content/snippets/js/s/6-regexp-tricks.md
---
title: 6 JavaScript Regular Expression features you can use today
shortTitle: JavaScript Regular Expression tips
type: story
language: javascript
tags: [string,regexp]
cover: taking-photos
excerpt: Learn how to effectively use JavaScript regular expressions with these 6 powerful features.
listed: true
dateModified: 2021-06-12
---
Regular expressions, while very powerful, are notoriously hard to master. Here are 6 useful features that can help you start using them in your JavaScript projects:
## Capturing groups
Capturing groups allow you to get specific parts of the matched string, simply by wrapping part of the regular expression in parentheses `(...)`:
```js
const str = 'JavaScript is a programming language';
/(JavaScript) is a (.*)/.exec(str);
/*
[
0: 'JavaScript is a programming language',
1: 'JavaScript',
2: 'programming language'
]
*/
```
## Non-capturing groups
Non-capturing groups are used for matching something without capturing it, like an either/or matching group that you do not really need. They are defined similarly to capturing groups, but prefixed with `?:`:
```js
const str = 'JavaScript is a programming language';
/(?:JavaScript|Python) is a (.+)/.exec(str);
/*
[
0: 'JavaScript is a programming language',
1: 'programming language'
]
*/
```
## Named capturing groups
Named capturing groups allow you to name a capturing group, by prefixing it with `<name>`:
```js
const str = 'JavaScript is a programming language';
/(?<subject>.+) is a (?<description>.+)/.exec(str);
/*
[
0: 'JavaScript is a programming language',
1: 'JavaScript',
2: 'programming language',
groups: {
subject: 'JavaScript,
description: 'programming language'
}
]
*/
```
## Capturing group backreferences
Backreferences help you write shorter regular expressions, by repeating an existing capturing group, using `\1`, `\2` etc. Similarly, you can also repeat named capturing groups using `\k<name>`:
```js
const str = 'JavaScript is a programming language - an awesome programming language JavaScript is';
/(.+) is a (?<description>.+) - an awesome \k<description> \1 is/.exec(str);
/*
[
0: 'JavaScript is a programming language - an awesome programming language JavaScript is',
1: 'JavaScript',
2: 'programming language',
groups: {
subject: 'JavaScript,
description: 'programming language'
}
]
*/
```
## Lookaheads
Lookaheads allow you to check if something is followed by a certain pattern, without actually matching it. You can create positive lookaheads using `?=` and negative lookaheads using `?!`:
```js
const str = 'JavaScript is not the same as Java and you should remember that';
/Java(?=Script)(.*)/.exec(str);
/*
[
0: 'JavaScript is not the same as Java and you should remember that',
1: 'Script is not the same as Java and you should remember that'
]
*/
/Java(?!Script)(.*)/.exec(str);
/*
[
0: 'Java and you should remember that',
1: ' and you should remember that'
]
*/
```
## Unicode characters
Finally, you can match unicode characters, using `/p{...}` and the `/u` flag. Examples include, but are not limited to `{Emoji}`, `{Math_Symbols}` and `{Script=Greek}`:
```js
const str = 'Greek looks like this: γεια';
/\p{Script=Greek}+/u.exec(str);
/*
[
0: 'γεια'
]
*/
```