Regex Toolkit
Test, find, replace, explain, and validate regular expressions. Includes 25+ common named patterns. Pure Python, no dependencies.
Quick Start
# Test a pattern
python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py test '\d+' --text 'abc 123 def'
# Use a named pattern (email, url, ipv4, phone-us, uuid, etc.)
python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py findall email --text 'Contact hello@example.com or support@test.org'
# Find all matches with positions
python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py findall '\b\w{5}\b' --file input.txt
# Search and replace
python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py replace '\bfoo\b' -r bar --text 'foo bar foo'
# Explain a regex in plain English
python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py explain '(?P<year>\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})'
# Validate regex syntax
python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py validate '[a-z'
# List all common patterns
python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py patterns --list
# Pipe from stdin
echo "Call 555-1234 or 555-5678" | python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py findall phone-us
Commands
| Command |
Description |
test |
Check if pattern matches. Shows first match position and groups. |
findall |
Find all matches with positions and captured groups. --json for JSON output. |
replace |
Regex search-and-replace. Supports \1 backreferences. --count N limits replacements. |
explain |
Break down a regex into plain-English explanation of each element. |
validate |
Check if a regex pattern is syntactically valid. |
patterns |
List built-in common patterns or show a specific one by name. |
Input Options
All matching commands accept: --text 'string', --file path, or piped stdin.
Flags
| Flag |
Description |
-i, --ignorecase |
Case-insensitive matching |
-m, --multiline |
^/$ match line boundaries |
-s, --dotall |
. matches newline |
Built-in Patterns
Use by name instead of writing regex: email, url, ipv4, ipv6, phone-us, phone-intl, date-iso, date-us, time-24h, hex-color, mac-address, uuid, ssn, zip-us, credit-card, slug, semver, domain, hashtag, mention, markdown-link, html-tag, json-key, filepath-unix, filepath-win.
1---2name: regex-toolkit-33description: Test, match, extract, replace, explain, and validate regular expressions from the command line. Includes a library of 25+ common patterns (email, URL, IP, phone, date, UUID, etc.) that can be used by name. Use when the user needs to build, debug, or test regex patterns, extract data with regex, do search-and-replace with backreferences, or understand what a regex does. Zero external dependencies.4---56# Regex Toolkit78Test, find, replace, explain, and validate regular expressions. Includes 25+ common named patterns. Pure Python, no dependencies.910## Quick Start1112```bash13# Test a pattern14python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py test '\d+' --text 'abc 123 def'1516# Use a named pattern (email, url, ipv4, phone-us, uuid, etc.)17python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py findall email --text 'Contact hello@example.com or support@test.org'1819# Find all matches with positions20python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py findall '\b\w{5}\b' --file input.txt2122# Search and replace23python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py replace '\bfoo\b' -r bar --text 'foo bar foo'2425# Explain a regex in plain English26python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py explain '(?P<year>\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})'2728# Validate regex syntax29python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py validate '[a-z'3031# List all common patterns32python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py patterns --list3334# Pipe from stdin35echo "Call 555-1234 or 555-5678" | python3 scripts/regex_toolkit.py findall phone-us36```3738## Commands3940| Command | Description |41|---------|-------------|42| `test` | Check if pattern matches. Shows first match position and groups. |43| `findall` | Find all matches with positions and captured groups. `--json` for JSON output. |44| `replace` | Regex search-and-replace. Supports `\1` backreferences. `--count N` limits replacements. |45| `explain` | Break down a regex into plain-English explanation of each element. |46| `validate` | Check if a regex pattern is syntactically valid. |47| `patterns` | List built-in common patterns or show a specific one by name. |4849## Input Options5051All matching commands accept: `--text 'string'`, `--file path`, or piped stdin.5253## Flags5455| Flag | Description |56|------|-------------|57| `-i, --ignorecase` | Case-insensitive matching |58| `-m, --multiline` | `^`/`$` match line boundaries |59| `-s, --dotall` | `.` matches newline |6061## Built-in Patterns6263Use by name instead of writing regex: `email`, `url`, `ipv4`, `ipv6`, `phone-us`, `phone-intl`, `date-iso`, `date-us`, `time-24h`, `hex-color`, `mac-address`, `uuid`, `ssn`, `zip-us`, `credit-card`, `slug`, `semver`, `domain`, `hashtag`, `mention`, `markdown-link`, `html-tag`, `json-key`, `filepath-unix`, `filepath-win`.
knownasnaffy