real-regex
REAL — linear-time (ReDoS-safe) regex engine with an re-compatible API
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need ReDoS-safe regex with predictable performance and can accept that the project is very new (first release 2026-06-13). The API is familiar, the license is permissive, and there are no known vulnerabilities. Install friction is medium due to compilation, but wheels cover common platforms. Verify production stability and real-world performance for your specific patterns before relying on it in critical systems.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >= 3.10
- Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple platforms.
- Active maintenance with release on 2026-08-14; the project is very new (first release 2026-06-13) and has low star count, so production stability is unproven.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions — standard permissive terms.
last release 2026-08-14 (0 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 2 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 88,057 downloads/mo, #13,751 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install real-regex
import real as re
m = re.match(r"(\w+)@(\w+)\.(\w+)", "user@example.com")
print(m.group(1), m.group(2), m.group(3))- Whether the linear-time guarantee holds for all real-world regex patterns developers actually use
- Performance comparison details beyond the mention that it is faster on most work but slower on some cases
- Maturity and stability of the C++20 engine in production environments
What it is and what it does
real-regex is a regex engine that replaces Python's standard `re` module with a linear-time implementation backed by a C++20 Thompson NFA simulator. It guarantees that every accepted pattern runs in linear time with no possibility of catastrophic backtracking (ReDoS), while retaining support for bounded lookarounds—a feature that competing linear engines drop to maintain safety. The API mirrors `re` exactly: `compile`, `search`, `match`, `fullmatch`, `findall`, `finditer`, `sub`, `subn`, `split`, and all standard match object methods work as expected.
The trade-off is strictness: patterns using backreferences, conditionals, or certain Unicode properties raise an error rather than falling back silently to backtracking. This is intentional—a compiled pattern is a safety guarantee. You can opt into fallback behavior per call or globally if needed, at the cost of losing the linear-time promise for those patterns. The engine ships as a compiled wheel with no runtime dependencies, and the same C++ library is available to C++ code via a header-only interface.
Use it for
- Parsing untrusted user input or hostile regex patterns where ReDoS attacks are a concern
- Text extraction and validation in security-sensitive applications where performance must be predictable
- Large-scale log parsing or data processing where regex performance matters and backtracking blowup is unacceptable
- Building tools that accept user-supplied patterns and need to guarantee they won't hang the system
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need ReDoS-safe regex with predictable performance and can accept that the project is very new (first release 2026-06-13).
The API is familiar, the license is permissive, and there are no known vulnerabilities. Install friction is medium due to compilation, but wheels cover common platforms. Verify production stability and real-world performance for your specific patterns before relying on it in critical systems.
Install
real-regex on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple platforms. Active maintenance with release on 2026-08-14; the project is very new (first release 2026-06-13) and has low star count, so production stability is unproven.
Requires Python >= 3.10
License in practice
MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions — standard permissive terms.
Quickstart
pip install real-regex
import real as re
m = re.match(r"(\w+)@(\w+)\.(\w+)", "user@example.com")
print(m.group(1), m.group(2), m.group(3))Verify before relying
- Whether the linear-time guarantee holds for all real-world regex patterns developers actually use
- Performance comparison details beyond the mention that it is faster on most work but slower on some cases
- Maturity and stability of the C++20 engine in production environments
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 0 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 88,057 / month, #13,751 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: C++Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyTopic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: Text Processing |
Evidence: real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_24_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-manylinux_2_24_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-win32.whl; real_regex-2026.8.15-cp310-abi3-win_amd64.whl
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See also google-re2 · regex · regexploit · onigurumacffi · flpc · first · backrefs · multiregex · regress · hyperscan