RegExp.prototype.test()

The test() method executes a search for a match between a regular expression and a specified string. Returns true or false.

Syntax

JavaScript
<var>regexObj</var>.test(<var>str</var>)

Parameters

str
The string against which to match the regular expression.

Returns

true if there is a match between the regular expression and the specified string; otherwise, false.

Description

Use test() whenever you want to know whether a pattern is found in a string (similar to the String.prototype.search() method, difference is that test returns a boolean, whilst search returns the index (if found) or -1 if not found); for more information (but slower execution) use the exec() method (similar to the String.prototype.match() method). As with exec() (or in combination with it), test() called multiple times on the same global regular expression instance will advance past the previous match.

Examples

Using test()

Simple example that tests if "hello" is contained at the very beginning of a string, returning a boolean result.

JavaScript
var str = "hello world!";
var result = /^hello/.test(str);
console.log(result); // true

The following example logs a message which depends on the success of the test:

JavaScript
function testinput(re, str){
  var midstring;
  if (re.test(str)) {
    midstring = ' contains ';
  } else {
    midstring = ' does not contain ';
  }
  console.log(str + midstring + re.source);
}

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
ECMAScript 3rd Edition (ECMA-262) Standard Initial definition. Implemented in JavaScript 1.2.
ECMAScript 5.1 (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'RegExp.test' in that specification.
Standard  
ECMAScript 2015 (6th Edition, ECMA-262)
The definition of 'RegExp.test' in that specification.
Standard  
ECMAScript 2017 Draft (ECMA-262)
The definition of 'RegExp.test' in that specification.
Draft  

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)
Feature Android Chrome for Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes) (Yes)

Gecko-specific notes

Prior to Gecko 8.0 (Firefox 8.0 / Thunderbird 8.0 / SeaMonkey 2.5), test() was implemented incorrectly; when it was called with no parameters, it would match against the value of the previous input (RegExp.input property) instead of against the string "undefined". This is fixed; now /undefined/.test() correctly results in true, instead of an error.

See also

License

© 2016 Mozilla Contributors
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-us/docs/web/javascript/reference/global_objects/regexp/test

JavaScript Method Prototype Reference RegExp Regular Expressions