google-re2

library1.1.20251105pypypi✓ verified 24d ago

google-re2 provides Python bindings for Google's high-performance RE2 C++ regular expression library. It offers a fast and secure alternative to Python's built-in `re` module, designed for linear-time execution, but with a more restricted feature set. The library maintains a frequent release cadence, often monthly, reflecting updates to the underlying C++ library.

serialization

pip install google-re2

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · GOOGLE-RE2

google-re2

serializationpythonv1.1.20251105

Install

1.6s avg

Import

—

Disk

17MB

Pass rate

4/ 10

Env Coverage4 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v1.1.20251105 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

glibc

py 3.10

✕ build_error

✓ 1.6s

py 3.11

✕ build_error

✓ 1.7s

py 3.12

✕ build_error

✓ 1.5s

py 3.13

✕ build_error

✓ 1.5s

py 3.9

✕ build_error

17MB installed

● package 17MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

re2

✓ import re2

✗ import google_re2

The PyPI package `google-re2` exposes its functionality via the `re2` module name.

This example demonstrates basic usage of the `re2` module, including compiling patterns, searching, finding all matches, and performing substitutions. The API largely mirrors Python's built-in `re` module for common operations.

import re2 # Compile a regex pattern pattern = re2.compile(r'hello (\w+)') # Search for a match match = pattern.search('hello world') if match: print(f"Found: {match.group(0)}") print(f"Captured: {match.group(1)}") # Find all occurrences text = 'hello python, hello universe' all_matches = re2.findall(r'hello (\w+)', text) print(f"All matches: {all_matches}") # Replace text replaced_text = re2.sub(r'hello', 'hi', text) print(f"Replaced text: {replaced_text}")

Debug

Known issues

gotcha`re2` is NOT a full drop-in replacement for Python's `re` module. It intentionally omits advanced features like backreferences, lookarounds, and some complex Unicode properties for performance and security reasons. Patterns using these features will raise `re2.error: invalid perl_re`.

fix

Review and rewrite regex patterns to avoid unsupported features. Consult RE2's C++ syntax documentation for supported features. For patterns requiring full PCRE compatibility, consider `re` or `regex` libraries.

affects: All versions

gotchaInstallation may require a C++ compiler (e.g., GCC, Clang, MSVC) and RE2 C++ library headers if pre-built wheels are not available for your specific Python version and operating system. This can complicate deployment in environments without build tools.

fix

Ensure your environment has a C++ compiler and the necessary RE2 C++ development files. On Debian/Ubuntu: `sudo apt-get install build-essential libre2-dev`. On Fedora: `sudo dnf install @development-tools re2-devel`. On Windows, install Visual C++ Build Tools.

affects: All versions

gotchaWhile `re2` supports UTF-8, its interpretation of certain character classes (e.g., `\b` for word boundaries, `\w` for word characters) can differ from Python's `re` module, especially with non-ASCII or complex Unicode text. This can lead to unexpected matching behavior.

fix

Thoroughly test patterns with diverse Unicode inputs. Explicitly use Unicode character properties (e.g., `\p{L}` for letters) where supported if fine-grained Unicode control is needed.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ERROR: Failed building wheel for google-re2

This error commonly occurs during installation due to missing C++ development tools (like a C++ compiler or the `libre2-dev` package) or `pybind11`, or environment-specific issues, particularly on macOS where Xcode Command Line Tools might be outdated or absent.

fix

Ensure that required system dependencies are installed (e.g., `sudo apt-get install libre2-dev pybind11-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu, or ensure Xcode Command Line Tools are updated on macOS) and install `pybind11` via `pip install pybind11`. Consider using a clean Python virtual environment.

re2.error: invalid perl operator: (?!)

The RE2 library has a more restricted feature set than PCRE or Python's built-in `re` module; it does not support advanced regular expression features like lookarounds (e.g., positive/negative lookahead `(?=...)`, `(?!...)`, or lookbehind `(?<=...)`, `(?<!...)`) or backreferences.

fix

Rewrite the regular expression to avoid unsupported features by using alternative patterns or string manipulation before or after the regex match. For example, `(?:$|[^,])` can often replace `(?!,)`.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 're2'

This error occurs when the `google-re2` package has not been installed, or it was installed but imported with an incorrect module name. The package is imported as `re2`, not `google_re2` or similar variations.

fix

First, ensure the package is installed using `pip install google-re2`. Then, import it correctly in your Python code using `import re2`.

NameError: basestring

This error indicates an incompatibility issue, typically arising when an older version of the `re2` Python binding or a binding designed for Python 2 is being used in a Python 3 environment. `basestring` was a built-in type in Python 2 that was removed in Python 3.

fix

Ensure you have the `google-re2` package (or a Python 3 compatible `pyre2` binding) installed for your current Python 3 environment, and upgrade it to the latest version using `pip install --upgrade google-re2`.

Upgrade

Version history

1.1.20251105latest on PyPI · released Nov 5, 2025

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

9 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/google/re2 ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/google-re2/ ↗