# matcher

> Simple wildcard matching

Latest version **6.0.0** (published 2025-09-15) · MIT license · 0 weekly downloads

## Install

```sh
npm install matcher
pnpm add matcher
yarn add matcher
bun add matcher
```

## Health

**Score 40/100 (D)** — status: maintenance-mode.

Positive: has types; esm support; no vulnerabilities; high quality score.

Warnings: low downloads.

Negative: stale; low maintenance score.

## Facts

| | |
|---|---|
| Version | 6.0.0 |
| Published | 2025-09-15 |
| First published | 2016-02-05 |
| Weekly downloads | 0 |
| License | MIT |
| TypeScript types | bundled |
| Module format | ESM |
| Node | >=20 |
| Dependencies | 1 |
| Unpacked size | 13.3 KB |
| Known vulnerabilities | 0 |
| Install scripts | no |
| GitHub stars | 541 |
| Author | Sindre Sorhus |
| Maintainers | sindresorhus |
| Keywords | matcher, matching, match, regex, regexp, regular, expression, wildcard, pattern, string, filter, glob, globber, globbing, minimatch |

## Links

- npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/matcher
- Repository: https://github.com/sindresorhus/matcher
- Homepage: https://github.com/sindresorhus/matcher#readme
- Issues: https://github.com/sindresorhus/matcher/issues
- Funding: https://github.com/sponsors/sindresorhus
- npm.io page: https://npm.io/package/matcher

## Dependencies (1)

- [escape-string-regexp](https://npm.io/package/escape-string-regexp.md) ^5.0.0

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## Recent versions

- 6.0.0 (latest) — 2025-09-15
- 5.0.0 — 2021-10-03
- 4.0.0 — 2021-02-28
- 3.0.0 — 2020-04-26
- 2.1.0 — 2019-11-19
- 2.0.0 — 2019-04-22
- 1.1.1 — 2018-05-25
- 1.1.0 — 2018-02-11
- 1.0.0 — 2017-05-16
- 0.1.2 — 2016-03-02
- 0.1.1 — 2016-02-05
- 0.1.0 — 2016-02-05

## README

# matcher

> Simple [wildcard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcard_character) matching

Useful when you want to accept loose string input and regexes/globs are too convoluted.

## Install

```sh
npm install matcher
```

## Usage

```js
import {matcher, isMatch} from 'matcher';

matcher(['foo', 'bar', 'moo'], ['*oo', '!foo']);
//=> ['moo']

matcher(['foo', 'bar', 'moo'], ['!*oo']);
//=> ['bar']

matcher('moo', ['']);
//=> []

matcher('moo', []);
//=> []

matcher([''], ['']);
//=> ['']

isMatch('unicorn', 'uni*');
//=> true

isMatch('unicorn', '*corn');
//=> true

isMatch('unicorn', 'un*rn');
//=> true

isMatch('rainbow', '!unicorn');
//=> true

isMatch('foo bar baz', 'foo b* b*');
//=> true

isMatch('unicorn', 'uni\\*');
//=> false

isMatch(['foo', 'bar'], 'f*');
//=> true

isMatch(['foo', 'bar'], ['a*', 'b*']);
//=> true

isMatch('unicorn', ['']);
//=> false

isMatch('unicorn', []);
//=> false

isMatch([], 'bar');
//=> false

isMatch([], []);
//=> false

isMatch([''], ['']);
//=> true

// With `allPatterns` option
isMatch('foobar', ['foo*', '*bar'], {allPatterns: true});
//=> true

isMatch('foo', ['foo*', '*bar'], {allPatterns: true});
//=> false
```

## API

It matches even across newlines. For example, `foo*r` will match `foo\nbar`.

### matcher(inputs, patterns, options?)

Accepts a string or an array of strings for both `inputs` and `patterns`.

Returns an array of `inputs` filtered based on the `patterns`.

### isMatch(inputs, patterns, options?)

Accepts a string or an array of strings for both `inputs` and `patterns`.

Returns a `boolean` of whether any of the given `inputs` matches at least one of the `patterns`.

#### inputs

Type: `string | string[]`

The string or array of strings to match.

#### options

Type: `object`

##### caseSensitive

Type: `boolean`\
Default: `false`

Make matching case-sensitive. When `false`, treats uppercase and lowercase characters as being the same.

Ensure you use this correctly. For example, files and directories should be matched case-insensitively, while most often, object keys should be matched case-sensitively.

```js
import {isMatch} from 'matcher';

isMatch('UNICORN', 'UNI*', {caseSensitive: true});
//=> true

isMatch('UNICORN', 'unicorn', {caseSensitive: true});
//=> false

isMatch('unicorn', ['tri*', 'UNI*'], {caseSensitive: true});
//=> false
```

##### allPatterns

Type: `boolean`\
Default: `false`

Require all negated patterns to not match and any normal patterns to match at least once. Otherwise, it will be a no-match condition.

```js
import {matcher} from 'matcher';

// Find text strings containing both "edge" and "tiger" in arbitrary order, but not "stunt".
const demo = (strings) => matcher(strings, ['*edge*', '*tiger*', '!*stunt*'], {allPatterns: true});

demo(['Hey, tiger!', 'tiger has edge over hyenas', 'pushing a tiger over the edge is a stunt']);
//=> ['tiger has edge over hyenas']
```

```js
import {matcher} from 'matcher';

matcher(['foo', 'for', 'bar'], ['f*', 'b*', '!x*'], {allPatterns: true});
//=> ['foo', 'for', 'bar']

matcher(['foo', 'for', 'bar'], ['f*'], {allPatterns: true});
//=> []
```

#### patterns

Type: `string | string[]`

Use `*` to match zero or more characters.

A leading `!` negates the pattern.

An input string will be omitted, if it does not match any non-negated patterns present, or if it matches a negated pattern, or if no pattern is present.

## Benchmark

```sh
npm run bench
```

## Related

- [matcher-cli](https://github.com/sindresorhus/matcher-cli) - CLI for this module
- [multimatch](https://github.com/sindresorhus/multimatch) - Extends `minimatch.match()` with support for multiple patterns

---
_Source: https://npm.io/package/matcher · Machine-readable twin of the npm.io package page. Health data is recomputed on every publish._