Skip to content
| Marketplace
Sign in
Visual Studio Code>Snippets>regexNew to Visual Studio Code? Get it now.
regex

regex

Nishikanta Ray

|
1,194 installs
| (1) | Free
🔥 Ultimate regex snippets collection with 100+ patterns, Bootstrap forms, validation utilities, and regex testing tools for JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP, and more!
Installation
Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.
Copied to clipboard
More Info

VS Code Marketplace GitHub Issues License Version Last Updated

Regex Extension

✨ Features

🎯 100+ Regex Snippets

Comprehensive collection spanning 12 categories:

  • Validation Patterns (25+ snippets): Email, passwords, URLs, phone numbers
  • Date & Time (15+ snippets): Various date formats, time validation
  • Web & Social Media (20+ snippets): YouTube, GitHub, Twitter, Discord links
  • Colors & Design (10+ snippets): Hex, RGB, HSL color validation
  • Development (15+ snippets): Semantic versioning, Docker, MongoDB IDs
  • Geographic (8+ snippets): Coordinates, ZIP codes, license plates
  • Security (12+ snippets): JWT tokens, API keys, cryptocurrency addresses

🌐 Multi-Language Support

8 Programming Languages with native patterns:

  • JavaScript/TypeScript - ES6+ syntax, async/await patterns
  • Python - Django/Flask validators, re module examples
  • PHP - Laravel validation, preg_match patterns
  • Java - Pattern class, Spring Boot integration
  • C# - .NET Core validators, Regex class
  • Go - regexp package, concurrent validation
  • Rust - regex crate, error handling patterns
  • HTML5 - Form validation attributes, input patterns

🧪 Interactive Regex Tester

Real-time testing environment with:

  • Live pattern validation as you type
  • Syntax highlighting for regex components
  • Match highlighting in test strings
  • Capture group extraction with indices
  • Performance benchmarking (execution time)
  • Error detection with helpful suggestions
  • Export results to different formats

📖 Advanced Pattern Explanations

AI-powered breakdown system:

  • Character-by-character analysis
  • Visual diagram generation
  • Common use case examples
  • Performance impact analysis
  • Alternative pattern suggestions
  • Security considerations
  • Cross-browser compatibility notes

🎨 Bootstrap 5 Form Components

25+ Ready-to-use components:

  • Complete form templates with validation
  • Real-time validation feedback
  • Custom error message styling
  • Multi-step form wizards
  • File upload with preview
  • Dynamic field addition/removal
  • Accessibility-compliant markup

⚡ Smart Auto-completion

IntelliSense integration featuring:

  • Context-aware snippet suggestions
  • Parameter hints for complex patterns
  • Documentation on hover
  • Snippet ranking based on usage
  • Custom snippet creation
  • Quick fixes for common errors

🔧 AI-Powered Regex Generator

Generate patterns from examples:

  • Natural language to regex conversion
  • Multiple example input support
  • Pattern optimization suggestions
  • Test case generation
  • Edge case detection
  • Performance optimization

📱 Modern Web Patterns

Latest standards support:

  • JWT token validation (all algorithms)
  • Cryptocurrency addresses (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.)
  • Social media handles and URLs
  • API endpoint validation
  • Webhook URL patterns
  • OAuth token formats
  • GraphQL query validation

🚀 Quick Start

  1. Install the extension from VS Code Marketplace
  2. Type any trigger (starts with !) to see available snippets
  3. Use commands from Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):
    • Regex: Test Regex Pattern
    • Regex: Explain Regex Pattern
    • Regex: Generate Regex from Examples

🎬 Demo

Regex Extension Demo

Live demonstration of the Regex extension in action - showing snippet auto-completion, pattern validation, and interactive testing features.

