Test regular expressions with live match highlighting and group capture.
About this tool
Test regular expressions with match highlighting, capture group display, and all standard flags (g, i, m, s, u, y). 100% in-browser, free.
What Is the Regex Tester?
The Regex Tester is a free browser-based developer tool that handles regex tester operations entirely on your device without any server round-trips. Built with standard web APIs and JavaScript, it processes your input locally — no code, data, or file content is ever uploaded to a remote server. The tool supports regular expression standards and handles edge cases like Unicode characters, special encoding modes, and large inputs. Performance is optimized for files up to 10MB+ using streaming parsers where applicable. Unlike online alternatives that require accounts or impose usage limits, this tool is completely free with no caps.
Who Should Use This Tool?
Software developers use this tool daily for regex tester tasks during coding, debugging, and deployment workflows. DevOps engineers rely on it for quick regular expression conversions when configuring servers or CI/CD pipelines. QA testers validate regex online outputs against expected values. Students learning web development use it as a reference tool to understand how encoding and formatting actually work. Technical writers format code examples for documentation. The tool is especially valuable in secure environments where corporate policy prohibits pasting code into external websites — everything stays local.
How to Use the Regex Tester
Paste or type your input into the text area — the tool processes it instantly with no submit button needed. For regex tester operations, select your desired mode or options from the dropdown controls. The output panel shows results in real time with syntax highlighting where applicable. Use the copy button to transfer results to your clipboard. For batch operations, the tool handles multiple inputs separated by newlines. All processing happens in your browser's JavaScript engine — close the tab and your data is gone. Keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Enter) trigger the primary action for power users.
Frequently asked
Which regex flags and engine does this tool support?
It uses the JavaScript RegExp engine with all standard flags: g (global), i (case-insensitive), m (multiline), s (dotall), u (unicode), and y (sticky). Live match highlighting shows all matches simultaneously. Capture groups are displayed in a numbered list below the match results for easy debugging.
Can I test regex patterns against multiline text?
Yes. Enable the m flag for multiline mode (^ and $ match line boundaries) or the s flag for dotall mode (. matches newlines). This is essential for parsing log files, extracting data from structured text, and validating multiline form input. All processing is 100% in-browser.
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