RegEx Class |
A regular expression (or regex) is a compact language that can be used to recognise strings that follow a specific pattern, such as URLs, email addresses, complete sentences, etc. For instance, a regex of ab[0-9] would find any string that is ab followed by any number from 0 to 9. For a more in-depth look, you can easily find various tutorials and detailed explanations on the Internet.
To begin, the RegEx object needs to be compiled with the search pattern using Compile(String) before it can be used.
var regex = RegEx.new() regex.compile("\\w-(\\d+)")
The search pattern must be escaped first for GDScript before it is escaped for the expression. For example, compile("\\d+") would be read by RegEx as \d+. Similarly, compile("\"(?:\\\\.|[^\"])*\"") would be read as "(?:\\.|[^"])*".
Using Search(String, Int32, Int32), you can find the pattern within the given text. If a pattern is found, RegExMatch is returned and you can retrieve details of the results using methods such as GetString(Object) and GetStart(Object).
var regex = RegEx.new() regex.compile("\\w-(\\d+)") var result = regex.search("abc n-0123") if result: print(result.get_string()) # Would print n-0123
The results of capturing groups () can be retrieved by passing the group number to the various methods in RegExMatch. Group 0 is the default and will always refer to the entire pattern. In the above example, calling result.get_string(1) would give you 0123.
This version of RegEx also supports named capturing groups, and the names can be used to retrieve the results. If two or more groups have the same name, the name would only refer to the first one with a match.
var regex = RegEx.new() regex.compile("d(?<digit>[0-9]+)|x(?<digit>[0-9a-f]+)") var result = regex.search("the number is x2f") if result: print(result.get_string("digit")) # Would print 2f
If you need to process multiple results, SearchAll(String, Int32, Int32) generates a list of all non-overlapping results. This can be combined with a for loop for convenience.
for result in regex.search_all("d01, d03, d0c, x3f and x42"): print(result.get_string("digit")) # Would print 01 03 0 3f 42
Example of splitting a string using a RegEx:
var regex = RegEx.new() regex.compile("\\S+") # Negated whitespace character class. var results = [] for result in regex.search_all("One Two \n\tThree"): results.push_back(result.get_string()) # The `results` array now contains "One", "Two", "Three".
Note: Godot's regex implementation is based on the PCRE2 library. You can view the full pattern reference here.
Tip: You can use Regexr to test regular expressions online.
Inheritance HierarchyNamespace: Godot
Assembly: GodotSharp (in GodotSharp.dll) Version: 1.0.0
Syntaxpublic class RegEx : Reference
The RegEx type exposes the following members.
ConstructorsProperties| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
 | DynamicObject |
Gets a new DynamicGodotObject associated with this instance.
(Inherited from Object.) |
| NativeInstance | (Inherited from Object.) |
Methods| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
 | _Get | Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of Get(String). Returns the given property. Returns null if the property does not exist. |
| _GetPropertyList | Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of GetPropertyList. Returns the object's property list as an Array of dictionaries. Each property's Dictionary must contain at least name: String and type: int (see VariantType) entries. Optionally, it can also include hint: int (see PropertyHint), hint_string: String, and usage: int (see PropertyUsageFlags). |
| _Notification | Called whenever the object receives a notification, which is identified in what by a constant. The base Object has two constants and , but subclasses such as Node define a lot more notifications which are also received by this method. |
| _Set | Virtual method which can be overridden to customize the return value of Set(String, Object). Sets a property. Returns true if the property exists. |
| AddUserSignal | Adds a user-defined signal. Arguments are optional, but can be added as an Array of dictionaries, each containing name: String and type: int (see VariantType) entries. |
| Call | Calls the method on the object and returns the result. This method supports a variable number of arguments, so parameters are passed as a comma separated list. Example: call("set", "position", Vector2(42.0, 0.0)) Note: In C#, the method name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined methods where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase). |
| CallDeferred | Calls the method on the object during idle time. This method supports a variable number of arguments, so parameters are passed as a comma separated list. Example: call_deferred("set", "position", Vector2(42.0, 0.0)) Note: In C#, the method name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined methods where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase). |
| Callv | Calls the method on the object and returns the result. Contrarily to Call(String, Object), this method does not support a variable number of arguments but expects all parameters to be via a single Array. callv("set", [ "position", Vector2(42.0, 0.0) ]) |