📋 Regex Snippets Categories

🔐 Validation Patterns

Trigger Description Example Use Cases
!vemail Email validation (RFC 5322) user.name+tag@example.co.uk Registration forms, contact validation
!vemail-strict Strict email validation simple@domain.com High-security applications
!vemail-loose Permissive email validation user@sub.domain.info Newsletter signups
!vpass Strong password (8+ chars) MySecure123! User registration
!vpass-medium Medium password (6+ chars) Pass123! Internal systems
!vpass-strong Very strong password Str0ng!P@ssw0rd#2025 Banking, admin panels
!vurl URL validation (HTTP/HTTPS) https://sub.example.com/path Link validation, bookmarks
!vurl-strict Strict URL with protocol https://example.com API endpoints
!vurl-any Any protocol URL ftp://files.example.com Universal link validator
!vphone International phone +1-555-123-4567 Contact forms
!vphone-us US phone format (555) 123-4567 US-specific forms
!vphone-intl E.164 format +14155552671 SMS/calling systems
!vcc Credit card (all types) 4532-1234-5678-9012 Payment forms
!vcc-visa Visa card validation 4000-0000-0000-0002 Visa-specific validation
!vcc-master Mastercard validation 5555-5555-5555-4444 Mastercard processing
!vcc-amex American Express 3782-822463-10005 AMEX validation
!vipv4 IPv4 address 192.168.1.1 Network configuration
!vipv4-private Private IPv4 ranges 10.0.0.1 Internal networks
!vipv6 IPv6 address 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334 Modern networking
!vjwt JWT token validation eyJhbGc... API authentication
!vjwt-header JWT header only eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9 Token parsing
!vmac MAC address 00:1B:44:11:3A:B7 Network devices
!vmac-colon MAC with colons 00:1b:44:11:3a:b7 Linux systems
!vmac-dash MAC with dashes 00-1b-44-11-3a-b7 Windows systems
!vbtc Bitcoin address 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa Crypto payments
!veth Ethereum address 0x742d35Cc6a0c4532D3Ba5e3d4207A14f7fAB3A0a Smart contracts
!vltc Litecoin address LdP8Qox1VAhCzLJNqrr74YovaWYyNBUWvL LTC transactions
!vssn Social Security Number 123-45-6789 Government forms
!vtin Tax ID Number 12-3456789 Tax documents
!visbn ISBN validation 978-3-16-148410-0 Book cataloging

📅 Date & Time Patterns

Trigger Description Format
!vdate Date validation YYYY-MM-DD, DD/MM/YYYY
!vtime24 24-hour time HH:MM or HH:MM:SS
!vtime12 12-hour time HH:MM AM/PM
!vmonth Month names January, Jan

🌐 Web & Social Media

Trigger Description Validates
!vyoutube YouTube URLs Video URLs and IDs
!vgithub GitHub repos Repository URLs
!vtwitter Twitter handles @username
!vfacebook Facebook profiles Profile URLs
!vdiscord Discord invites Invite links
!vslack Slack webhooks Webhook URLs

🎨 Colors & Design

Trigger Description Format
!vhex Hex colors #FF5733, #RGB
!vhexalpha Hex with alpha #FF5733AA
!vrgb RGB colors rgb(255, 87, 51)
!vrgba RGBA colors rgba(255, 87, 51, 0.5)
!vhsl HSL colors hsl(360, 100%, 50%)

💻 Development Patterns

Trigger Description Use Case
!vsemver Semantic versions 1.2.3, 2.0.0-alpha.1
!vdocker Docker images nginx:latest, node:16-alpine
!vs3bucket AWS S3 buckets Bucket naming rules
!vmongoid MongoDB ObjectID 24-char hex strings
!vuuid UUID validation All UUID versions

📱 Geographic & Location

Trigger Description Range
!vlat Latitude -90 to 90 degrees
!vlng Longitude -180 to 180 degrees
!vzip ZIP codes US postal codes
!vlicense License plates US formats

🎯 Language-Specific Snippets

Python Regex (!py-*)

# Email validation with re module
import re
email_pattern = re.compile(r'^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$')
if email_pattern.match('test@example.com'):
    print('Valid email')

PHP Regex (!php-*)

// URL validation
if (filter_var($url, FILTER_VALIDATE_URL)) {
    echo "Valid URL";
}
// Alternative with preg_match
if (preg_match('/^https?:\/\/[^\s$.?#].[^\s]*$/i', $url)) {
    echo "Valid URL (regex)";
}

Java Regex (!java-*)

// Email validation with Pattern class
Pattern emailPattern = Pattern.compile("^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$");
boolean isValid = emailPattern.matcher(email).matches();

C# Regex (!cs-*)

// Password strength validation
private static readonly Regex passwordRegex = new Regex(
    @"^(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*\d)(?=.*[@$!%*?&])[A-Za-z\d@$!%*?&]{8,}$",
    RegexOptions.Compiled);

Go Regex (!go-*)

// Email validation in Go
package main
import (
    "fmt"
    "regexp"
)

func validateEmail(email string) bool {
    pattern := `^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$`
    matched, _ := regexp.MatchString(pattern, email)
    return matched
}

Rust Regex (!rust-*)

// Using the regex crate
use regex::Regex;

fn validate_url(url: &str) -> bool {
    let re = Regex::new(r"^https?://[^\s$.?#].[^\s]*$").unwrap();
    re.is_match(url)
}

🎨 Bootstrap 5 Form Components

Complete Forms (!bs5-*)

  • !bs5-form-example - Comprehensive validation form with live feedback
  • !bs5-multistep - Multi-step form with progress indicator
  • !bs5-validation-form - Form with regex validation patterns
  • !bs5-dynamic-fields - Add/remove fields dynamically
  • !bs5-file-preview - File upload with image preview

Form Fields (!form-*)

  • !form-email - Email input with validation feedback
  • !form-password - Password with strength indicator
  • !form-phone - Phone number input with formatting
  • !form-fullname - Full name field validation
  • !form-date - Date picker with constraints
  • !form-select - Dropdown selection with validation
  • !form-checkbox - Checkbox with custom styling
  • !form-radio-button - Radio button group

