Find & Replace

Find and replace text with regex support. Bulk text replacement for code, content, and data processing.

Input

Paste text here. Output updates automatically as you type.

Live preview Regex supported

Find & Replace

Tip: If "Use regex" is ON, enter pattern without slashes (example: foo\d+).

Examples: fox, \bfox\b, [A-Z]+
Regex replacement supports $1, $2… for capture groups.
Matches / replacements:
0
Count is based on matches found in input.

Output

Result is read-only. Use "Copy Result" to grab it.

What It Does

Find and Replace tool searches for text patterns in your content and replaces them with different text. It supports simple text matching, case-sensitive/insensitive search, whole word matching, and advanced regex (regular expression) patterns for complex find-and-replace operations. Essential for bulk editing, code refactoring, document cleanup, and text transformation. The tool highlights all matches before replacement, shows match count, supports find-only mode (no replace), and handles multi-line text. Use it to rename variables across code, update terminology in documents, clean up formatting inconsistencies, convert data formats, remove or modify patterns, and perform advanced text transformations using regex capture groups and backreferences.

Key Features:

  • Simple text find and replace with match highlighting
  • Case-sensitive or case-insensitive search modes
  • Whole word matching: find "cat" but not "category"
  • Regular expression (regex) support for advanced patterns
  • Replace all occurrences or selective replacement
  • Match count and position indicators before replacing
  • Multi-line text support with line number references
  • Regex capture groups and backreferences ($1, $2, etc.)

How To Use

Enter your text, specify what to find, what to replace it with, select search options (case sensitivity, whole word, regex), preview matches, then replace.

1

Enter Text and Search Pattern

Paste your text into the main input area. In "Find" field, enter the text or pattern to search for. For simple text, just type it. For complex patterns, enable "Regex" and use regular expressions—like \d+ for numbers, \w+ for words, or [A-Z]+ for uppercase letters. The tool highlights all matches in real-time showing where replacements will occur.

2

Configure Search Options

Select options: "Case Sensitive" to match exact letter casing (Find "Hello" won't match "hello"), "Whole Word" to match complete words only (Find "cat" won't match "category"), "Regex" to enable regular expression patterns, and "Multi-line Mode" for patterns spanning line breaks. Preview shows match count and positions: "Found 15 matches" with highlighting.

3

Replace and Verify Results

In "Replace With" field, enter replacement text. For regex, use $1, $2 for capture groups (parentheses in pattern). Click "Replace All" for all matches, or click individual highlighted matches for selective replacement. Review results: tool shows "Replaced 15 occurrences" and highlights changes. Use "Undo" to revert if needed. Copy modified text to clipboard.

Benefits

Bulk Editing: Change multiple occurrences instantly instead of manually editing each
Time Saving: Replace hundreds of instances in seconds vs hours of manual work
Consistency: Ensure uniform changes across entire document without missing instances
Accuracy: Preview matches before replacing prevents unintended changes
Advanced Transformations: Regex enables complex pattern-based replacements impossible manually
Code Refactoring: Rename variables, functions, or update syntax across code files
Document Cleanup: Remove formatting artifacts, fix spacing, or standardize terminology

Use Cases

Code Refactoring and Variable Renaming

Rename variables, functions, or classes across code files using find-and-replace with whole word matching. Enable "Whole Word" to ensure "user" becomes "customer" but "username" stays unchanged. Essential for: refactoring codebases (improving naming conventions), updating deprecated API calls (old function names to new), changing configuration variable names, replacing library names after migration, and standardizing coding style (camelCase to snake_case). Use regex for advanced cases: find "get(\w+)" replace with "fetch$1" converts getUser → fetchUser, getData → fetchData. Most IDEs have built-in refactoring, but this tool works for: multiple file preparation, non-code text files, or quick experimentation before applying to actual code.

Document Terminology Updates

Update product names, company terms, or terminology across long documents when branding changes or terminology evolves. Marketing teams rebrand "Widget Pro" to "Widget Plus"—find-replace updates all mentions in documentation, help articles, marketing copy, and presentations. Use cases: company rebranding (old name → new name throughout materials), product version updates (v1.0 → v2.0), terminology standardization (ensure consistent term usage), legal compliance (updating required language), and internationalization prep (replacing culture-specific terms). Enable case-sensitive for proper nouns. Preview match count ensures comprehensive coverage: "Found 147 matches" confirms all instances found before replacing. For large documents, work section-by-section to verify accuracy.

Data Format Conversion

Convert data between formats using regex find-and-replace: CSV to TSV (tab-separated), date format changes (MM/DD/YYYY to YYYY-MM-DD), phone number formatting ((555) 123-4567 to 555-123-4567), or ID format standardization. Regex examples: find "(\d{2})/(\d{2})/(\d{4})" replace with "$3-$1-$2" converts dates; find "\((\d{3})\) (\d{3})-(\d{4})" replace with "$1-$2-$3" removes phone parentheses. Use for: preparing data for import (matching target format), cleaning exported data (fixing formatting), batch ID updates, and converting between data interchange formats. For production data conversion, test on sample first to verify regex accuracy. Combine with validation tools to ensure conversions succeeded correctly.

