URL Regex Tester

A URL pattern for http and https links, pre-loaded in the tester. Below it, a table shows what it accepts and rejects, including the cases that trip most URL regexes: localhost, letter case and non-ASCII hosts.

Regular Expression JAVASCRIPT REGEX

/ / gm

Recipes:

g i m s

Test String

0 characters

Extracted Matches

Instant client-side evaluation

What this URL pattern accepts and rejects

The pattern accepts http and https URLs whose host has a dot and a short final label, then an optional path, query and fragment. It checks shape, not that a host exists, and it has opinions worth knowing about localhost, letter case and non-ASCII hosts.

Each input below was tested on its own against the pattern above when this page was built, with no flags, so ^ and $ anchor the whole value. Paste any of them into the tester to see the same result.

Input	Result	Why it matters
`https://github.com/walshie4`	Matches	An ordinary link.
`https://example.com:8443/path?q=1#frag`	Matches	A port, a query string and a fragment all pass.
`https://192.168.0.1/x`	Matches	An IP address passes, because its last octet satisfies the final-label rule.
`https://a.b`	Matches	Accepted, though it is not a real domain: the pattern checks shape only.
`http://localhost:8080/test`	No match	Rejected: the host needs a dot, so localhost fails with or without a port. Allow it separately in development tools.
`HTTPS://EXAMPLE.COM`	No match	Rejected: the scheme is matched case-sensitively. Add the `i` flag if users paste upper-case URLs.
`ftp://example.com`	No match	Rejected: only http and https are allowed.
`https://example.com/path with space`	No match	Rejected: spaces must be percent-encoded as `%20`.
`https://例子.测试`	No match	Rejected: a Unicode host fails, although browsers accept it.
`https://xn--fsqu00a.xn--0zwm56d`	Matches	The same host in its ASCII (punycode) form passes, so convert with `new URL()` first if you need Unicode hosts.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the URL regex reject http://localhost:8080?

Because the host must contain a dot followed by a short final label, and localhost has none. Ports are fine on an ordinary host: https://example.com:8443/path matches. If development URLs matter, allow localhost with a separate check.

Does this URL regex handle upper-case or Unicode URLs?

Not as written. The scheme is matched case-sensitively, so HTTPS://EXAMPLE.COM fails until you add the i flag, and Unicode hosts fail while their punycode form passes. Parsing with new URL() first fixes both, because it lower-cases the scheme and host and converts the host to punycode.