Regular expressions·a line break

a line break

Matches a line break. It finds the match anywhere inside the text. There are no capture groups.

Pattern
/\n/
Match scope
anywhere inside the text
Capture groups
0
What it catches in the first example
\n

Try it yourself

Type any text and the parts this expression catches are highlighted. It runs in your browser and is never sent anywhere.

a b

1 match

Examples that match

  • a\nb

Examples that do not match

  • a b
  • ab

Other expressions in this group

^[\u4e00-\u9fff]+$Chinese characters only^a\.b$a literal dot^a/b$a literal forward slash\ta tab character\r\na Windows line ending^\u00e9$a character written by code point^Hellotext that starts with this wordworld$text that ends with this word

How to read this

  • With ^ and $ around it, the whole string must match; without them the match can sit anywhere. Always anchor an expression you use for validation.
  • Round brackets ( ) capture what they wrap. When you only need grouping, write (?: ) so the numbering of later groups does not shift.
  • Every expression here is checked against its examples. Even so, "looks like an email" and "is a real inbox" remain different questions.
  • Nested open-ended repeats such as (a+)+ can blow up on certain inputs. Look for that shape before pasting someone else’s expression into your code.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is the regex for a line break?

\n.

Q. Which strings match?

Text like a\nb matches; text like a b does not.

Q. Does the whole string have to match?

No. It finds the part anywhere inside the text. Add ^ and $ around it if you want a whole-string check.

Q. How do I use what it caught?

There are no capture groups, so only the whole match (match[0]) comes back. Wrap the part you need in brackets to capture it.