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Common Regex Patterns

Regular expressions are powerful, but they can be complex to write. Here's a collection of commonly used patterns that you can use as building blocks for your own expressions.

Email Validation​

^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$

This pattern matches most common email addresses:

  • Username can contain letters, numbers, and certain special characters
  • Domain name follows standard rules
  • TLD must be at least 2 characters

URL Matching​

^(https?:\/\/)?([\da-z\.-]+)\.([a-z\.]{2,6})([\/\w \.-]*)*\/?$

This pattern matches web URLs:

  • Optional http:// or https:// prefix
  • Domain name with optional subdomains
  • TLD between 2-6 characters
  • Optional path components

Phone Numbers​

^\+?(\d{1,3})?[-. ]?\(?\d{3}\)?[-. ]?\d{3}[-. ]?\d{4}$

This pattern matches various phone number formats:

  • Optional country code with '+'
  • Area code with or without parentheses
  • Separators can be spaces, dots, or hyphens

Date Formats​

^(0?[1-9]|1[0-2])[\/\-](0?[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])[\/\-](19|20)\d{2}$

This pattern matches dates in MM/DD/YYYY format:

  • Months: 01-12 or 1-12
  • Days: 01-31 or 1-31
  • Years: 1900-2099
  • Separators can be / or -

Tips for Using These Patterns​

  1. Validation vs. Sanitization: Remember that regex validation should be part of a larger validation strategy
  2. Performance: Complex patterns can be computationally expensive
  3. Maintenance: Break down complex patterns into smaller, documented pieces
  4. Testing: Always test patterns with both valid and invalid inputs