| CanTranslateMessages | Returns true if the object can translate strings. See SetMessageTranslation(Boolean) and Tr(String). |
| Clear | This method resets the state of the object, as if it was freshly created. Namely, it unassigns the regular expression of this object. |
| Compile | Compiles and assign the search pattern to use. Returns if the compilation is successful. If an error is encountered, details are printed to standard output and an error is returned. |
| Connect | Connects a signal to a method on a target object. Pass optional binds to the call as an Array of parameters. These parameters will be passed to the method after any parameter used in the call to EmitSignal(String, Object). Use flags to set deferred or one-shot connections. See ObjectConnectFlags constants. A signal can only be connected once to a method. It will throw an error if already connected, unless the signal was connected with . To avoid this, first, use IsConnected(String, Object, String) to check for existing connections. If the target is destroyed in the game's lifecycle, the connection will be lost. Examples: connect("pressed", self, "_on_Button_pressed") # BaseButton signal connect("text_entered", self, "_on_LineEdit_text_entered") # LineEdit signal connect("hit", self, "_on_Player_hit", [ weapon_type, damage ]) # User-defined signal An example of the relationship between binds passed to Connect(String, Object, String, Array, UInt32) and parameters used when calling EmitSignal(String, Object): connect("hit", self, "_on_Player_hit", [ weapon_type, damage ]) # weapon_type and damage are passed last emit_signal("hit", "Dark lord", 5) # "Dark lord" and 5 are passed first func _on_Player_hit(hit_by, level, weapon_type, damage): print("Hit by %s (lvl %d) with weapon %s for %d damage" % [hit_by, level, weapon_type, damage]) |
| Disconnect | Disconnects a signal from a method on the given target. If you try to disconnect a connection that does not exist, the method will throw an error. Use IsConnected(String, Object, String) to ensure that the connection exists. |
| Dispose | (Inherited from Object.) |
 | Dispose(Boolean) | (Inherited from Object.) |
| EmitSignal | Emits the given signal. The signal must exist, so it should be a built-in signal of this class or one of its parent classes, or a user-defined signal. This method supports a variable number of arguments, so parameters are passed as a comma separated list. Example: emit_signal("hit", weapon_type, damage) emit_signal("game_over") |
| Equals | (Inherited from Object.) |
| Finalize | (Inherited from Object.) |
| Free | Deletes the object from memory immediately. For Nodes, you may want to use QueueFree to queue the node for safe deletion at the end of the current frame. Important: If you have a variable pointing to an object, it will not be assigned to null once the object is freed. Instead, it will point to a previously freed instance and you should validate it with @GDScript.is_instance_valid before attempting to call its methods or access its properties. |
| Get | Returns the Variant value of the given property. If the property doesn't exist, this will return null. Note: In C#, the property name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined properties where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase). |
| GetClass | Returns the object's class as a String. |
| GetGroupCount | Returns the number of capturing groups in compiled pattern. |
| GetHashCode | (Inherited from Object.) |
| GetIncomingConnections | Returns an Array of dictionaries with information about signals that are connected to the object. Each Dictionary contains three String entries: - source is a reference to the signal emitter. - signal_name is the name of the connected signal. - method_name is the name of the method to which the signal is connected. |
| GetIndexed | Gets the object's property indexed by the given NodePath. The node path should be relative to the current object and can use the colon character (:) to access nested properties. Examples: "position:x" or "material:next_pass:blend_mode". |
| GetInstanceId | Returns the object's unique instance ID. This ID can be saved in EncodedObjectAsID, and can be used to retrieve the object instance with @GDScript.instance_from_id. |
| GetMeta | Returns the object's metadata entry for the given name. |
| GetMetaList | Returns the object's metadata as a String. |
| GetMethodList | Returns the object's methods and their signatures as an Array. |
| GetNames | Returns an array of names of named capturing groups in the compiled pattern. They are ordered by appearance. |
| GetPattern | Returns the original search pattern that was compiled. |
| GetPropertyList | Returns the object's property list as an Array of dictionaries. Each property's Dictionary contain at least name: String and type: int (see VariantType) entries. Optionally, it can also include hint: int (see PropertyHint), hint_string: String, and usage: int (see PropertyUsageFlags). |
| GetScript | Returns the object's Script instance, or null if none is assigned. |
| GetSignalConnectionList | Returns an Array of connections for the given signal. |
| GetSignalList | Returns the list of signals as an Array of dictionaries. |
| GetType | (Inherited from Object.) |
| HasMeta | Returns true if a metadata entry is found with the given name. |
