Expressions
Regex expressions

11min
By combining regular (regex) expressions in your JSONata expressions in , you can create complex patterns to match specific strings of text. Regex expressions are a sequence of characters that define a search pattern. It is powerful when used in text processing to find, replace, or validate strings of text. Some common uses of regex include:
Validating email addresses or phone numbers
Extracting specific information from a text file or document
Reformatting data to match a specific pattern or structure
﻿Examples and code snippets﻿
The JSONata + regex examples below create validation for text-fields in a form.
Expected results: Between 9 and 13 numbers with no spaces, can include a symbol for dialing code, e.g., +271234556789.
Valid phone number
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Invalid phone number
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: telephone
          options:
            label: Telephone
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.telephone.state.value , /^((\+|0{0,2})([0-9]){1,3})?[-.●\s]?\(?([0-9]{2,3})\)?[-.●\s]?([0-9]{3})[-.●\s]?([0-9]{4})$/) ? '' :'not a phone number'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: telephone
          options:
            label: Telephone
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.telephone.state.value , /^((\+|0{0,2})([0-9]){1,3})?[-.●\s]?\(?([0-9]{2,3})\)?[-.●\s]?([0-9]{3})[-.●\s]?([0-9]{4})$/) ? '' :'not a phone number'
        
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Expected result: name@example.com
Valid email address
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Invalid email address
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: email
          options:
            label: Email
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.email.state.value, /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/) ? '' :'not an email'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: email
          options:
            label: Email
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.email.state.value, /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/) ? '' :'not an email'
        
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Expected result: Typically 13-16 digits, with spaces or dashes optional, and includes checks for Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. E.g. 1111-1111-1111-1111 or 1111 1111 1111 1111.
Valid  credit card number
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Invalid  credit card number
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: credit-card
          options:
            label: Credit card
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.credit-card.state.value, /^(?:4[0-9]{12}(?:[0-9]{3})?|[25][1-7][0-9]{14}|6(?:011|5[0-9]{2})[0-9]{12}|3[47][0-9]{13})$/) ? '' :'not a credit card number'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: credit-card
          options:
            label: Credit card
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.credit-card.state.value, /^(?:4[0-9]{12}(?:[0-9]{3})?|[25][1-7][0-9]{14}|6(?:011|5[0-9]{2})[0-9]{12}|3[47][0-9]{13})$/) ? '' :'not a credit card number'
        
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Expected result: 5-digit codes, e.g. 10036. 
Valid ZIP code
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Invalid ZIP code
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: zip
          options:
            label: ZIP/ Postal code
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.zip.state.value, /^\d{5}(-\d{4})?$/) ? '' :'not a ZIP/ Postal code'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: zip
          options:
            label: ZIP/ Postal code
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.zip.state.value, /^\d{5}(-\d{4})?$/) ? '' :'not a ZIP/ Postal code'
        
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Expected result: XXX-XX-XXXX
Valid Social Security number
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Invalid Social Security number
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: social-security-number
          options:
            label: Social security number
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.social-security-number.state.value, /^\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}$/) ? '' :'not a social security number'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: social-security-number
          options:
            label: Social security number
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.social-security-number.state.value, /^\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}$/) ? '' :'not a social security number'
        
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Expected result: AA123456C
Valid National Insurance number
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Invalid National Insurance number
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: national-insurance-number
          options:
            label: National Insurance Number
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.national-insurance-number.state.value, /^(?!BG|GB|NK|KN|TN|NT|ZZ)[A-CEGHJ-PR-TW-Z][A-CEGHJ-NPR-TW-Z]\d{2}(?:\s*\d{2}){2}\s*[A-D]$/) ? '' :'not a national-insurance-number'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: national-insurance-number
          options:
            label: National Insurance Number
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.national-insurance-number.state.value, /^(?!BG|GB|NK|KN|TN|NT|ZZ)[A-CEGHJ-PR-TW-Z][A-CEGHJ-NPR-TW-Z]\d{2}(?:\s*\d{2}){2}\s*[A-D]$/) ? '' :'not a national-insurance-number'
        
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Expected result: DD/MM/YYYY, e.g. 23/07/2024.
Valid date format
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Invalid date format
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: us-date
          options:
            label: Date - DD/MM/YYYY
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.us-date.state.value, /^(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/(19|20)\d{2}$/) ? '' :'not a valid date (DD/MM/YYYY)'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: us-date
          options:
            label: Date - DD/MM/YYYY
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.us-date.state.value, /^(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/(19|20)\d{2}$/) ? '' :'not a valid date (DD/MM/YYYY)'
        
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Expected result: MM/DD/YYYY, e.g. 03/28/2023.
Valid date format
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Invalid date format
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: date
          options:
            label: Date - MM/DD/YYYY
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.date.state.value, /^(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\/(19|20)\d{2}$/) ? '' :'not a valid date (MM/DD/YYYY)'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: date
          options:
            label: Date - MM/DD/YYYY
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.date.state.value, /^(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\/(19|20)\d{2}$/) ? '' :'not a valid date (MM/DD/YYYY)'
        
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Expected result: DD Month YYYY, e.g. 25 July 2024.
Valid date format
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Invalid date format
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: date-with-month
          options:
            label: Date - DD Month YYYY
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.date-with-month.state.value, /^(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\s(?:Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s(19|20)\d{2}$/) ? '' :'not a valid date (DD Month YYYY)'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: date-with-month
          options:
            label: Date - DD Month YYYY
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.date-with-month.state.value, /^(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])\s(?:Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s(19|20)\d{2}$/) ? '' :'not a valid date (DD Month YYYY)'
        
