Regex Tools Explained
1. Regex101
Regex101 is an online tool that allows users to test and debug regular expressions in real-time. It supports multiple flavors of regex, including PCRE, JavaScript, Python, and Go. The tool provides detailed explanations of matches, highlighting the parts of the text that match the pattern.
Example:
Pattern: \b\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}\b
Text: "His SSN is 123-45-6789."
Explanation: Regex101 will highlight "123-45-6789" and provide a detailed breakdown of how the pattern matches the text.
2. RegExr
RegExr is another online tool for testing and learning regular expressions. It offers a user-friendly interface with real-time highlighting and a cheat sheet for quick reference. RegExr also allows users to save and share their regex patterns.
Example:
Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$
Text: "user@example.com"
Explanation: RegExr will highlight the entire email address and provide a detailed explanation of the pattern's components.
3. Pythex
Pythex is a simple online regex tester for Python. It allows users to test their regex patterns against a given text and see the results in real-time. Pythex is particularly useful for those working with Python's re module.
Example:
Pattern: r'\b\w+\b'
Text: "Hello world!"
Explanation: Pythex will highlight "Hello" and "world" separately, showing how the pattern matches individual words.
4. Rubular
Rubular is a Ruby-specific regex editor that provides real-time regex matching. It is designed for Ruby developers and offers a simple interface for testing and debugging regex patterns.
Example:
Pattern: /\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}/
Text: "His SSN is 123-45-6789."
Explanation: Rubular will highlight "123-45-6789" and provide a detailed breakdown of the match.
5. Regex Pal
Regex Pal is a straightforward online regex tester that supports JavaScript-style regular expressions. It provides real-time highlighting and is useful for quick regex testing.
Example:
Pattern: /[a-z]+/g
Text: "Hello123"
Explanation: Regex Pal will highlight "Hello" and provide a simple explanation of the match.
6. Regex Tester
Regex Tester is an online tool that supports multiple regex engines, including .NET, Java, and Python. It provides real-time highlighting and detailed explanations of matches.
Example:
Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$
Text: "user@example.com"
Explanation: Regex Tester will highlight the entire email address and provide a detailed breakdown of the pattern's components.
7. Debuggex
Debuggex is an online regex debugger that visualizes regex patterns as state machines. It supports PCRE, Python, and JavaScript regex flavors and provides real-time highlighting and explanations.
Example:
Pattern: ^(\d{3})-(\d{2})-(\d{4})$
Text: "123-45-6789"
Explanation: Debuggex will highlight each group of digits and visualize the pattern as a state machine.
8. Regex Hero
Regex Hero is an online .NET regex tester that provides real-time testing and debugging. It supports all .NET regex features and offers detailed explanations of matches.
Example:
Pattern: ^\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}$
Text: "123-45-6789"
Explanation: Regex Hero will highlight "123-45-6789" and provide a detailed breakdown of the match.
9. Rex V
Rex V is an online regex visualization tool that converts regex patterns into visual diagrams. It supports multiple regex flavors and provides a clear visual representation of complex patterns.
Example:
Pattern: ^(\d{3})-(\d{2})-(\d{4})$
Text: "123-45-6789"
Explanation: Rex V will visualize the pattern as a diagram, showing how each group of digits is matched.
10. Regex Storm
Regex Storm is an online .NET regex tester that provides real-time testing and debugging. It supports all .NET regex features and offers detailed explanations of matches.
Example:
Pattern: ^\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}$
Text: "123-45-6789"
Explanation: Regex Storm will highlight "123-45-6789" and provide a detailed breakdown of the match.
11. Regexper
Regexper is an online tool that visualizes regex patterns as railroad diagrams. It supports JavaScript-style regular expressions and provides a clear visual representation of complex patterns.
Example:
Pattern: ^(\d{3})-(\d{2})-(\d{4})$
Text: "123-45-6789"
Explanation: Regexper will visualize the pattern as a railroad diagram, showing how each group of digits is matched.