| HasMethod | Returns true if the object contains the given method. |
| HasSignal | Returns true if the given signal exists. |
| HasUserSignal | Returns true if the given user-defined signal exists. Only signals added using AddUserSignal(String, Array) are taken into account. |
| InitRef | Initializes the internal reference counter. Use this only if you really know what you are doing. Returns whether the initialization was successful. |
| IsBlockingSignals | Returns true if signal emission blocking is enabled. |
| IsClass | Returns true if the object inherits from the given class. |
| IsConnected | Returns true if a connection exists for a given signal, target, and method. |
| IsQueuedForDeletion | Returns true if the QueueFree method was called for the object. |
| IsValid | Returns whether this object has a valid search pattern assigned. |
| MemberwiseClone | (Inherited from Object.) |
| Notification | Send a given notification to the object, which will also trigger a call to the _Notification(Int32) method of all classes that the object inherits from. If reversed is true, _Notification(Int32) is called first on the object's own class, and then up to its successive parent classes. If reversed is false, _Notification(Int32) is called first on the highest ancestor (Object itself), and then down to its successive inheriting classes. |
| PropertyListChangedNotify | Notify the editor that the property list has changed, so that editor plugins can take the new values into account. Does nothing on export builds. |
| Reference_ | Increments the internal reference counter. Use this only if you really know what you are doing. Returns true if the increment was successful, false otherwise. |
| RemoveMeta | Removes a given entry from the object's metadata. See also SetMeta(String, Object). |
| Search | Searches the text for the compiled pattern. Returns a RegExMatch container of the first matching result if found, otherwise null. The region to search within can be specified without modifying where the start and end anchor would be. |
| SearchAll | Searches the text for the compiled pattern. Returns an array of RegExMatch containers for each non-overlapping result. If no results were found, an empty array is returned instead. The region to search within can be specified without modifying where the start and end anchor would be. |
| Set | Assigns a new value to the given property. If the property does not exist, nothing will happen. Note: In C#, the property name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined properties where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase). |
| SetBlockSignals | If set to true, signal emission is blocked. |
| SetDeferred | Assigns a new value to the given property, after the current frame's physics step. This is equivalent to calling Set(String, Object) via CallDeferred(String, Object), i.e. call_deferred("set", property, value). Note: In C#, the property name must be specified as snake_case if it is defined by a built-in Godot node. This doesn't apply to user-defined properties where you should use the same convention as in the C# source (typically PascalCase). |
| SetIndexed | Assigns a new value to the property identified by the NodePath. The node path should be relative to the current object and can use the colon character (:) to access nested properties. Example: set_indexed("position", Vector2(42, 0)) set_indexed("position:y", -10) print(position) # (42, -10) |
| SetMessageTranslation | Defines whether the object can translate strings (with calls to Tr(String)). Enabled by default. |
| SetMeta | Adds, changes or removes a given entry in the object's metadata. Metadata are serialized and can take any Variant value. To remove a given entry from the object's metadata, use RemoveMeta(String). Metadata is also removed if its value is set to null. This means you can also use set_meta("name", null) to remove metadata for "name". |
| SetScript | Assigns a script to the object. Each object can have a single script assigned to it, which are used to extend its functionality. If the object already had a script, the previous script instance will be freed and its variables and state will be lost. The new script's method will be called. |
| Sub | Searches the text for the compiled pattern and replaces it with the specified string. Escapes and backreferences such as $1 and $name are expanded and resolved. By default, only the first instance is replaced, but it can be changed for all instances (global replacement). The region to search within can be specified without modifying where the start and end anchor would be. |
 | ToSignal |
Returns a new SignalAwaiter awaiter configured to complete when the instance
source emits the signal specified by the signal parameter.
(Inherited from Object.) |
| ToString | (Inherited from Object.) |
| Tr | Translates a message using translation catalogs configured in the Project Settings. Only works if message translation is enabled (which it is by default), otherwise it returns the message unchanged. See SetMessageTranslation(Boolean). |
| Unreference | Decrements the internal reference counter. Use this only if you really know what you are doing. Returns true if the decrement was successful, false otherwise. |
See Also