
Start of the current match attempt (PCRE)
Quantifiers
11*
Zero or more of the preceding token
+
One or more of the preceding token
?
Zero or one (makes it optional)
{n}
Exactly n repetitions
{n,}
n or more repetitions
{n,m}
Between n and m repetitions
*?
Lazy: zero or more, as few as possible
+?
Lazy: one or more, as few as possible
??
Lazy: optional, prefers zero
{2,5}?
Lazy bounded repetition
a++
Possessive: no backtracking (PCRE)
Groups & backreferences
9(abc)
Capturing group, stores the match
(?:abc)
Non-capturing group
(?<name>abc)
Named capturing group
(?P<name>abc)
Named group, alternate PCRE syntax
a|b
Alternation: match a or b
(red|blue)
Grouped alternation
\1
Backreference to capturing group 1
\k<name>
Backreference to a named group
$1
Reference group 1 in a replacement
Lookaround
6(?=abc)
Positive lookahead: followed by abc
(?!abc)
Negative lookahead: not followed by abc
(?<=abc)
Positive lookbehind: preceded by abc
(?<!abc)
Negative lookbehind: not preceded by abc
\d(?=px)
Digit only if followed by px
(?<=\$)\d+
Digits only if preceded by a dollar sign
Flags & modifiers
10g
Global: find all matches, not just the first
i
Case-insensitive matching
m
Multiline: ^ and $ match line breaks
s
Dotall: . also matches newline
u
Unicode mode (full code points)
x
Extended: ignore whitespace, allow comments
y
Sticky: match from lastIndex (JS)
(?i)
Inline case-insensitive flag (PCRE)
(?im)
Combine inline flags
(?i:abc)
Scoped inline flag for a group
Escapes & special chars
11\.
Literal dot
\\
Literal backslash
\/
Literal forward slash (in /.../ literals)
\t
Tab character
\n
Newline (line feed)
\r
Carriage return
\f
Form feed
\0
Null character
\xFF
Character by two-digit hex code
\x{00E9}
Unicode code point by hex (PCRE)
\Qabc\E
Quote a literal block (PCRE)
Common token shortcuts
10[0-9]
Single digit, same as \d
[a-fA-F0-9]
A single hexadecimal digit
\d+
One or more digits (whole number)
\w+
One or more word characters
\s+
One or more whitespace characters
.*
Any run of characters (greedy)
.*?
Any run of characters (lazy)
[^\s]+
One or more non-whitespace characters
\b\w+\b
A whole word
(?:\r\n|\n|\r)
Any line ending
Practical patterns
10^[\w.+-]+@[\w-]+\.[\w.-]+$
Simple email address
https?:\/\/[^\s]+
HTTP or HTTPS URL
\b(?:\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}\b
IPv4 address
#?[a-fA-F0-9]{6}\b
Six-digit hex color
\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}
Date in YYYY-MM-DD format
\+?\d[\d\s-]{7,}\d
Phone number (loose)
[a-z0-9]+(?:-[a-z0-9]+)*
URL slug (lowercase, hyphens)
^\s+|\s+$
Leading or trailing whitespace (trim)
\s{2,}
Two or more consecutive spaces
<[^>]+>
An HTML tag (naive)
Unicode properties
10\p{L}
Any kind of letter from any language
\P{L}
Any character that is not a letter
\p{N}
Any kind of numeric character
\p{Lu}
An uppercase letter
\p{Ll}
A lowercase letter
\p{P}
Any punctuation character
\p{Sc}
A currency symbol
\p{Han}
A Han (Chinese) script character
\p{Emoji}
An emoji character (where supported)
\p{Greek}
A character from the Greek script
No entry matches “:q”.
About Regex Cheat Sheet
This regex cheat sheet is a compact reference to regular expression syntax: character classes, anchors and boundaries, quantifiers, groups and backreferences, lookaround, flags and modifiers, escapes and special characters, common token shortcuts, practical ready-made patterns, and Unicode properties.
Regex is the definition of write-once syntax — the tokens are terse and easy to confuse, especially lookahead versus lookbehind, greedy versus lazy quantifiers, and the various group forms. Each row shows one token or pattern next to a plain-English description of what it matches.
The sheet ends with practical patterns you can copy outright, and like every cheat sheet here it is free and client-side: live search, a sticky table of contents, one-click copy on every token and a print button for a paper regex reference.
How to use Regex Cheat Sheet
- Skim the sections, from Character classes and Anchors & boundaries to Practical patterns and Unicode properties.
- Search for a token or concept like lookahead, \d or lazy to filter the sheet instantly.
- Jump to Practical patterns when you need a ready-made expression to adapt.
- Click a token or pattern, or its copy icon, to copy it into your code or a regex tester.
- Print the sheet — regex syntax is a classic thing to keep on paper.
Frequently asked questions
Ten sections: character classes, anchors and boundaries, quantifiers, groups and backreferences, lookaround, flags and modifiers, escapes and special characters, token shortcuts, practical patterns, and Unicode properties.
Yes. The practical-patterns section contains complete expressions for common matching tasks that you can copy and adapt, rather than assembling them token by token.
Yes. The lookaround section lists positive and negative lookahead and lookbehind side by side with descriptions — one of the most-confused corners of regex syntax.
The syntax shown is the widely shared core used by mainstream engines, including character classes, quantifiers, groups, lookaround, flags and Unicode property escapes. Engine-specific extensions vary, so test unusual constructs in your target language.
Yes, fully free — searchable, printable and rendered entirely in your browser.
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