regexEmptyAlternatives

Reports empty alternatives in regular expressions that may indicate a mistake.

✅ This rule is included in the ts logical and logicalStrict presets.

Empty alternatives in regular expressions match zero characters. While sometimes intentional, they often indicate a mistake such as a typo or incomplete pattern.

Examples

Empty Alternative at End

An empty alternative at the end of a group or pattern.

❌ Incorre

AEconsB0patteAE< =sp ansty="le--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A68">81<1/sp ansty="le--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A68">87<2|sp ansty="le--0:#D9F5DD;--1:#1111">1<1/sp ansty="le--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#403F">5<3;d ivclassNa="meco">

44AEco61B0pat446<88F spans="tyle--0:#D9F5DD;--1:#11">1<111/ spans="tyle--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A">6<88Fa spans="tyle--0:#7FDBCA;--1:#09">61<111/ spans="tyle--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#40">3

Empty Alternative at Start

An empty alternative at the start of a group or pattern.

❌ Incorre

AEconsB0patteAE< =sp ansty="le--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A68">81<1/sp ansty="le--0:#7FDBCA;--1:#096E">7<2|sp ansty="le--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A68">81<1/sp ansty="le--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#403F">5<3;d ivclassNa="meco">

44AEco61B0pat446<88F spans="tyle--0:#D9F5DD;--1:#11">1<111/ spans="tyle--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A">6<88Fa spans="tyle--0:#7FDBCA;--1:#09">61<111/ spans="tyle--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#40">3

Empty Alternative in Groups

Empty alternatives in capturing and non-capturing groups.

❌ Incorre

AEconsB0patteAE< =sp ansty="le--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A68">81<1/sp ansty="le--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A68">8F<(asp ansty="le--0:#7FDBCA;--1:#096E">7<2|sp ansty="le--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A68">81<1/sp ansty="le--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#403F">5<3;d ivclassNa="meco">

44AEco61B0pat446<88F spans="tyle--0:#D9F5DD;--1:#11">1<111/ spans="tyle--0:#5CA7E4;--1:#3A">68861<111/ spans="tyle--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#40">3<)?/>

RegExp Constructor

The rule also checks regex patterns in RegExp constructor calls.

❌ Incorre

AEconsB0patteAE <= sp ansty="le--0:#7FDBCA;--1:#096E">72nAB0RegE5<3(sp ansty="le--0:#D9F5DD;--1:#1111">1<1"sp ansty="le--0:#ECC48D;--1:#984E">4Da|1<1"sp ansty="le--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#403F">53<);d ivclassNa="meco"><);d>

44AEco61B0pat44A6E7<2new spans="tyle--0:#C792EA;--1:#88">4<4AE spans="tyle--0:#82AAFF;--1:#3B">61B0Re31<111" spans="tyle--0:#ECC48D;--1:#98">4E41<111" spans="tyle--0:#D6DEEB;--1:#40">3F<53) ;divclass="Name">

Options

This rule is not configurable.

When Not To Use It

If you intentionally use empty alternatives to make a pattern optional and prefer this style over quantifiers, you might prefer to disable this rule. Some developers find (a|) more readable than a? for complex patterns.

Further Reading

• MDN: Disjunction
• MDN: Quantifier

Equivalents in Other Linters

• ESLint: regexp/no-empty-alternative