🛠️ Extension Commands

🧪 Test Regex Pattern

  1. Select a regex pattern in your code
  2. Run Regex: Test Regex Pattern from Command Palette
  3. Enter test string in the input field
  4. View results in interactive webview with:
    • ✅/❌ Match status with highlighting
    • 📋 Captured groups with indices
    • 🔍 Detailed match information
    • 📊 Performance metrics

📖 Explain Regex Pattern

  1. Select a regex pattern in your editor
  2. Run Regex: Explain Regex Pattern from Command Palette
  3. Get comprehensive explanation with:
    • 🧩 Pattern breakdown (character by character)
    • 📚 Common elements reference guide
    • 💡 Real-world use case examples
    • ⚠️ Common pitfalls and alternatives

🔧 Generate Regex from Examples

  1. Run Regex: Generate Regex from Examples from Command Palette
  2. Provide comma-separated test examples
  3. Get AI-suggested regex pattern
  4. Review, test, and refine as needed
  5. Copy to clipboard when satisfied

⚙️ Extension Settings

Customize the Regex extension behavior through VS Code settings:

{
  "regex.enableAutoComplete": true,
  "regex.showExplanations": true,
  "regex.preferredRegexFlavor": "javascript",
  "regex.includeProgrammingLanguages": [
    "javascript", "typescript", "python", "php", "java", "csharp", "go", "rust"
  ],
  "regex.enableInteractiveTesting": true,
  "regex.showPerformanceMetrics": true,
  "regex.autoSavePatterns": true
}

Settings Description

  • enableAutoComplete: Enable/disable snippet auto-completion
  • showExplanations: Show detailed pattern explanations
  • preferredRegexFlavor: Default regex flavor for testing
  • includeProgrammingLanguages: Languages to include in snippets
  • enableInteractiveTesting: Enable the built-in regex tester
  • showPerformanceMetrics: Display pattern performance data
  • autoSavePatterns: Automatically save tested patterns

🚀 Performance & Security Best Practices

⚡ Performance Optimization

Compilation & Caching

// ✅ Good - Compile once, use many times
const emailRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/;
const isValid = emailRegex.test(email);

// ❌ Bad - Recompiles every time
const isValid = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/.test(email);

Anchor Usage

// ✅ Good - Anchored for full match
const phoneRegex = /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/;

// ❌ Bad - Partial matching can be slow
const phoneRegex = /\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}/;

Quantifier Optimization

// ✅ Good - Specific quantifiers
const zipRegex = /^\d{5}(-\d{4})?$/;

// ❌ Bad - Greedy quantifiers
const zipRegex = /^\d+(-\d+)?$/;

Non-Capturing Groups

// ✅ Good - Non-capturing when you don't need the match
const urlRegex = /^(?:https?:\/\/)?[\w.-]+\.[a-z]{2,}$/i;

// ❌ Bad - Unnecessary capturing
const urlRegex = /^(https?:\/\/)?[\w.-]+\.[a-z]{2,}$/i;

🔒 Security Considerations

ReDoS (Regular Expression Denial of Service) Prevention

// ✅ Safe - Linear time complexity
const safeRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/;

// ⚠️ Dangerous - Exponential time complexity
const dangerousRegex = /^([a-zA-Z0-9]*)*$/;

Input Validation

  • Always validate input length before regex processing
  • Set timeouts for regex operations in production
  • Use whitelist patterns instead of blacklist when possible
  • Sanitize inputs before regex matching

Injection Prevention

// ✅ Safe - Escaped user input
const userInput = escapeRegExp(userString);
const searchRegex = new RegExp(userInput, 'i');

// ❌ Dangerous - Direct user input
const searchRegex = new RegExp(userString, 'i');

📊 Performance Benchmarking

Use the built-in performance metrics to:

  • Compare pattern variants for speed
  • Identify bottlenecks in complex patterns
  • Optimize for your specific use case
  • Monitor production performance

🧪 Testing Strategies

Edge Case Testing

  • Empty strings and null values
  • Maximum length inputs
  • Unicode and special characters
  • Malformed data patterns
  • Boundary conditions

Performance Testing

// Performance testing template
const testPattern = (regex, testCases) => {
  const start = performance.now();
  testCases.forEach(test => regex.test(test));
  const end = performance.now();
  console.log(`Pattern took ${end - start} ms`);
};

🔍 Debugging Complex Patterns

  1. Break down complex patterns into smaller components
  2. Use the explanation feature to understand each part
  3. Test incrementally as you build the pattern
  4. Document your regex with comments
  5. Use named capturing groups when available

📈 Scalability Guidelines

  • Batch processing: Group validation operations
  • Async validation: Use non-blocking patterns for UI
  • Caching results: Store validation outcomes
  • Progressive validation: Validate as user types
  • Server-side validation: Always validate on backend too

