MAC Address Regex

^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$

Validate MAC addresses with colon or hyphen separators.

Test This Pattern →

Pattern Breakdown

Understanding the regex pattern ^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$:

  • ^ - Start of string
  • $ - End of string
  • [...] - Character class
  • (...) - Capturing group
  • {n,m} - Quantifier (n to m times)

Examples

Input Result Explanation
00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E ✓ Match Colon separated
00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E ✓ Match Hyphen separated

Code Examples

JavaScript

JavaScript
const pattern = /^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$/;
const text = "00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E";

// 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]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$'
text = "00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E"

# Test if string matches
if re.match(pattern, text):
    print("Valid!")

# Find all matches
matches = re.findall(pattern, text)
print(matches)

PHP

PHP
<?php
$pattern = '/^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$/';
$text = "00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E";

// 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]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$";
String text = "00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E";

Pattern p = Pattern.compile(pattern);
Matcher m = p.matcher(text);

if (m.matches()) {
    System.out.println("Valid!");
}

Use Cases

Common applications: Network configuration, device identification

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the regex pattern for mac address regex?
The regex pattern is: ^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$. Validate MAC addresses with colon or hyphen separators.
How do I use the mac address regex pattern in JavaScript?
In JavaScript: const regex = new RegExp('^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$'); or const regex = /^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$/;
Does this pattern work in Python?
Yes, use: import re; pattern = re.compile(r'^([0-9A-Fa-f]{2}[:-]){5}([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})$') in Python. Most regex patterns are cross-language compatible.
What are common use cases for mac address regex?
Network configuration, device identification

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