Rewritten
This matches an international phone number in E.164-like form. Breaking it down: `^` anchors to the start; `\+?` allows an optional leading plus sign; `[1-9]` requires the first digit to be 1–9 (no leading zero); `\d{7,14}` requires 7 to 14 more digits; and `$` anchors to the end. So it accepts 8–15 total digits, optionally prefixed with `+`.
About this tool
Regular expressions are famously write-once, read-never — a pattern that made perfect sense when you wrote it becomes a cryptic string of symbols a week later. This tool breaks a regex down into plain English, explaining what it matches and what each part contributes. It's built for the moment you find an unexplained pattern in a codebase or a config file and need to know exactly what it captures before you touch it, without mentally single-stepping through the syntax yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Does it handle complex patterns with lookaheads?+
Yes — it explains advanced constructs like lookaheads, lookbehinds, backreferences, and non-capturing groups, not just basic character classes.
Will it tell me if my regex has a bug?+
It describes what the pattern actually matches, which often reveals a mismatch with your intent — but it explains rather than debugs.
Does regex flavor matter?+
Some syntax differs between flavors (PCRE, JavaScript, etc.). Mention the flavor if you're using anything unusual for the most accurate explanation.