Assertions include boundaries, which indicate the beginnings and endings of lines and words, and other patterns indicating in some way that a match is possible (including look-ahead, look-behind, and conditional expressions).
Types
Boundary-type assertions
Characters | Meaning |
---|---|
^ |
Matches the beginning of input. If the multiline flag is set to true, also matches immediately after a line break character. For example, This character has a different meaning when it appears at the start of a group. |
$ |
Matches the end of input. If the multiline flag is set to true, also matches immediately before a line break character. For example, |
\b |
Matches a word boundary. This is the position where a word character is not followed or preceded by another word-character, such as between a letter and a space. Note that a matched word boundary is not included in the match. In other words, the length of a matched word boundary is zero. Examples:
To match a backspace character ( |
\B |
Matches a non-word boundary. This is a position where the previous and next character are of the same type: Either both must be words, or both must be non-words, for example between two letters or between two spaces. The beginning and end of a string are considered non-words. Same as the matched word boundary, the matched non-word boundary is also not included in the match. For example, |
Other assertions
Note: The ?
character may also be used as a quantifier.
Characters | Meaning |
---|---|
x(?=y) |
Lookahead assertion: Matches "x" only if "x" is followed by "y". For example, / |
x(?!y) |
Negative lookahead assertion: Matches "x" only if "x" is not followed by "y". For example, |
(?<=y)x |
Lookbehind assertion: Matches "x" only if "x" is preceded by "y". For example, |
(?<!y)x |
Negative lookbehind assertion: Matches "x" only if "x" is not preceded by "y". For example, |
Examples
General boundary-type overview example
// Using Regex boundaries to fix buggy string. buggyMultiline = `tey, ihe light-greon apple tangs on ihe greon traa`; // 1) Use ^ to fix the matching at the begining of the string, and right after newline. buggyMultiline = buggyMultiline.replace(/^t/gim,'h'); console.log(1, buggyMultiline); // fix 'tey', 'tangs' => 'hey', 'hangs'. Avoid 'traa'. // 2) Use $ to fix matching at the end of the text. buggyMultiline = buggyMultiline.replace(/aa$/gim,'ee.'); console.log(2, buggyMultiline); // fix 'traa' => 'tree'. // 3) Use \b to match characters right on border between a word and a space. buggyMultiline = buggyMultiline.replace(/\bi/gim,'t'); console.log(3, buggyMultiline); // fix 'ihe' but does not touch 'light'. // 4) Use \B to match characters inside borders of an entity. fixedMultiline = buggyMultiline.replace(/\Bo/gim,'e'); console.log(4, fixedMultiline); // fix 'greon' but does not touch 'on'.
Matching the beginning of input using a ^ control character
Use ^
for matching at the beginning of input. In this example, we can get the fruits that start with 'A' by a /^A/
regex. For selecting appropriate fruits we can use the filter method with an arrow function.
let fruits = ["Apple", "Watermelon", "Orange", "Avocado", "Strawberry"]; // Select fruits started with 'A' by /^A/ Regex. // Here '^' control symbol used only in one role: Matching beginning of an input. let fruitsStartsWithA = fruits.filter(fruit => /^A/.test(fruit)); console.log(fruitsStartsWithA); // [ 'Apple', 'Avocado' ]
In the second example ^
is used both for matching at the beginning of input and for creating negated or complemented character sets when used within groups.
let fruits = ["Apple", "Watermelon", "Orange", "Avocado", "Strawberry"]; // Selecting fruits that dose not start by 'A' by a /^[^A]/ regex. // In this example, two meanings of '^' control symbol are represented: // 1) Matching begining of the input // 2) A negated or complemented character set: [^A] // That is, it matches anything that is not enclosed in the brackets. let fruitsStartsWithNotA = fruits.filter(fruit => /^[^A]/.test(fruit)); console.log(fruitsStartsWithNotA); // [ 'Watermelon', 'Orange', 'Strawberry' ]
Matching a word boundary
let fruitsWithDescription = ["Red apple", "Orange orange", "Green Avocado"]; // Select descriptions that contains 'en' or 'ed' words endings: let enEdSelection = fruitsWithDescription.filter(descr => /(en|ed)\b/.test(descr)); console.log(enEdSelection); // [ 'Red apple', 'Green Avocado' ]
Lookahead assertion
// JS Lookahead assertion x(?=y) let regex = /First(?= test)/g; console.log('First test'.match(regex)); // [ 'First' ] console.log('First peach'.match(regex)); // null console.log('This is a First test in a year.'.match(regex)); // [ 'First' ] console.log('This is a First peach in a month.'.match(regex)); // null
Basic negative lookahead assertion
For example, /\d+(?!\.)/
matches a number only if it is not followed by a decimal point. /\d+(?!\.)/.exec('3.141')
matches "141" but not "3.
console.log(/\d+(?!\.)/g.exec('3.141')); // [ '141', index: 2, input: '3.141' ]
Different meaning of '?!' combination usage in Assertions and Ranges
Different meaning of ?!
combination usage in Assertions /x(?!y)/
and Ranges [^?!]
.
let orangeNotLemon = "Do you want to have an orange? Yes, I do not want to have a lemon!"; // Different meaning of '?!' combination usage in Assertions /x(?!y)/ and Ranges /[^?!]/ let selectNotLemonRegex = /[^?!]+have(?! a lemon)[^?!]+[?!]/gi console.log(orangeNotLemon.match(selectNotLemonRegex)); // [ 'Do you want to have an orange?' ] let selectNotOrangeRegex = /[^?!]+have(?! an orange)[^?!]+[?!]/gi console.log(orangeNotLemon.match(selectNotOrangeRegex)); // [ ' Yes, I do not want to have a lemon!' ]
Lookbehind assertion
let oranges = ['ripe orange A ', 'green orange B', 'ripe orange C',]; let ripe_oranges = oranges.filter( fruit => fruit.match(/(?<=ripe )orange/)); console.log(ripe_oranges); // [ 'ripe orange A ', 'ripe orange C' ]
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript (ECMA-262) The definition of 'RegExp: Assertions' in that specification. |
Browser compatibility
For browser compatibility information, check out the main Regular Expressions compatibility table.