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VS Code: Search-and-Replace Regex

bob.ts on September 16, 2019

This is a feature I use with some frequency, but not frequently enough that I remember the pattern when I need it. Therefore, I am writing this art...

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Marco Hernandez • Mar 29 '20

What if I need to replace something with $? For example, replace '$var' with '$this->var=$var', the regex to search is easy, the problem is the replacement, I tries with '$this->$1 = $$1', it does not work properly. So how do we go about it?

bob.ts • Mar 30 '20

OK. I see a couple of things going on here.

First, you state you are using '$var', for replacement, this should be '(\$[a-zA-Z]*)'.

The parens allow for the selection as $1
The backslash allows VS Code to correctly find '$var' in the content as REGEX.

Second, to use '$this->$1 = $$1' as a pattern for replacement ...

The selection above in my first response would need changed to something like this '\$([a-zA-Z0-9]*)' to allow for selection of text that starts with a dollar sign.
The replacement pattern should be changed to '\$this->=>$1 = $$$1'. The dollar sign in the replacement is "escaped" using the double-dollar-sign (see HERE)

bob.ts • Mar 30 '20

Article written and posted ... here: dev.to/rfornal/vs-code-search-and-...

bob.ts • Mar 30 '20

Having provided a reply, I think I'll write this up as a separate article for clarity. I'll post here when it's complete ... probably in the next day or two. Thanks for the GOOD question!

AhmedFay • Apr 27 '22

that's amazing, thanks very much that's helped a lot

bob.ts • Apr 27 '22

Glad it helped!

Hasan TEZCAN • Nov 5 '20

Is that any way to replace regex expression with vsCode extension API?

bob.ts • Nov 5 '20

I'm not quite sure what this question is.

Are you asking if a regex expression can be generated with a Visual Studio Code extension? Probably.
Are you asking if a regex expression can interact with a Visual Studio Code extension in some way? I don't think so.

Hasan TEZCAN • Nov 6 '20

While using vs code you can find and replace some word using with regex. We are using this usage in our daily lives. But my question is Can I do it with vscode API. I want to make a vscode extension with this endpoint So if it exists

bob.ts • Nov 6 '20

That's a question I'm not able to answer. I know VS Code by usage as a developer ... not by working on VS Code Extensions. I would assume there would be a way to interact with it via API. You might have to come up with an example and contact the team working on VS Code (it is Open Source, so shouldn't be an issue).

Lucian Naie • Jun 1 '22 • Edited

In case you need to replace something like "NumberInt(2018)" with 2018, e.g. in mongodb json files, this would be the find pattern "NumberInt((.?)(\d+))" with the replace "$2". Or this one "ISODate((.?)(.+))" => $2 to transform "ISODate("2021-06-13T20:00:00.000+0000")" to "2021-06-13T20:00:00.000+0000". Cheers!

Caleb Collins-Parks • Dec 18 '20

Where is the option for Perl based PCRE2 engine? I looked in the settings but didn't see it.

bob.ts • Dec 18 '20

OK. I will start by saying that I am not an expert here.

It looks like VS Code, at one time, had a setting to use PCRE2. It has since been deprecated, and PCRE2 is automatically used as a fallback when the default engine doesn't support a feature.

Found this information HERE.