Text Cleanup and Formatting Fixes

Remove or fix formatting inconsistencies in documents: excessive whitespace (multiple spaces to single space), line break standardization (Windows \r\n to Unix \n), remove invisible characters, fix smart quotes to straight quotes, or strip special formatting from pasted content. Common regex patterns: find " +" (2+ spaces) replace with " " (single space) to normalize spacing; find "\r\n" replace with "\n" for line ending conversion; find regex pattern for smart quotes and replace with straight quotes for standardization. Essential when: copying text from PDFs (often has weird spacing), consolidating documents from different sources (mixed formatting), preparing text for code (removing non-ASCII), and cleaning up word processor artifacts (hidden formatting characters). Significantly improves text consistency and readability.

Template and Placeholder Replacement

Replace template placeholders with actual values in email templates, code generation, document templates, or configuration files. Find "{{NAME}}" replace with "John Smith", find "{{DATE}}" replace with "2024-12-16", etc. Use for: personalizing email templates (replace merge fields), generating code from templates (fill in class/variable names), creating customized documents (proposals, contracts with client details), and configuration file generation (replace placeholders with actual values). For multiple placeholders, replace one at a time or use regex for batch: find "{{(\w+)}}" and provide specific replacements per capture group. More sophisticated than mail merge, handles any text format: code, documents, configurations, or data files. Verify before sending/deploying to prevent unreplaced placeholders.

Frequently Asked Questions

1 When should I use regex mode vs simple text search?
Use simple text search (default) for: exact text matching, straightforward replacements, when you don't know regex, or replacing specific known strings (names, product terms, URLs). Use regex when: finding patterns (all numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, dates), replacing with variations (capture groups), finding text with flexible spacing or formatting, using wildcards or character classes, or performing advanced transformations. Regex examples justify complexity: find all email addresses (\w+@\w+\.\w+), match repeated words (\b(\w+)\s+\1\b), or find dates in any format. Learning curve: simple search is instant, regex requires pattern knowledge. Start simple; when you need "find all numbers" or "find text between brackets", that's when regex becomes necessary. Many find-replace tasks never need regex.
2 Why do some replacements change unintended text?
Common cause: search term too broad or missing whole word option. Finding "an" matches inside "and", "can", "plan". Solutions: enable "Whole Word" to match complete words only (finds "an" but not "and"), use word boundary regex (\ban\b), make search more specific (add surrounding context), or enable case-sensitive when appropriate. Another issue: regex special characters not escaped—searching for "." matches any character, searching for "(" causes error. Escape special chars: "\.", "\(", "\)". Always preview matches before replacing: tool shows exactly what will change with highlighting. If match count seems too high (expected 5, seeing 500), search is too broad. Refine pattern, test on sample text first, or use selective replacement clicking only intended matches.
3 How do I use capture groups and backreferences in replacements?
Regex capture groups (parentheses) capture matched text for reuse in replacement. Example: Find "(\w+) (\w+)" Replace "$2 $1" swaps first two words ("Hello World" → "World Hello"). $1, $2, $3 reference first, second, third groups. Use cases: reformatting data (find "(\d+)/(\d+)/(\d{4})" replace "$3-$1-$2" converts dates), extracting parts (find "Name: (\w+)" replace "$1" extracts names), or repeating patterns (find "(\w+)" replace "$1-$1" doubles words). Parentheses create groups; \d+ matches digits, \w+ matches word characters, .* matches anything. Non-capturing groups (?:pattern) match without creating $N reference (when you need grouping but not capture). Test regex at regex101.com first for complex patterns to verify groups capture correctly before using in find-replace.
4 Can find-replace work across multiple files?
This web tool works on single text block at a time. For multi-file find-replace: use IDE built-in features (VS Code "Find in Files" with replace, IntelliJ/WebStorm global find-replace, Sublime Text find in project), command-line tools (sed, awk, grep + xargs, PowerShell), code editor packages (Atom find-and-replace in project), or file utilities (TextCrawler on Windows, BBEdit on Mac). Workflow with web tool: copy file contents, paste into tool, replace, copy back, repeat per file. For production multi-file operations, use proper tools to avoid errors. IDEs often support regex too. This tool best for: single file editing, quick replacements, testing regex patterns, or situations where you can't install software but need find-replace functionality (like when using restricted computers).
5 How do I replace line breaks or special characters?
Special characters require regex mode. Common patterns: "\n" for line breaks (Unix/Mac), "\r\n" for Windows line breaks, "\t" for tabs, "\s" for any whitespace (space, tab, newline), "\s+" for multiple whitespaces. Examples: Find "\n\n+" Replace "\n" removes extra blank lines (multiple linebreaks → single); Find "\s+" Replace " " normalizes all whitespace to single space; Find "\n" Replace ", " converts line-separated list to comma-separated. For invisible characters, use \uXXXX for Unicode code point. Note: some tools render \n literally in simple mode—enable regex mode for escape sequence interpretation. To add line breaks in replacement, use \n in replacement field (may need actual line break depending on tool). Test with sample text first to verify behavior.

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