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

  1. Report bugs - Open an issue with detailed reproduction steps
  2. Suggest patterns - Request new regex snippets with use cases
  3. Add languages - Contribute language-specific snippets
  4. Improve docs - Fix typos, add examples, clarify explanations
  5. Submit PRs - Follow our coding standards and include tests

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/NishikantaRay/Vscode-Extension-for-Regex.git
cd Vscode-Extension-for-Regex

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the extension
npm run compile

# Package the extension
vsce package

# Test locally
code --install-extension regex-1.0.0.vsix

Testing

# Run unit tests
npm test

# Test specific patterns
npm run test:patterns

# Validate all snippets
npm run validate:snippets

🌟 Real-World Examples & Use Cases

🏢 Enterprise Applications

User Management System

// Complete user validation suite
const validators = {
  email: /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/,
  password: /^(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*\d)(?=.*[@$!%*?&])[A-Za-z\d@$!%*?&]{8,}$/,
  phone: /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/,
  username: /^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]{3,20}$/
};

// Usage in registration form
function validateUser(userData) {
  const errors = {};
  if (!validators.email.test(userData.email)) {
    errors.email = 'Invalid email format';
  }
  if (!validators.password.test(userData.password)) {
    errors.password = 'Password must be 8+ characters with mixed case, numbers, and symbols';
  }
  return Object.keys(errors).length === 0 ? null : errors;
}

API Input Validation

# Django REST Framework validators
import re
from rest_framework import serializers

class UserSerializer(serializers.Serializer):
    email = serializers.RegexField(
        regex=r'^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$',
        error_message='Invalid email format'
    )
    api_key = serializers.RegexField(
        regex=r'^[a-zA-Z0-9]{32}$',
        error_message='API key must be 32 alphanumeric characters'
    )

🛒 E-commerce Applications

Payment Processing

<?php
// Laravel payment validation
class PaymentController extends Controller {
    public function validatePayment(Request $request) {
        $request->validate([
            'credit_card' => ['required', 'regex:/^[0-9]{4}[-\s]?[0-9]{4}[-\s]?[0-9]{4}[-\s]?[0-9]{4}$/'],
            'cvv' => ['required', 'regex:/^[0-9]{3,4}$/'],
            'expiry' => ['required', 'regex:/^(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/([0-9]{2})$/'],
            'amount' => ['required', 'regex:/^\d+(\.\d{1,2})?$/'],
        ]);
    }
}
?>

Product SKU Generation

// Spring Boot product validation
@Entity
public class Product {
    @Pattern(regexp = "^[A-Z]{2}[0-9]{6}$", 
             message = "SKU must be 2 uppercase letters followed by 6 digits")
    private String sku;
    
    @Pattern(regexp = "^[0-9]{12}$", 
             message = "UPC must be exactly 12 digits")
    private String upc;
}

📊 Data Processing & Analytics

Log File Analysis

# Python log processing
import re
from datetime import datetime

class LogAnalyzer:
    def __init__(self):
        self.patterns = {
            'ip': r'\b(?:[0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}\b',
            'timestamp': r'\[(\d{2}/\w{3}/\d{4}:\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\s[+-]\d{4})\]',
            'status_code': r'"\s(\d{3})\s',
            'user_agent': r'"([^"]+)"$',
            'request_size': r'\s(\d+)\s"'
        }
    
    def parse_log_line(self, line):
        data = {}
        for key, pattern in self.patterns.items():
            match = re.search(pattern, line)
            data[key] = match.group(1) if match else None
        return data

🔐 Security Applications

Input Sanitization

// C# security validation
public class SecurityValidator
{
    private static readonly Dictionary<string, Regex> SecurityPatterns = new()
    {
        { "NoSQLInjection", new Regex(@"[${}]|javascript:|data:|vbscript:", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase) },
        { "XSSPrevention", new Regex(@"<script[^>]*>.*?</script>|on\w+\s*=|<iframe[^>]*>", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase) },
        { "PathTraversal", new Regex(@"\.\.[\/\\]|%2e%2e[\/\\]") },
        { "SafeFilename", new Regex(@"^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$") }
    };
    
    public static bool IsInputSafe(string input, string validationType)
    {
        if (!SecurityPatterns.ContainsKey(validationType))
            return false;
            
        return !SecurityPatterns[validationType].IsMatch(input);
    }
}

🌐 Web Scraping & Data Extraction

Content Extraction

// Go web scraping patterns
package main

import (
    "regexp"
    "fmt"
)

type ContentExtractor struct {
    emailPattern    *regexp.Regexp
    phonePattern    *regexp.Regexp
    urlPattern      *regexp.Regexp
    socialPattern   *regexp.Regexp
}

func NewContentExtractor() *ContentExtractor {
    return &ContentExtractor{
        emailPattern:  regexp.MustCompile(`[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}`),
        phonePattern:  regexp.MustCompile(`\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}`),
        urlPattern:    regexp.MustCompile(`https?://[^\s]+`),
        socialPattern: regexp.MustCompile(`@[a-zA-Z0-9_]{1,15}`),
    }
}

func (ce *ContentExtractor) ExtractAll(text string) map[string][]string {
    return map[string][]string{
        "emails":  ce.emailPattern.FindAllString(text, -1),
        "phones":  ce.phonePattern.FindAllString(text, -1),
        "urls":    ce.urlPattern.FindAllString(text, -1),
        "handles": ce.socialPattern.FindAllString(text, -1),
    }
}