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Expected result: yyyy/mm/dd, e.g. 2024/08/30.
Valid date format
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Invalid date format
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: date-year-first
          options:
            label: Date - YYYY/MM/DD
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.date-year-first.state.value, /^(19|20)\d{2}\/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$/) ? '' :'not a valid date format (YYYY/MM/DD)'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: date-year-first
          options:
            label: Date - YYYY/MM/DD
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.date-year-first.state.value, /^(19|20)\d{2}\/(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$/) ? '' :'not a valid date format (YYYY/MM/DD)'
        
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Expected result: 1234,00
Valid decimal number
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Invalid decimal number
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: decimal
          options:
            label: Decimal number - 111,2
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.decimal.state.value, /^[0-9]+([,.][0-9]{1,2})?$/) ? '' :'not a decimal number'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: decimal
          options:
            label: Decimal number - 111,2
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.decimal.state.value, /^[0-9]+([,.][0-9]{1,2})?$/) ? '' :'not a decimal number'
        
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Expected result: H:MM AM/PM e.g. 12:15 AM or 08:45 PM
Valid time format
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Invalid time format
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: time
          options:
            label: Time - HH:MM AM/PM
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.time.state.value, /^((0?[1-9]|1[0-2]):[0-5][0-9] (AM|PM))$/) ? '' :'not a valid time format, use HH:MM AM/PM'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: time
          options:
            label: Time - HH:MM AM/PM
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.time.state.value, /^((0?[1-9]|1[0-2]):[0-5][0-9] (AM|PM))$/) ? '' :'not a valid time format, use HH:MM AM/PM'
        
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Expected result: MM:SS / or HH:MM, e.g. 08:10.
Valid time format
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Invalid time format
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: time-2
          options:
            label: Time - MM:SS / or HH:MM
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.time-2.state.value, /^(?:(?:([01]?\d|2[0-3]):)?([0-5]?\d):)?([0-5]?\d)$/) ? '' :'not a valid time format, use MM:SS / or HH:MM'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: time-2
          options:
            label: Time - MM:SS / or HH:MM
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.time-2.state.value, /^(?:(?:([01]?\d|2[0-3]):)?([0-5]?\d):)?([0-5]?\d)$/) ? '' :'not a valid time format, use MM:SS / or HH:MM'
        
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Expected result: 01:00
Valid time format
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﻿
YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: time-3
          options:
            label: Time - 24 hour format
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.time-3.state.value, /^([01]?[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]$/) ? '' :'not a valid time format, use 24 hour format'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: time-3
          options:
            label: Time - 24 hour format
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.time-3.state.value, /^([01]?[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]$/) ? '' :'not a valid time format, use 24 hour format'
        
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Expected result: example.com or http://example.com
Valid URL
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Invalid URL
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: url
          options:
            label: URL
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.url.state.value, /^((https?|ftp|file):\/\/)?([\da-z\.-]+)\.([a-z\.]{2,6})([\/\w \.-]*)*\/?$/) ? '' :'not a valid url format'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: url
          options:
            label: URL
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.url.state.value, /^((https?|ftp|file):\/\/)?([\da-z\.-]+)\.([a-z\.]{2,6})([\/\w \.-]*)*\/?$/) ? '' :'not a valid url format'
        
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Expected result: 978-1-4302-1998-9
Valid ISBN 
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Invalid ISBN 
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: isbn
          options:
            label: ISBN
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.isbn.state.value, /((978[\--– ])?[0-9][0-9\--– ]{10}[\--– ][0-9xX])|((978)?[0-9]{9}[0-9Xx])/) ? '' :'not a valid ISBN format'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: isbn
          options:
            label: ISBN
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.isbn.state.value, /((978[\--– ])?[0-9][0-9\--– ]{10}[\--– ][0-9xX])|((978)?[0-9]{9}[0-9Xx])/) ? '' :'not a valid ISBN format'
        
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Expected result: JohnSmith
Valid string -no spaces
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Invalid string -no spaces
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: string
          options:
            label: String - spaces not allowed
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.string.state.value, /^[a-zA-Z0-9]+$/) ? '' :'not a valid string, spaces are not allowed'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: string
          options:
            label: String - spaces not allowed
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.string.state.value, /^[a-zA-Z0-9]+$/) ? '' :'not a valid string, spaces are not allowed'
        
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Expected result: John Smith
Valid string with spaces
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Invalid string with spaces
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: string-2
          options:
            label: String - spaces allowed
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.string-2.state.value, /^[a-zA-Z0-9\s]*$/) ? '' :'not a valid string, spaces are allowed'
        
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: string-2
          options:
            label: String - spaces allowed
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.string-2.state.value, /^[a-zA-Z0-9\s]*$/) ? '' :'not a valid string, spaces are allowed'
        
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Expected result: 56575 76 6
Valid numbers with spaces
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Invalid numbers with spaces
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YAML
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: number-spaces
          options:
            label: Number and spaces only
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.number-spaces.state.value, /^[0-9\s]*$/) ? '' :'not a valid input, use number and spaces only'
          
- type: component.text-field
          instanceId: number-spaces
          options:
            label: Number and spaces only
            errorText: =$contains(@ctx.components.number-spaces.state.value, /^[0-9\s]*$/) ? '' :'not a valid input, use number and spaces only'
          
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