3 A minimal matching utility.
5 [![Build Status](https://secure.travis-ci.org/isaacs/minimatch.svg)](http://travis-ci.org/isaacs/minimatch)
8 This is the matching library used internally by npm.
10 It works by converting glob expressions into JavaScript `RegExp`
16 var minimatch = require("minimatch")
18 minimatch("bar.foo", "*.foo") // true!
19 minimatch("bar.foo", "*.bar") // false!
20 minimatch("bar.foo", "*.+(bar|foo)", { debug: true }) // true, and noisy!
25 Supports these glob features:
28 * Extended glob matching
29 * "Globstar" `**` matching
40 Create a minimatch object by instantiating the `minimatch.Minimatch` class.
43 var Minimatch = require("minimatch").Minimatch
44 var mm = new Minimatch(pattern, options)
49 * `pattern` The original pattern the minimatch object represents.
50 * `options` The options supplied to the constructor.
51 * `set` A 2-dimensional array of regexp or string expressions.
53 array corresponds to a brace-expanded pattern. Each item in the row
54 corresponds to a single path-part. For example, the pattern
55 `{a,b/c}/d` would expand to a set of patterns like:
60 If a portion of the pattern doesn't have any "magic" in it
61 (that is, it's something like `"foo"` rather than `fo*o?`), then it
62 will be left as a string rather than converted to a regular
65 * `regexp` Created by the `makeRe` method. A single regular expression
66 expressing the entire pattern. This is useful in cases where you wish
67 to use the pattern somewhat like `fnmatch(3)` with `FNM_PATH` enabled.
68 * `negate` True if the pattern is negated.
69 * `comment` True if the pattern is a comment.
70 * `empty` True if the pattern is `""`.
74 * `makeRe` Generate the `regexp` member if necessary, and return it.
75 Will return `false` if the pattern is invalid.
76 * `match(fname)` Return true if the filename matches the pattern, or
78 * `matchOne(fileArray, patternArray, partial)` Take a `/`-split
79 filename, and match it against a single row in the `regExpSet`. This
80 method is mainly for internal use, but is exposed so that it can be
81 used by a glob-walker that needs to avoid excessive filesystem calls.
83 All other methods are internal, and will be called as necessary.
85 ### minimatch(path, pattern, options)
87 Main export. Tests a path against the pattern using the options.
90 var isJS = minimatch(file, "*.js", { matchBase: true })
93 ### minimatch.filter(pattern, options)
95 Returns a function that tests its
96 supplied argument, suitable for use with `Array.filter`. Example:
99 var javascripts = fileList.filter(minimatch.filter("*.js", {matchBase: true}))
102 ### minimatch.match(list, pattern, options)
104 Match against the list of
105 files, in the style of fnmatch or glob. If nothing is matched, and
106 options.nonull is set, then return a list containing the pattern itself.
109 var javascripts = minimatch.match(fileList, "*.js", {matchBase: true}))
112 ### minimatch.makeRe(pattern, options)
114 Make a regular expression object from the pattern.
118 All options are `false` by default.
122 Dump a ton of stuff to stderr.
126 Do not expand `{a,b}` and `{1..3}` brace sets.
130 Disable `**` matching against multiple folder names.
134 Allow patterns to match filenames starting with a period, even if
135 the pattern does not explicitly have a period in that spot.
137 Note that by default, `a/**/b` will **not** match `a/.d/b`, unless `dot`
142 Disable "extglob" style patterns like `+(a|b)`.
146 Perform a case-insensitive match.
150 When a match is not found by `minimatch.match`, return a list containing
151 the pattern itself if this option is set. When not set, an empty list
152 is returned if there are no matches.
156 If set, then patterns without slashes will be matched
157 against the basename of the path if it contains slashes. For example,
158 `a?b` would match the path `/xyz/123/acb`, but not `/xyz/acb/123`.
162 Suppress the behavior of treating `#` at the start of a pattern as a
167 Suppress the behavior of treating a leading `!` character as negation.
171 Returns from negate expressions the same as if they were not negated.
172 (Ie, true on a hit, false on a miss.)
175 ## Comparisons to other fnmatch/glob implementations
177 While strict compliance with the existing standards is a worthwhile
178 goal, some discrepancies exist between minimatch and other
179 implementations, and are intentional.
181 If the pattern starts with a `!` character, then it is negated. Set the
182 `nonegate` flag to suppress this behavior, and treat leading `!`
183 characters normally. This is perhaps relevant if you wish to start the
184 pattern with a negative extglob pattern like `!(a|B)`. Multiple `!`
185 characters at the start of a pattern will negate the pattern multiple
188 If a pattern starts with `#`, then it is treated as a comment, and
189 will not match anything. Use `\#` to match a literal `#` at the
190 start of a line, or set the `nocomment` flag to suppress this behavior.
192 The double-star character `**` is supported by default, unless the
193 `noglobstar` flag is set. This is supported in the manner of bsdglob
194 and bash 4.1, where `**` only has special significance if it is the only
195 thing in a path part. That is, `a/**/b` will match `a/x/y/b`, but
198 If an escaped pattern has no matches, and the `nonull` flag is set,
199 then minimatch.match returns the pattern as-provided, rather than
200 interpreting the character escapes. For example,
201 `minimatch.match([], "\\*a\\?")` will return `"\\*a\\?"` rather than
202 `"*a?"`. This is akin to setting the `nullglob` option in bash, except
203 that it does not resolve escaped pattern characters.
205 If brace expansion is not disabled, then it is performed before any
206 other interpretation of the glob pattern. Thus, a pattern like
207 `+(a|{b),c)}`, which would not be valid in bash or zsh, is expanded
208 **first** into the set of `+(a|b)` and `+(a|c)`, and those patterns are
209 checked for validity. Since those two are valid, matching proceeds.