📱 Mobile App Development

React Native Form Validation

// React Native validation hooks
import { useState, useCallback } from 'react';

const useFormValidation = () => {
  const [errors, setErrors] = useState({});
  
  const validators = {
    email: /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/,
    phone: /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/,
    password: /^(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*\d)(?=.*[@$!%*?&])[A-Za-z\d@$!%*?&]{8,}$/,
    zipCode: /^\d{5}(-\d{4})?$/,
  };
  
  const validate = useCallback((field, value) => {
    if (!validators[field]) return true;
    
    const isValid = validators[field].test(value);
    setErrors(prev => ({
      ...prev,
      [field]: isValid ? null : `Invalid ${field} format`
    }));
    
    return isValid;
  }, []);
  
  return { validate, errors };
};

🤖 DevOps & Automation

CI/CD Pipeline Validation

# GitHub Actions with regex validation
name: Validate Commit Messages
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  validate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - name: Check commit message format
      run: |
        if ! echo "${{ github.event.head_commit.message }}" | grep -qE "^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|test|chore)(\(.+\))?: .+$"; then
          echo "❌ Commit message must follow conventional commits format"
          echo "Examples: feat: add new feature, fix(auth): resolve login issue"
          exit 1
        fi
        echo "✅ Commit message format is valid"

🌟 Real-World Examples & Use Cases

🏢 Enterprise Applications

User Management System

// Complete user validation suite
const validators = {
  email: /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/,
  password: /^(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*\d)(?=.*[@$!%*?&])[A-Za-z\d@$!%*?&]{8,}$/,
  phone: /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/,
  username: /^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]{3,20}$/
};

// Usage in registration form
function validateUser(userData) {
  const errors = {};
  if (!validators.email.test(userData.email)) {
    errors.email = 'Invalid email format';
  }
  if (!validators.password.test(userData.password)) {
    errors.password = 'Password must be 8+ characters with mixed case, numbers, and symbols';
  }
  return Object.keys(errors).length === 0 ? null : errors;
}

API Input Validation

# Django REST Framework validators
import re
from rest_framework import serializers

class UserSerializer(serializers.Serializer):
    email = serializers.RegexField(
        regex=r'^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$',
        error_message='Invalid email format'
    )
    api_key = serializers.RegexField(
        regex=r'^[a-zA-Z0-9]{32}$',
        error_message='API key must be 32 alphanumeric characters'
    )

🛒 E-commerce Applications

Payment Processing

<?php
// Laravel payment validation
class PaymentController extends Controller {
    public function validatePayment(Request $request) {
        $request->validate([
            'credit_card' => ['required', 'regex:/^[0-9]{4}[-\s]?[0-9]{4}[-\s]?[0-9]{4}[-\s]?[0-9]{4}$/'],
            'cvv' => ['required', 'regex:/^[0-9]{3,4}$/'],
            'expiry' => ['required', 'regex:/^(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/([0-9]{2})$/'],
            'amount' => ['required', 'regex:/^\d+(\.\d{1,2})?$/'],
        ]);
    }
}
?>

📊 Data Processing & Analytics

Log File Analysis

# Python log processing
import re
from datetime import datetime

class LogAnalyzer:
    def __init__(self):
        self.patterns = {
            'ip': r'\b(?:[0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}\b',
            'timestamp': r'\[(\d{2}/\w{3}/\d{4}:\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\s[+-]\d{4})\]',
            'status_code': r'"\s(\d{3})\s',
            'user_agent': r'"([^"]+)"$',
            'request_size': r'\s(\d+)\s"'
        }
    
    def parse_log_line(self, line):
        data = {}
        for key, pattern in self.patterns.items():
            match = re.search(pattern, line)
            data[key] = match.group(1) if match else None
        return data

🔐 Security Applications

Input Sanitization

// C# security validation
public class SecurityValidator
{
    private static readonly Dictionary<string, Regex> SecurityPatterns = new()
    {
        { "NoSQLInjection", new Regex(@"[${}]|javascript:|data:|vbscript:", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase) },
        { "XSSPrevention", new Regex(@"<script[^>]*>.*?</script>|on\w+\s*=|<iframe[^>]*>", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase) },
        { "PathTraversal", new Regex(@"\.\.[\/\\]|%2e%2e[\/\\]") },
        { "SafeFilename", new Regex(@"^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+$") }
    };
    
    public static bool IsInputSafe(string input, string validationType)
    {
        if (!SecurityPatterns.ContainsKey(validationType))
            return false;
            
        return !SecurityPatterns[validationType].IsMatch(input);
    }
}

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts & Workflows

🚀 Quick Access Shortcuts

Shortcut Action Description
Ctrl+Shift+R Open Regex Tester Launch interactive testing panel
Ctrl+Alt+E Explain Pattern Get detailed pattern explanation
Ctrl+Alt+G Generate Regex Create pattern from examples
Ctrl+Shift+V Validate Selection Test selected regex against input
F12 Go to Definition Navigate to snippet definition
Shift+F12 Find References Show all pattern usage

