We all know the replace() function for JavaScript Strings and that it is possible to do really fancy things by using regular expressions to replace a (sub)string. What I didn't know was that there are special $ references you can use in the replace() function. Of course there is $1, $2,.. to get the first, second finding, BUT did you know $& is also available?

$& reinserts the whole regex match

Here is an example how it works:

The usage of $& is basically just the shorthand of using the replace() function with a function as second parameter:

text.replace(regex, function(m){ return ''+m+'';});

When you use replace(RegExp, function) then the function is called with the following arguments:

  • The matched substring
  • Match1,2,3,4 etc (parenthesized substring matches)
  • The offset of the substring
  • The full string

When to use it?

It will make sense to use $& if you can't change the regex per se, e.g. if you get it from a server. Or, secondly you just don't want to employ a captured group in your regular expression ;)

More information:

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