3 A minimal matching utility.
5 [![Build Status](https://secure.travis-ci.org/isaacs/minimatch.png)](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 instanting 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.
87 The top-level exported function has a `cache` property, which is an LRU
88 cache set to store 100 items. So, calling these methods repeatedly
89 with the same pattern and options will use the same Minimatch object,
90 saving the cost of parsing it multiple times.
92 ### minimatch(path, pattern, options)
94 Main export. Tests a path against the pattern using the options.
97 var isJS = minimatch(file, "*.js", { matchBase: true })
100 ### minimatch.filter(pattern, options)
102 Returns a function that tests its
103 supplied argument, suitable for use with `Array.filter`. Example:
106 var javascripts = fileList.filter(minimatch.filter("*.js", {matchBase: true}))
109 ### minimatch.match(list, pattern, options)
111 Match against the list of
112 files, in the style of fnmatch or glob. If nothing is matched, and
113 options.nonull is set, then return a list containing the pattern itself.
116 var javascripts = minimatch.match(fileList, "*.js", {matchBase: true}))
119 ### minimatch.makeRe(pattern, options)
121 Make a regular expression object from the pattern.
125 All options are `false` by default.
129 Dump a ton of stuff to stderr.
133 Do not expand `{a,b}` and `{1..3}` brace sets.
137 Disable `**` matching against multiple folder names.
141 Allow patterns to match filenames starting with a period, even if
142 the pattern does not explicitly have a period in that spot.
144 Note that by default, `a/**/b` will **not** match `a/.d/b`, unless `dot`
149 Disable "extglob" style patterns like `+(a|b)`.
153 Perform a case-insensitive match.
157 When a match is not found by `minimatch.match`, return a list containing
158 the pattern itself if this option is set. When not set, an empty list
159 is returned if there are no matches.
163 If set, then patterns without slashes will be matched
164 against the basename of the path if it contains slashes. For example,
165 `a?b` would match the path `/xyz/123/acb`, but not `/xyz/acb/123`.
169 Suppress the behavior of treating `#` at the start of a pattern as a
174 Suppress the behavior of treating a leading `!` character as negation.
178 Returns from negate expressions the same as if they were not negated.
179 (Ie, true on a hit, false on a miss.)
182 ## Comparisons to other fnmatch/glob implementations
184 While strict compliance with the existing standards is a worthwhile
185 goal, some discrepancies exist between minimatch and other
186 implementations, and are intentional.
188 If the pattern starts with a `!` character, then it is negated. Set the
189 `nonegate` flag to suppress this behavior, and treat leading `!`
190 characters normally. This is perhaps relevant if you wish to start the
191 pattern with a negative extglob pattern like `!(a|B)`. Multiple `!`
192 characters at the start of a pattern will negate the pattern multiple
195 If a pattern starts with `#`, then it is treated as a comment, and
196 will not match anything. Use `\#` to match a literal `#` at the
197 start of a line, or set the `nocomment` flag to suppress this behavior.
199 The double-star character `**` is supported by default, unless the
200 `noglobstar` flag is set. This is supported in the manner of bsdglob
201 and bash 4.1, where `**` only has special significance if it is the only
202 thing in a path part. That is, `a/**/b` will match `a/x/y/b`, but
205 If an escaped pattern has no matches, and the `nonull` flag is set,
206 then minimatch.match returns the pattern as-provided, rather than
207 interpreting the character escapes. For example,
208 `minimatch.match([], "\\*a\\?")` will return `"\\*a\\?"` rather than
209 `"*a?"`. This is akin to setting the `nullglob` option in bash, except
210 that it does not resolve escaped pattern characters.
212 If brace expansion is not disabled, then it is performed before any
213 other interpretation of the glob pattern. Thus, a pattern like
214 `+(a|{b),c)}`, which would not be valid in bash or zsh, is expanded
215 **first** into the set of `+(a|b)` and `+(a|c)`, and those patterns are
216 checked for validity. Since those two are valid, matching proceeds.