# regexp_replace > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [cloud-data-platform-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/cloud-data-platform-full.txt) --- title: regexp_replace latest-operator-version: v26.1.4 latest-console-tag: v3.7.3 latest-connect-version: 4.93.0 latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9 docname: sql/sql-functions/string-functions/regex/regexp-replace page-component-name: cloud-data-platform page-version: master page-component-version: master page-component-title: Cloud page-relative-src-path: sql/sql-functions/string-functions/regex/regexp-replace.adoc page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/cloud-docs/edit/main/modules/reference/pages/sql/sql-functions/string-functions/regex/regexp-replace.adoc description: The `regexp_replace()` function replaces all occurrences of a regular expression pattern in a string with a specified replacement string. page-topic-type: reference page-git-created-date: "2026-05-26" page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26" --- The `regexp_replace()` function replaces all occurrences of a regular expression pattern in a string with a specified replacement string. ## [](#syntax)Syntax The syntax for `regexp_replace()` function is: ```sql REGEXP_REPLACE(source_string, pattern, replacement, [flags]) ``` ## [](#parameters)Parameters - `source_string`: String on which to perform the replacement. - `pattern`: POSIX regular expression pattern to match. - `replacement`: Replacement string. - `flags`: Optional. Flags that change the matching behavior of `regexp_replace()`. The `flags` parameter is an optional string that controls how the function operates. Here is a list of flags supported in Redpanda SQL: - `g`: Global replacement. This flag ensures that all occurrences of the pattern are replaced. - `i`: Use this flag for case-insensitive matching. - `c`: Force case-sensitive matching (the default). Including `c` has the same effect as omitting all flags. ## [](#examples)Examples ### [](#basic-usage)Basic usage This example uses the `regexp_replace()` function with a basic POSIX regular expression pattern: ```sql SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE('The SQL ENGINE supports various data types', 'T[^ ]*', 'A') AS "Replaced_String"; ``` The query returns: ```sql Replaced_String ----------------------------------------- A SQL ENGINE supports various data types ``` The pattern `T[^ ]*` matches any substring starting with `T` followed by non-space characters. The function replaces the first match (`The`) with the replacement string `A`. ### [](#replace-special-characters)Replace special characters This example demonstrates how to replace a non-alphanumeric character in a string with a tilde (~): ```sql SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE('Hello World!', '[^A-Za-z0-9 ]', '~') AS "Replaced_String"; ``` In this query, the second parameter is a regular expression `[^A-Za-z0-9 ]` that matches any character that is not an uppercase or lowercase letter, digit, or space. Output: ```sql Replaced String ------------------- Hello World~ ``` ### [](#flag-usage)Flag usage #### [](#replace-certain-substrings-with-a-single-flag-defined)Replace certain substrings with a single flag defined This example uses the `regexp_replace()` function with a defined flag to replace certain substrings in a string. First, create a sample `quotes` table: ```sql CREATE TABLE quotes (quotes_text text); INSERT INTO quotes (quotes_text) VALUES ('Work hard and stay hungry. Lazy people get nowhere in life.'), ('An excuse is a way for a LAZY person to feel better.'), ('The word LUCKY is how a lazy person describes someone who works hard.'); SELECT quotes_text FROM quotes; ``` The query returns: ```sql quotes_text ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Work hard and stay hungry. Lazy people get nowhere in life. An excuse is a way for a LAZY person to feel better. The word LUCKY is how a lazy person describes someone who works hard. (3 rows) ``` Now, use the `regexp_replace()` function with the `i` flag specified to replace all occurrences of the word `lazy` with `active` regardless of case sensitivity: ```sql SELECT quotes_text, REGEXP_REPLACE(quotes_text, 'lazy', 'active', 'i') AS "New quotes" FROM quotes; ``` In this case, all occurrences of the word `lazy` have been replaced with `active`: ```sql quotes_text | New quotes -----------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------- Work hard and stay hungry. Lazy people get nowhere in life. | Work hard and stay hungry. active people get nowhere in life. An excuse is a way for a LAZY person to feel better. | An excuse is a way for a active person to feel better. The word LUCKY is how a lazy person describes someone who works hard. | The word LUCKY is how a active person describes someone who works hard. (3 rows) ``` ### [](#specify-one-or-more-flags)Specify one or more flags Without specifying the `g` flag, `regexp_replace()` function replaces only the first occurrence of a substring: ```sql SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE('ab12c', '[0-9]', 'X'); ``` ```sql regexp_replace ---------------- abX2c ``` In this case, only the first digit (`1`) was replaced with `X`. By adding the `g` flag, all occurrences are replaced with `X`: ```sql SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE('ab12c', '[0-9]', 'X', 'g'); ``` ```sql regexp_replace ---------------- abXXc ``` > 📝 **NOTE** > > If you specify multiple flags, the last one takes precedence. With `ci` the match is case-insensitive; with `ic` it is case-sensitive. ## [](#restrictions)Restrictions - The function returns `NULL` if there are no input rows or `NULL` values. - If the regular expression pattern isn’t found in the string, the `regexp_replace()` function returns the original string.