A practical regex for finding URLs in text

You are scanning text for links.

Patterns use the syntax shared by PCRE / Python / JavaScript; engine differences are flagged in the cheatsheet where they matter. Test any pattern at regex101.com — and pick the matching engine.

https?://[^\s/$.?#].[^\s]*
# matches: https://example.com/path?q=1, http://x.io

Good to know

Good enough for finding links — not for security validation.

Regex Cheatsheet one-page card — patterns that actually work — The full one-page card — Regex Cheatsheet. Get the complete cheatsheet on GitHub