re.match matches only at the beginning of the string.

def url_match(line, url):
    match = re.match(r'<a href="(?P<url>[^"]*?)"', line)
    return match and match.groupdict()['url'] == url:

example usage:

>>> url_match('<a href="test">', 'test')
True
>>> url_match('<a href="test">', 'te')
False
>>> url_match('this is a <a href="test">', 'test')
False

If the pattern could occur anywhere in the line, use re.search.

def url_search(line, url):
    match = re.search(r'<a href="(?P<url>[^"]*?)"', line)
    return match and match.groupdict()['url'] == url:

example usage:

>>> url_search('<a href="test">', 'test')
True
>>> url_search('<a href="test">', 'te')
False
>>> url_search('this is a <a href="test">', 'test')
True

N.B : If you are trying to parsing HTML using a regex, read RegEx match open tags except XHTML self-contained tags before going any further.

Answer from mouad on Stack Overflow
🌐
Regex101
regex101.com
regex101: build, test, and debug regex
Regular expression tester with syntax highlighting, explanation, cheat sheet for PHP/PCRE, Python, GO, JavaScript, Java, C#/.NET, Rust.
Regex Quiz
Learn regex and challenge yourself in a unique regex quiz: play progressively harder levels and compete with others in creating the shortest solutions.
Community Patterns
Search, filter and view user submitted regular expressions in the regex library. Over 20,000 entries, and counting!
🌐
Pythex
pythex.org
Pythex: a Python regular expression editor
Pythex is a real-time regular expression editor for Python, a quick way to test your regular expressions.
Discussions

python - how to test for a regex match - Stack Overflow
I have a string. Let's call it 'test'. I want to test a match for this string, but only using the backref of a regex. Can I do something like this: import re for line in f.readlines(): if '&... More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
rexi: A Terminal UI for Regex Testing Built in Python
Terminal version of regex101 yes please More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Python
11
29
January 5, 2024
Best site to learn regex?
Regex101.com is a great place to do testing. It will help show you what your commands are going to pull. There is also a good help window. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
20
9
June 30, 2022
I don't understand regex at all
There's this famous quote: Some people, when confronted with a problem, think "I know, I'll use regular expressions." Now they have two problems. I only had to use regex a handful of times, so I forget a bunch of it as well in between. There are however websites like https://regex101.com/ that visualise the expression. But, in general, the first thing I try is solving the problem with plain Python. Often things can be done with str.split(), str.strip(), looping and list calculations. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
13
3
August 20, 2020
🌐
Debuggex
debuggex.com
Debuggex: Online visual regex tester. JavaScript, Python, and PCRE.
Test your regex by visualizing it with a live editor. JavaScript, Python, and PCRE.
🌐
W3Schools
w3schools.com › python › python_regex.asp
Python RegEx
RegEx can be used to check if a string contains the specified search pattern. Python has a built-in package called re, which can be used to work with Regular Expressions.
🌐
Python-Fiddle
python-fiddle.com › tools › regex
Online Python Regex Playground
Enter a regular expression pattern and a string to test it against
Find elsewhere
🌐
RegExr
regexr.com
RegExr: Learn, Build, & Test RegEx
RegExr is an online tool to learn, build, & test Regular Expressions (RegEx / RegExp).
🌐
Regex101
regex101.com › r › hT2rL8 › 1
regex101: python regex
Regular expression tester with syntax highlighting, explanation, cheat sheet for PHP/PCRE, Python, GO, JavaScript, Java, C#/.NET, Rust.
🌐
Pythonium
pythonium.net › domicile › python regex tester
Python Regex Online
February 15, 2024 - With Pyrexp, you can ensure that your regex patterns have valid syntax, eliminating common syntax errors that often plague regex (Personally, I get lost in those parentheses… It reminds me of LISP…). Simply input your regular expression, and our tester will validate its syntax.
🌐
Site24x7
site24x7.com › tools › regex-parser.html
Regex Tester and Debugger: JavaScript, PHP, Python - Site24x7
A free regex tester that validates your input string against a specified regular expression, ensuring it matches the defined criteria effortlessly! The tool supports parsing and debugging in Javascript, Python and PHP languages
🌐
Python documentation
docs.python.org › 3 › howto › regex.html
Regular Expression HOWTO — Python 3.14.3 documentation
Author, A.M. Kuchling ,. Abstract: This document is an introductory tutorial to using regular expressions in Python with the re module. It provides a gentler introduction than th...
🌐
Qodex
qodex.ai › home › all tools › getting started › javascript regex tester
Python Regex Tester Online | Validate, Test ...
Test, debug, and refine your regular expressions in real-time using the Qodex JavaScript Regex Tester. Whether you’re working on email validation, password security, or URL parsing, this tool helps you validate patterns instantly with visual ...
Rating: 4.9 ​ - ​ 60 votes
🌐
Python documentation
docs.python.org › 3 › library › re.html
re — Regular expression operations
4 days ago - Source code: Lib/re/ This module provides regular expression matching operations similar to those found in Perl. Both patterns and strings to be searched can be Unicode strings ( str) as well as 8-...
🌐
Regextester
regextester.github.io
Regular Expresstion Tester
Regular Expression Tester for .Net, Python, Java and JavaScript
🌐
RAKKOTOOLS
en.rakko.tools › tools › 57
Regular Expression Tester: PHP/Javascript/Python regex tester | RAKKOTOOLS🔧
Input the regular expression and the target text, then highlights the part of the target text that matches the regular expression.In PHP, the result of preg_match_all is also displayed.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/python › rexi: a terminal ui for regex testing built in python
r/Python on Reddit: rexi: A Terminal UI for Regex Testing Built in Python
January 5, 2024 -

Hey everyone,

I'm excited to share a project I've been working on called rexi. It's a CLI tool designed to make regex testing more interactive and accessible directly from your terminal. Built with Python and utilizing the textual library, rexi offers a sleek terminal UI where you can effortlessly test your regex patterns.

Key Features:

  • Interactive terminal UI for an enhanced user experience.

  • Supports match and finditer modes for regex evaluation.

  • Real-time feedback on regex patterns with marked outputs.

Why rexi?

I created rexi to streamline the process of testing regex patterns. It's perfect for those who prefer working within the terminal or need a quick way to validate and learn regex through immediate feedback.

Getting Started:

Getting started with rexi is simple. After installation, just pipe your input text into rexi and start testing your regex patterns in an interactive UI. Here's a quick peek at how you can use it:

echo "your sample text" | rexi

Check it out and let me know what you think! I'm open to any suggestions, bug reports, or contributions to make rexi even better.

The repo: https://github.com/royreznik/rexi

🌐
ACCELQ
accelq.com › home › master python regex testing: your go-to guide for test automation
Your Go-To Guide to Python Regex Testing for Automation
November 6, 2025 - Regex101: Online regular expression tester with live feedback. Pythex: Pythex is a quick way to test your Python regular expressions.
🌐
Regex Generator
regex-generator.olafneumann.org
Regex Generator - Creating regex is easy again!
A tool to generate simple regular expressions from sample text. Enable less experienced developers to create regex smoothly.