Pattern

Regex for HTTP method

Standard HTTP method verbs.

The pattern

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What it matches

GET
POST
PUT
PATCH
DELETE

What it doesn't match

get
Post
FETCH

Notes & gotchas

9 standard HTTP methods. Case-sensitive per RFC 7231. WebDAV adds more (COPY, MOVE, MKCOL, etc.) — extend the alternation if needed.

Code in your language

Use the explainer's Code tab to generate ready-to-paste snippets in JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, and PHP for this pattern.

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Token-by-token breakdown

Every part of the pattern, left to right:

Token	Meaning
`^`	start of string (or line in multiline mode)
`(`	start of a capturing group
`GET`	literal text “GET”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`POST`	literal text “POST”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`PUT`	literal text “PUT”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`PATCH`	literal text “PATCH”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`DELETE`	literal text “DELETE”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`HEAD`	literal text “HEAD”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`OPTIONS`	literal text “OPTIONS”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`TRACE`	literal text “TRACE”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`CONNECT`	literal text “CONNECT”
`)`	end of group
`$`	end of string (or line in multiline mode)

About this pattern

Developer-oriented patterns help with code analysis, log parsing, and data transformation. Use these in build scripts, CI tools, IDE search-and-replace, and code review utilities.

Quick usage in different languages

This exact pattern — with the correct escaping and idioms for each language:

JavaScript: /^(GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE|CONNECT)$/.test(value)
Python: re.match(r"^(GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE|CONNECT)$", value)
Java: Pattern.compile("^(GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE|CONNECT)$").matcher(value).matches()
C# / .NET: Regex.IsMatch(value, @"^(GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE|CONNECT)$")
Go: regexp.MustCompile(`^(GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE|CONNECT)$`).MatchString(value)
Ruby: /^(GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE|CONNECT)$/.match?(value)
PHP: preg_match('~^(GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD|OPTIONS|TRACE|CONNECT)$~', $value)

The explainer’s Code tab regenerates these for any pattern you paste, and the downloadable cheat sheet bundles the breakdown, all seven snippets, and the pitfalls below onto one printable page.

Common pitfalls

Anchored to the whole string. This pattern uses ^ and $, so it requires the entire input to match. To find it inside a longer text, drop the anchors and use the global (g) flag.
Validate beyond format. Matching the format doesn't guarantee the value is real. Confirm the http method against a source of truth (database, API, or checksum) where it matters.

Standards & sources

This pattern is based on the following authoritative specification(s) and issuing authorities. Formats can change — always confirm against the primary source.

RFC 9110 — HTTP Semantics

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