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/regex Command

The /regex command allows you to work with regular expressions (regex) directly in Discord and Slack. Regular expressions are powerful pattern matching tools used for text manipulation, validation, and searching.

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Available Subcommands

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/regex test

Tests if a regex pattern matches a text string.

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Usage

/regex test pattern: <regex pattern> text: <text to test>

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Options

OptionDescriptionRequiredPlatform
patternThe regex pattern to testYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —pattern)
textThe text to test against the patternYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —text)

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Example

/regex test pattern: ^[a-z]+$ text: hello

This will test if “hello” matches the pattern ”^[a-z]+$” (only lowercase letters).

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/regex match

Finds all matches of a regex pattern in text.

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Usage

/regex match pattern: <regex pattern> text: <text to search> [limit: <number>]

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Options

OptionDescriptionRequiredPlatform
patternThe regex pattern to matchYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —pattern)
textThe text to find matches inYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —text)
limitMaximum number of matches to return (default: 10)NoDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —limit)

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Example

/regex match pattern: \d+ text: There are 42 apples and 15 oranges

This will find all numbers in the text (“42” and “15”).

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/regex replace

Replaces text matching a regex pattern.

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Usage

/regex replace pattern: <regex pattern> text: <text to modify> replacement: <replacement text> [limit: <number>]

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Options

OptionDescriptionRequiredPlatform
patternThe regex pattern to matchYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —pattern)
textThe text to perform replacements onYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —text)
replacementThe replacement text (can include 1,1, 2 for captured groups)YesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —replacement)
limitMaximum number of replacements (0 for all, default: 0)NoDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —limit)

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Example

/regex replace pattern: (\w+)@example\.com text: Contact john@example.com or sarah@example.com replacement: $1@company.com

This will replace all email addresses with @example.com domain to @company.com while preserving the username part.

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/regex split

Splits text based on a regex pattern.

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Usage

/regex split pattern: <regex pattern> text: <text to split> [limit: <number>]

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Options

OptionDescriptionRequiredPlatform
patternThe regex pattern to split onYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —pattern)
textThe text to splitYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —text)
limitMaximum number of splits (0 for all, default: 0)NoDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —limit)

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Example

/regex split pattern: [,;] text: apple,banana;orange,grape

This will split the text on commas and semicolons, resulting in [“apple”, “banana”, “orange”, “grape”].

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/regex analyze

Analyzes a regex pattern and provides information about it.

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Usage

/regex analyze pattern: <regex pattern>

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Options

OptionDescriptionRequiredPlatform
patternThe regex pattern to analyzeYesDiscord (parameter), Slack (flag with —pattern)

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Example

/regex analyze pattern: ^(\d{3})-(\d{2})-(\d{4})$

This will analyze the pattern for a social security number format (###-##-####) and provide information about the components of the regex.

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Platform-Specific Implementation

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Discord Implementation

  • Uses Discord’s named parameter system (e.g., pattern:, text:, replacement:)
  • Responses appear as embedded messages with color-coding
  • Analysis results are displayed in an organized, hierarchical format
  • Test results use color-coded indicators for matches/non-matches

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Slack Implementation

  • Uses a flag-based approach for parameters (e.g., --pattern, --text, --replacement)
  • Arguments following flags that contain spaces should be enclosed in quotes
  • Responses are shown with formatted blocks displaying the result and related information
  • Test results use colored attachments to clearly indicate success or failure
  • Analysis results are split into manageable chunks if too large
  • Captured groups in matches are clearly labeled and formatted

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Common Regex Patterns

Here are some commonly used regex patterns:

PatternDescriptionExample
\d+One or more digits”123”, “42”
\w+One or more word characters (letters, digits, underscore)“hello_123”
[a-zA-Z]+One or more letters”HelloWorld”
^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$Email validation”user@example.com”
^(?=.*[A-Za-z])(?=.*\d)[A-Za-z\d]{8,}$Password with at least 8 characters, one letter and one number”password123”
^(https?:\/\/)?([\da-z\.-]+)\.([a-z\.]{2,6})([\/\w \.-]*)*\/?$URL validation”https://example.com”

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Using Captured Groups

Regular expressions can capture parts of the matched text using parentheses (). These captured groups can be referenced in replacements using $1, $2, etc.

For example:

/regex replace pattern: (\w+):(\d+) text: score:42 lives:3 replacement: $1 = $2

This will convert “score:42 lives:3” to “score = 42 lives = 3”.

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Notes

  • Complex regular expressions may have performance implications
  • The regex engine uses Go’s standard library implementation
  • Invalid regex patterns will return appropriate error messages
  • Very long inputs or results may be truncated in the output

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