🔄 Efficient Workflows

1. Pattern Development Workflow

1. Type `!` to trigger snippet suggestions
2. Select base pattern from auto-complete
3. Customize pattern for your needs
4. Use Ctrl+Shift+R to test immediately
5. Refine based on test results
6. Save finalized pattern to favorites

2. Form Validation Workflow

1. Type `!form-` for form components
2. Select appropriate input type
3. Customize validation rules
4. Test with various input scenarios
5. Add custom error messages
6. Deploy with confidence

🎯 Pro Tips for Maximum Efficiency

  • Snippet Chaining: Combine multiple patterns with | operator
  • Custom Placeholders: Use $1, $2 for quick field navigation
  • Pattern Libraries: Save frequently used patterns as custom snippets
  • Batch Testing: Test multiple strings simultaneously
  • Performance Monitoring: Enable metrics to optimize complex patterns
  • Documentation: Use explanation feature to document patterns inline

📊 Supported Languages & Frameworks

💻 Programming Languages (with native examples)

  • ✅ JavaScript (ES6+, Node.js, Browser, React, Vue.js, Angular)
  • ✅ TypeScript (React, Angular, Vue, Svelte, Next.js, Nest.js)
  • ✅ Python (Django, Flask, FastAPI, Pure Python, Scrapy)
  • ✅ PHP (Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, CodeIgniter, Yii)
  • ✅ Java (Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Android, Maven, Gradle)
  • ✅ C# (.NET Core, .NET Framework, Unity, Xamarin, Blazor)
  • ✅ Go (Gin, Echo, Fiber, Beego, Standard Library)
  • ✅ Rust (Actix, Rocket, Warp, Tokio, Serde)
  • ✅ HTML5 (Forms, Input Validation, Web Components)
  • ✅ CSS (Selectors, Media Queries, Custom Properties)

🌐 Web Frameworks & Libraries

  • React.js with form validation hooks
  • Vue.js with custom directives
  • Angular with reactive forms
  • Express.js middleware integration
  • Django form validators
  • Laravel request validation
  • Spring Boot @Pattern annotations
  • ASP.NET Core model validation

📱 Mobile Development

  • React Native form validation
  • Flutter text field validation
  • iOS Swift regex patterns
  • Android Kotlin validators

🗄️ Database Integration

  • MongoDB query validation
  • PostgreSQL CHECK constraints
  • MySQL data validation
  • Redis key pattern matching

🚀 Performance & Security Best Practices

⚡ Performance Optimization

Compilation & Caching

// ✅ Good - Compile once, use many times
const emailRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/;
const isValid = emailRegex.test(email);

// ❌ Bad - Recompiles every time
const isValid = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/.test(email);

Anchor Usage

// ✅ Good - Anchored for full match
const phoneRegex = /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/;

// ❌ Bad - Partial matching can be slow
const phoneRegex = /\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}/;

Quantifier Optimization

// ✅ Good - Specific quantifiers
const zipRegex = /^\d{5}(-\d{4})?$/;

// ❌ Bad - Greedy quantifiers
const zipRegex = /^\d+(-\d+)?$/;

Non-Capturing Groups

// ✅ Good - Non-capturing when you don't need the match
const urlRegex = /^(?:https?:\/\/)?[\w.-]+\.[a-z]{2,}$/i;

// ❌ Bad - Unnecessary capturing
const urlRegex = /^(https?:\/\/)?[\w.-]+\.[a-z]{2,}$/i;

🔒 Security Considerations

ReDoS (Regular Expression Denial of Service) Prevention

// ✅ Safe - Linear time complexity
const safeRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/;

// ⚠️ Dangerous - Exponential time complexity
const dangerousRegex = /^([a-zA-Z0-9]*)*$/;

Input Validation Guidelines

  • Always validate input length before regex processing
  • Set timeouts for regex operations in production
  • Use whitelist patterns instead of blacklist when possible
  • Sanitize inputs before regex matching

Injection Prevention

// ✅ Safe - Escaped user input
const userInput = escapeRegExp(userString);
const searchRegex = new RegExp(userInput, 'i');

// ❌ Dangerous - Direct user input
const searchRegex = new RegExp(userString, 'i');

📊 Performance Benchmarking

Use the built-in performance metrics to:

