regExp.lastIndex

The lastIndex is a read/write integer property of regular expression instances that specifies the index at which to start the next match.

Syntax

regExpObj.lastIndex

Description

This property is set only if the regular expression instance used the "g" flag to indicate a global search. The following rules apply:

• If lastIndex is greater than the length of the string, test() and exec() fail, then lastIndex is set to 0.
• If lastIndex is equal to the length of the string and if the regular expression matches the empty string, then the regular expression matches input starting at lastIndex.
• If lastIndex is equal to the length of the string and if the regular expression does not match the empty string, then the regular expression mismatches input, and lastIndex is reset to 0.
• Otherwise, lastIndex is set to the next position following the most recent match.

Examples

Using lastIndex

Consider the following sequence of statements:

var re = /(hi)?/g;

Matches the empty string.

console.log(re.exec('hi'));
console.log(re.lastIndex);

Returns ["hi", "hi"] with lastIndex equal to 2.

console.log(re.exec('hi'));
console.log(re.lastIndex);

Returns ["", undefined], an empty array whose zeroth element is the match string. In this case, the empty string because lastIndex was 2 (and still is 2) and "hi" has length 2.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
ECMAScript 3rd Edition (ECMA-262)	Standard	Initial definition. Implemented in JavaScript 1.2. JavaScript 1.5: lastIndex is a property of a RegExp instance, not the RegExp object.
ECMAScript 5.1 (ECMA-262) The definition of 'RegExp.lastIndex' in that specification.	Standard
ECMAScript 2015 (6th Edition, ECMA-262) The definition of 'RegExp.lastIndex' in that specification.	Standard
ECMAScript 2017 Draft (ECMA-262) The definition of 'RegExp.lastIndex' in that specification.	Draft

Browser compatibility

See also

• RegExp.prototype.ignoreCase
• RegExp.prototype.global
• RegExp.prototype.multiline
• RegExp.prototype.source
• RegExp.prototype.sticky