Regex match parser

Configuration options

  • Regex - The regular expression used to find matching text. Global matching is enabled by default and cannot be disabled. Enter the expression without surrounding / characters.
  • Groups - Select the complete match or a capture group to return. If a selected capture group no longer exists after the expression is changed, the parser falls back to Match 0.
  • Multiple - Return more than one match from the field.
  • Separator - Used when Multiple is enabled. The separator is inserted between the returned matches. Escape sequences such as \n, \r and \t can be used.

Extract a value after a label

Capture groups are useful when the surrounding label identifies the value but should not be included in the result.

Source:
price: $24.99 inc. VAT

Regex:
price:\s+([^\s]+)

Group:
1

Result:
$24.99

Return the complete match

Use Match 0 when the regular expression itself identifies exactly the value that should be returned.

Source:
Published: 2026-08-07

Regex:
\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}

Group:
Match 0

Result:
2026-08-07

Extract a value before or after known text

Patterns can use stable surrounding words to isolate a changing value.

Source:
4.6 out of 5 stars

Regex:
([^\s]+) out of

Group:
1

Result:
4.6

Return multiple matches

Enable Multiple when a single scraped field contains several values that should all be returned.

Example source:

Tags: red, large, metal

A suitable expression can match each tag, and the Separator determines how the values are combined in the output.

Use a separator that is unambiguous for downstream processing. A line break or tab can be more reliable than a comma when the matched values themselves may contain commas.

Capture groups

Parentheses create capture groups. Use them when the expression needs additional surrounding context but only part of the match should be returned.

Regex:
SKU:\s*([A-Z0-9-]+)

Match 0:
SKU: ABC-123

Group 1:
ABC-123

If the parser unexpectedly returns the full match, check whether the intended capture group is still selected.

Regular-expression basics used in Parser

Pattern Meaning
\d A digit.
\s Whitespace.
. Any character except a line break in the normal pattern context.
+ One or more of the preceding pattern.
* Zero or more of the preceding pattern.
? Zero or one of the preceding pattern, or a modifier depending on context.
^ Beginning of the value.
$ End of the value.
[ABC] One character from the listed set.
[^ABC] One character not in the listed set.
(...) A capture group.
\| Alternative pattern.

Keep expressions as specific as necessary

A very broad pattern may work on one example but match the wrong part of another record. Build expressions around stable labels, separators or value formats and test them against several representative records.

The Parser preview shows the first 10 scraped records by default and can be increased to 100.

Regex match and Virtual columns

Regex match is commonly used with Virtual columns to split one scraped field into several output columns.

For example, one address field can remain unchanged while separate Virtual columns extract the street, city, region and postal code from the same raw source value.

Troubleshooting

  • Do not wrap the expression in / characters.
  • If the result is empty, verify that the source value matches the pattern exactly enough for the expression to succeed.
  • If the wrong value is returned, check the selected capture group.
  • If a pattern works for only some records, compare the formatting differences and make the expression account for valid variations.
  • If several matches are required, enable Multiple and configure a separator.

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