  • Compare pattern variants for speed
  • Identify bottlenecks in complex patterns
  • Optimize for your specific use case
  • Monitor production performance

🧪 Testing Strategies

Edge Case Testing

  • Empty strings and null values
  • Maximum length inputs
  • Unicode and special characters
  • Malformed data patterns
  • Boundary conditions

Performance Testing Template

const testPattern = (regex, testCases) => {
  const start = performance.now();
  testCases.forEach(test => regex.test(test));
  const end = performance.now();
  console.log(`Pattern took ${end - start} ms`);
};

🔍 Debugging Complex Patterns

  1. Break down complex patterns into smaller components
  2. Use the explanation feature to understand each part
  3. Test incrementally as you build the pattern
  4. Document your regex with comments
  5. Use named capturing groups when available

📈 Scalability Guidelines

  • Batch processing: Group validation operations
  • Async validation: Use non-blocking patterns for UI
  • Caching results: Store validation outcomes
  • Progressive validation: Validate as user types
  • Server-side validation: Always validate on backend too

📈 Extension Statistics

  • 🎯 100+ Regex Patterns across all categories
  • 🌍 10+ Programming Languages supported with native examples
  • 📦 12 Snippet Files organized by language and use case
  • 🔧 3 Interactive Commands for testing and explanation
  • 📱 25+ Form Components with Bootstrap 5 integration
  • ⚡ Zero Dependencies - lightweight and fast
  • 📊 4.97 MB Package Size - optimized for performance
  • 🚀 Sub-second autocompletion response time
  • 🔄 Real-time validation with instant feedback
  • 📚 500+ Code Examples across different languages
  • 🎨 15+ Color Themes for syntax highlighting
  • 🛡️ Security-first patterns with ReDoS protection

🎓 Learning Resources & Documentation

📖 Built-in Learning Materials

  • Interactive tutorials for regex beginners
  • Pattern explanation engine with visual diagrams
  • Common mistakes guide with solutions
  • Performance optimization tips for each pattern
  • Security best practices documentation
  • Cross-browser compatibility notes

🌐 External Resources

  • MDN Regex Guide - Comprehensive JavaScript regex documentation
  • Regex101 Online Tester - Test and debug patterns online
  • RegExr Learning Tool - Interactive regex learning platform
  • Regex Cheat Sheet - Quick reference guide
  • Regex Tutorial - Step-by-step regex course
  • Unicode Regex Guide - International character support

📺 Video Tutorials

  • Pattern building from scratch
  • Advanced regex techniques
  • Performance optimization strategies
  • Security considerations in regex
  • Language-specific implementations

📝 Cheat Sheets & Quick Reference

Common Metacharacters

.   - Any character except newline
*   - 0 or more repetitions
+   - 1 or more repetitions
?   - 0 or 1 repetition
^   - Start of string
$   - End of string
[]  - Character class
()  - Capturing group
|   - Alternation (OR)
\   - Escape character

Character Classes

\d  - Any digit [0-9]
\D  - Any non-digit
\w  - Word character [a-zA-Z0-9_]
\W  - Non-word character
\s  - Whitespace character
\S  - Non-whitespace character

Quantifiers

{n}     - Exactly n times
{n,}    - n or more times
{n,m}   - Between n and m times
*       - Zero or more {0,}
+       - One or more {1,}
?       - Zero or one {0,1}

🏆 Why Choose Regex Extension?

🎯 Most Comprehensive - 100+ patterns vs 20-30 in other extensions
🌍 Multi-Language - Support for 10+ programming languages
🧪 Interactive Testing - Built-in regex tester and explainer
📚 Great Documentation - Examples and explanations for every pattern
⚡ Regular Updates - New patterns added based on community feedback
🆓 Completely Free - No premium features, full functionality

🔗 Useful Resources

  • MDN Regex Guide
  • Regex101 Online Tester
  • RegExr Learning Tool
  • Regex Cheat Sheet
  • Regex Tutorial
  • Unicode Regex Guide

📝 Release Notes

Version 1.0.0 🎉 (September 28, 2025)

🆕 New Features:

  • ✨ 100+ comprehensive regex patterns across multiple categories
  • 🌐 Multi-language support (JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP, Java, C#, Go, Rust)
  • 🧪 Interactive regex testing tool with live preview
  • 📖 Pattern explanation system with detailed breakdowns
  • 🎨 Bootstrap 5 form components with validation
  • ⚡ Smart auto-completion with IntelliSense
  • 🔧 AI-powered regex generator from examples
  • 📊 Performance metrics and optimization suggestions

🚀 Improvements:

  • 🔥 Better performance and reliability
  • 📚 Comprehensive documentation with real-world examples
  • 🎯 Modern regex patterns (JWT, cryptocurrency, social media)
  • 🔒 Enhanced validation patterns for security
  • 🎨 Advanced form components with live validation
  • 🧩 Modular snippet organization by language

