rescape

Escape a regular expression string or pattern.

Usage

var rescape = require( '@stdlib/utils/escape-regexp-string' );

rescape( str )

Escapes a regular expression string or pattern.

var str = rescape( '/[A-Z]*/' );
// returns '/\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*/'

str = rescape( '[A-Z]*' );
// returns '\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*'

If provided a value which is not a primitive string, the function throws a TypeError.

try {
    rescape( null );
    // throws an error...
} catch ( err ) {
    console.error( err );
}

The following characters have special meaning inside of regular expressions and need to be escaped in case the characters should be treated literally:
description value
Backslash \
Braces { }
Brackets [ ]
Caret ^
Dollar Sign $
Forward Slash /
Asterisk *
Parentheses ( )
Period .
Plus Sign +
Vertical Bar |
Question Mark ?

description	value
Backslash	`\`
Braces	`{ }`
Brackets	`[ ]`
Caret	`^`
Dollar Sign	`$`
Forward Slash	`/`
Asterisk	`*`
Parentheses	`( )`
Period	`.`
Plus Sign	`+`
Vertical Bar	`\|`
Question Mark	`?`

Examples

var rescape = require( '@stdlib/utils/escape-regexp-string' );

var out = rescape( '/beep/' );
// returns '/beep/'

out = rescape( 'beep' );
// returns 'beep'

out = rescape( '/[A-Z]*/' );
// returns '/\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*/'

out = rescape( '[A-Z]*' );
// returns '\\[A\\-Z\\]\\*'

out = rescape( '/\\\//ig' );
// returns '/\\\\\\\//ig'

out = rescape( '\\\/' );
// returns '\\\\\\\/'

out = rescape( '/[A-Z]{0,}/' );
// returns '/\\[A\\-Z\\]\\{0,\\}/'

out = rescape( '[A-Z]{0,}' );
// returns '\\[A\\-Z\\]\\{0,\\}'

out = rescape( '/^boop$/' );
// returns '/\\^boop\\$/'

out = rescape( '^boop$' );
// returns '\\^boop\\$'

out = rescape( '/(?:.*)/' );
// returns '/\\(\\?:\\.\\*\\)/'

out = rescape( '(?:.*)' );
// returns '\\(\\?:\\.\\*\\)'

out = rescape( '/(?:beep|boop)/' );
// returns '/\\(\\?:beep\\|boop\\)/'

out = rescape( '(?:beep|boop)' );
// returns '\\(\\?:beep\\|boop\\)'