RegExp ^ Metacharacter
Examples
Test if a text starts with W3Schools:
const pattern = /^W3Schools/;
let text = "W3Schools tutorial";
let result = pattern.test(text);
Try it Yourself »
const pattern = /^W3Schools/;
let text = "Hello W3Schools";
let result = pattern.test(text);
Try it Yourself »
Description
The ^ metacharacter matches from the beginning of a string, or the beginning of a line if the m (multiline) flag is used.
Syntax
new RegExp("^regexp")
or simply:
/^regexp/
Syntax with modifiers
new RegExp("^regexp";, "g")
or simply:
/^regexp/g
Regular Expression Search Methods
In JavaScript, a regular expression text search, can be done with different methods.
With a pattern as a regular expression, these are the most common methods:
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| text.match(pattern) | The String method match() |
| text.search(pattern) | The String method search() |
| pattern.exec(text) | The RexExp method exec() |
| pattern.test(text) | The RegExp method test() |
Browser Support
/^/ is an ECMAScript1 (JavaScript 1997) feature.
It is supported in all browsers:
| Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Safari | Opera | IE |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