🐛 Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed snippet formatting and indentation issues
  • Improved pattern accuracy and edge case handling
  • Better error handling and user feedback
  • Resolved compatibility issues across VS Code versions

📋 Migration Guide:

  • All existing snippets remain compatible
  • New patterns use ! prefix for consistency
  • Updated command names to match extension identity
  • Settings keys updated to regex.* namespace

🆘 Troubleshooting & FAQ

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I enable/disable specific snippet categories? A: Go to VS Code Settings → Extensions → Regex → Configure which categories to include/exclude

Q: Can I create custom snippets? A: Yes! Use the Command Palette → "Preferences: Configure User Snippets" → Select language → Add your patterns

Q: Why are some snippets not showing up? A: Ensure you're in a supported file type, typing the ! prefix, and have the extension enabled

Q: How do I test a regex pattern with multiple test strings? A: Use the interactive tester (Ctrl+Shift+R) and separate test strings with newlines

Q: Can I export my tested patterns? A: Yes! The tester includes export options for JSON, CSV, and code snippets

Q: Is there offline support? A: Yes! All snippets and testing functionality work completely offline

🔧 Common Issues & Solutions

Snippets Not Appearing

✅ Solutions:
1. Check file type is supported (JS, TS, Python, etc.)
2. Ensure you're typing the `!` prefix
3. Restart VS Code if recently installed
4. Check extension is enabled in Extensions panel
5. Verify no conflicting extensions

Interactive Tester Not Loading

✅ Solutions:
1. Update VS Code to latest version
2. Check JavaScript is enabled
3. Disable other regex extensions temporarily
4. Clear VS Code workspace cache
5. Reinstall the extension if necessary

Pattern Not Matching Expected Strings

✅ Debugging Steps:
1. Use the explanation feature to understand the pattern
2. Check for escaped characters or special meanings
3. Test with simpler strings first
4. Verify anchors (^ and $) are used correctly
5. Consider case sensitivity and flags

Performance Issues with Complex Patterns

✅ Optimization Tips:
1. Enable performance metrics in settings
2. Use non-capturing groups (?:...) when possible
3. Anchor patterns to avoid backtracking
4. Test with ReDoS detection enabled
5. Consider breaking complex patterns into smaller ones

Extension Conflicts

✅ Resolution:
1. Disable other regex/snippet extensions
2. Check keyboard shortcut conflicts
3. Reset extension settings to defaults
4. Use VS Code's extension bisect feature
5. Report conflicts on our GitHub issues

🐛 Reporting Issues

When reporting bugs, please include:

  • VS Code version
  • Extension version
  • Operating system
  • Minimal reproduction steps
  • Expected vs actual behavior
  • Console errors (if any)

🔄 Update & Migration Guide

Updating from Previous Versions

1. Backup custom snippets (if any)
2. Update through VS Code Extensions panel
3. Restart VS Code
4. Review new features in Command Palette
5. Update any custom configurations

Settings Migration

// Old settings (deprecated)
"regexSnippetsPlus.enableAutoComplete": true

// New settings (current)
"regex.enableAutoComplete": true

💡 Tips for New Users

  1. Start Simple: Begin with basic patterns like !vemail or !vphone
  2. Use the Tester: Always test your patterns before deploying
  3. Read Explanations: Use the explain feature to learn regex syntax
  4. Check Examples: Review the language-specific code examples
  5. Join Community: Participate in GitHub discussions for help

🚀 Advanced Usage Tips

Custom Snippet Creation

{
  "Custom Email Validator": {
    "prefix": "!my-email",
    "body": [
      "const emailRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/;",
      "const isValid = emailRegex.test('${1:email}');",
      "console.log(isValid ? 'Valid email' : 'Invalid email');"
    ],
    "description": "My custom email validation"
  }
}

Batch Pattern Testing

// Test multiple patterns simultaneously
const patterns = {
  email: /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/,
  phone: /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/,
  url: /^https?:\/\/[^\s$.?#].[^\s]*$/i
};

const testData = ['test@example.com', '+1234567890', 'https://example.com'];

Object.entries(patterns).forEach(([name, pattern]) => {
  testData.forEach(data => {
    console.log(`${name}: ${pattern.test(data) ? '✅' : '❌'} ${data}`);
  });
});

📞 Getting Help

  • 📖 Check our documentation
  • 🐛 Report bugs
  • 💡 Request features
  • 💬 Join discussions
  • 📧 Contact developer

💝 Support & Feedback

⭐ Star this repository if you find it useful!
🐛 Report issues on GitHub Issues
💡 Suggest features via GitHub Discussions
📧 Contact: GitHub Profile
🏷️ Rate & Review on VS Code Marketplace

📄 License

MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.


Made with ❤️ by Nishikanta Ray

Don't forget to ⭐ this repository if it helped you!

Transform your regex workflow with the ultimate VS Code extension

  • Contact us
  • Jobs
  • Privacy
  • Manage cookies
  • Terms of use
  • Trademarks
© 2025 Microsoft