Regex: require "http://" in the front of this expression

Question

I am using a regex to try and validate URL's. The regex I have works very well but the only issue is that it validates URL's even if there is no http:// in the front. I want it to only validate if the URL has http:// in the front (even if it doesn't contain a www right after)

This is the regex I'm using:

((https?)\:\/\/)?([a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+(\:[a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+)?@)?([a-z0-9-.]*)\.([a-z]{2,3})(\:[0-9]{2,5})?(\/([a-z0-9+\$_-]\.?)+)*\/?(\?[a-z+&\$_.-][a-z0-9;:@&%=+\/\$_.-]*)?(#[a-z_.-][a-z0-9+\$_.-]*)?

Don't validate URLs yourself. Whatever language you are writing in undoubtedly has code that has already been written, tested and debugged. What language are you using? — Andy Lester
– Andy Lester, Commented Dec 21, 2012 at 2:38
PHP, I've used filter_var('http://example.com', FILTER_VALIDATE_URL) but it validates urls such as http://example.c and http://example.comxx which should not validate. What native PHP function would you suggest? — Zaki Aziz
– Zaki Aziz, Commented Dec 21, 2012 at 17:22
Because they aren't actual URL's? the '.com' part of the URL usually range from 2-4 chars. I know ICANN introduced some new domain extensions the past few years which can have up to 8 chars, but I do not think there are domain extensions of 1 char. Though I could be wrong I'm basing this stuff offa wikipedia. — Zaki Aziz
– Zaki Aziz, Commented Dec 21, 2012 at 23:58

Niet the Dark Absol · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-21 02:27:26Z

4

Remove the second ? from the left. It's acting as a quantifier to make the whole http section optional.

answered Dec 21, 2012 at 2:27

Niet the Dark Absol

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Zaki Aziz Over a year ago

Thanks! For the lazy: this is the regex I'm using:

((https?)\:\/\/)([a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+(\:[a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+)?@)?([a-z‌0-9-.]*)\.([a-z]{2,3})(\:[0-9]{2,5})?(\/([a-z0-9+\$_-]\.?)+)*\/?(\?[a-z+&\$_.-][a‌-z0-9;:@&%=+\/\$_.-]*)?(#[a-z_.-][a-z0-9+\$_.-]*)?

Chuck D · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-21 02:27:58Z

0

Does making just the (s) optional work?

(http(s)?\:\/\/)?([a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+(\:[a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+)?@)?([a-z0-9-.]*)\.([a-z]{2,3})(\:[0-9]{2,5})?(\/([a-z0-9+\$_-]\.?)+)*\/?(\?[a-z+&\$_.-][a-z0-9;:@&%=+\/\$_.-]*)?(#[a-z_.-][a-z0-9+\$_.-]*)?

After seeing the new answer, this would require http or https:

(http(s)?\:\/\/)([a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+(\:[a-z0-9+!*(),;?&=\$_.-]+)?@)?([a-z0-9-.]*)\.([a-z]{2,3})(\:[0-9]{2,5})?(\/([a-z0-9+\$_-]\.?)+)*\/?(\?[a-z+&\$_.-][a-z0-9;:@&%=+\/\$_.-]*)?(#[a-z_.-][a-z0-9+\$_.-]*)?

answered Dec 21, 2012 at 2:27

Chuck D

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Niet the Dark Absol Over a year ago

So you're just copying my answer then?

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