Pattern

Regex for SQL comment

SQL line comment (--) or block comment (/* */).

The SQL comment regex is (--[^\n]*|\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\/) — copy it below, or open it in the explainer for a token-by-token breakdown.

The pattern

(--[^\n]*|\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\/)

Try in explainer → Download cheat sheet ↓

What it matches

-- this is a comment
/* block comment */
-- TODO: refactor

What it doesn't match

code only
# python style

Notes & gotchas

SQL line comments start with -- and run to end of line. Block comments use C-style /* */. MySQL also accepts # for line comments (add it to 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 a capturing group
`--`	literal text “--”
`[^\n]*`	zero or more: any character except “n”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`\/`	literal “/”
`\*`	literal “*”
`[\s\S]*?`	zero or more (lazy — as few as possible): any of: whitespace, non-whitespace
`\*`	literal “*”
`\/`	literal “/”
`)`	end of group

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: /(--[^\n]*|\\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\\/)/.test(value)
Python: re.match(r"(--[^\n]*|\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\/)", value)
Java: Pattern.compile("(--[^\\n]*|\\/\\*[\\s\\S]*?\\*\\/)").matcher(value).matches()
C# / .NET: Regex.IsMatch(value, @"(--[^\n]*|\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\/)")
Go: regexp.MustCompile(`(--[^\n]*|\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\/)`).MatchString(value)
Ruby: /(--[^\n]*|\\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\\/)/.match?(value)
PHP: preg_match('~(--[^\n]*|\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\/)~', $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

Not anchored. Without ^ and $ this can match a substring anywhere in the input — add anchors if you need the whole value to conform.
Escape it correctly per language. In Java and JavaScript strings each backslash must be doubled (\\d); in Python, Go, and C# use raw/verbatim strings so the backslashes survive.
Validate beyond format. Matching the format doesn't guarantee the value is real. Confirm the sql comment against a source of truth (database, API, or checksum) where it matters.

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