Named capture groups in Python

Labeling the parts of a match for readable extraction.

import re

pattern = re.compile(
    r"(?P<year>\d{4})-(?P<month>\d{2})-(?P<day>\d{2})")

m = pattern.search("released on 2026-07-29, patched later")
year = m.group("year")
month, day = m.group("month", "day")
parts = m.groupdict()

dates = pattern.findall("2025-01-01 then 2026-07-29")
for year, month, day in dates:
    print(f"{day}/{month}/{year}")

How it works

(?P<year>...) names a capture group.
group('year') and groupdict read them back.
findall returns tuples for multi-group patterns.

Keywords and builtins used here

for
print

The run, in numbers

Lines: 13
Characters to type: 344
Tokens: 104
Three-star pace: 105 tpm

At the three-star pace of 105 tokens a minute, this run takes about 59 seconds.

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Step 2 of 5 in Regular expressions, step 2 of 41 in Domain tools.

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