Pattern Breakdown
Understanding the regex pattern ^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$:
- ^ - Start of string
- $ - End of string
- ? - Optional (zero or one)
- [...] - Character class
- (...) - Capturing group
- (?:...) - Non-capturing group
- {n,m} - Quantifier (n to m times)
- | - Alternation (OR)
Examples
| Input | Result | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334 |
✓ Match | Full IPv6 |
::1 |
✓ Match | Localhost compressed |
fe80::1 |
✓ Match | Link-local compressed |
Code Examples
JavaScript
JavaScript
const pattern = /^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$/;
const text = "2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334";
// Test if string matches
if (pattern.test(text)) {
console.log("Valid!");
}
// Extract matches
const matches = text.match(pattern);
console.log(matches);
Python
Python
import re
pattern = r'^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$'
text = "2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334"
# Test if string matches
if re.match(pattern, text):
print("Valid!")
# Find all matches
matches = re.findall(pattern, text)
print(matches)
PHP
PHP
<?php
$pattern = '/^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$/';
$text = "2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334";
// Test if string matches
if (preg_match($pattern, $text)) {
echo "Valid!";
}
// Find all matches
preg_match_all($pattern, $text, $matches);
print_r($matches);
?>
Java
Java
import java.util.regex.*;
String pattern = "^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$";
String text = "2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334";
Pattern p = Pattern.compile(pattern);
Matcher m = p.matcher(text);
if (m.matches()) {
System.out.println("Valid!");
}
Use Cases
Common applications: Modern network applications, IPv6 migration, dual-stack systems
- Form validation and input sanitization
- Data extraction and parsing
- Search and replace operations
- API request/response validation
- Log file analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the regex pattern for ipv6 address regex?
The regex pattern is: ^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$. Match IPv6 addresses including compressed notation with double colons (::).
How do I use the ipv6 address regex pattern in JavaScript?
In JavaScript: const regex = new RegExp('^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$'); or const regex = /^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$/;
Does this pattern work in Python?
Yes, use: import re; pattern = re.compile(r'^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:$|^(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,6}::(?:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){0,5}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}$') in Python. Most regex patterns are cross-language compatible.
What are common use cases for ipv6 address regex?
Modern network applications, IPv6 migration, dual-stack systems
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