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# lodash.escaperegexp
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Escapes RegExp special characters in strings, enabling safe use of user input or dynamic content within regular expressions. This modular export from the lodash library allows you to include only the escapeRegExp functionality without the entire lodash dependency.
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## Package Information
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- **Package Name**: lodash.escaperegexp
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- **Package Type**: npm
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- **Language**: JavaScript
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- **Installation**: `npm install lodash.escaperegexp`
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## Core Imports
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```javascript
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const escapeRegExp = require('lodash.escaperegexp');
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```
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## Basic Usage
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```javascript
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const escapeRegExp = require('lodash.escaperegexp');
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// Escape special characters for safe RegExp construction
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const userInput = '[lodash](https://lodash.com/)';
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const escaped = escapeRegExp(userInput);
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console.log(escaped);
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// => '\\[lodash\\]\\(https://lodash\\.com/\\)'
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// Use escaped string in RegExp
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const regex = new RegExp(escaped);
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const text = 'Check out [lodash](https://lodash.com/) for utilities!';
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console.log(regex.test(text)); // => true
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// Safe search and replace
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const searchTerm = '*.js';
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const escapedTerm = escapeRegExp(searchTerm);
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const pattern = new RegExp(escapedTerm, 'g');
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const filename = 'my-script*.js matches *.js pattern';
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console.log(filename.replace(pattern, 'REDACTED'));
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// => 'my-script REDACTED matches REDACTED pattern'
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```
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## Capabilities
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### String Escaping
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Escapes all RegExp special characters in a string for safe dynamic regular expression construction.
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```javascript { .api }
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/**
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 * Escapes the RegExp special characters "^", "$", "\\", ".", "*", "+",
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 * "?", "(", ")", "[", "]", "{", "}", and "|" in string.
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 * @param {string} [string=''] The string to escape.
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 * @returns {string} Returns the escaped string.
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 */
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function escapeRegExp(string)
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```
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**Parameters:**
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- `string` (string, optional): The string to escape. Defaults to empty string if not provided.
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**Returns:**
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- (string): The escaped string with all RegExp special characters prefixed with backslashes.
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**Special Character Handling:**
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The function escapes these RegExp special characters:
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- `^` → `\\^` (caret)
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- `$` → `\\$` (dollar)  
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- `\\` → `\\\\` (backslash)
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- `.` → `\\.` (dot)
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- `*` → `\\*` (asterisk)
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- `+` → `\\+` (plus)
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- `?` → `\\?` (question mark)
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- `(` → `\\(` (left parenthesis)
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- `)` → `\\)` (right parenthesis)
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- `[` → `\\[` (left square bracket)
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- `]` → `\\]` (right square bracket)
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- `{` → `\\{` (left curly brace)
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- `}` → `\\}` (right curly brace)
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- `|` → `\\|` (pipe)
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**Type Handling:**
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- **Null/undefined**: Returns empty string
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- **Symbols**: Converts to string representation
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- **Numbers**: Converts to string (preserves sign of -0)
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- **Other types**: Converts to string via implicit coercion
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**Usage Examples:**
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```javascript
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// Basic escaping
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escapeRegExp('hello.world');
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// => 'hello\\.world'
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// Multiple special characters
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escapeRegExp('(test)*+?');
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// => '\\(test\\)\\*\\+\\?'
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// Null/undefined handling
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escapeRegExp(null);
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// => ''
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escapeRegExp(undefined);
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// => ''
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// Empty string
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escapeRegExp('');
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// => ''
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// Numbers
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escapeRegExp(123);
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// => '123'
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// Preserves -0 sign
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escapeRegExp(-0);
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// => '-0'
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// Complex patterns
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escapeRegExp('[a-z]+\\.(js|ts)$');
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// => '\\[a-z\\]\\+\\\\\\.(js\\|ts\\)\\$'
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```