Picomatch — A fast and accurate glob pattern matching library.

Picomatch — A fast and accurate glob pattern matching library.

Picomatch

A blazing fast, zero-dependency JavaScript glob pattern matching library, supporting standard and extended Bash glob features.

Trigger Scenarios

Use when the user needs file path matching, glob wildcards (*, **, ?, [...]), .gitignore-style exclusion rules, build tool file filtering, CLI path filtering, file watcher allow/deny lists, etc. Trigger keywords: picomatch, glob matching, .js, **/.ts, wildcards, .gitignore pattern matching, file filtering, minimatch alternative.

Installation

npm install picomatch

Core API

picomatch(glob[, options]) → matcher

Main entry point: Takes a glob pattern and returns a matcher function.

const pm = require('picomatch');
const isMatch = pm('*.js');

isMatch('a.js');  // true
isMatch('a.md');  // false
isMatch('a/b.js'); // false (* does not cross /)

picomatch.isMatch(string, patterns[, options])

Directly checks if a string matches any pattern, without manually calling a matcher.

picomatch.isMatch('a.a', ['b.*', '*.a']); // true
picomatch.isMatch('a.a', 'b.*');          // false

picomatch.matchBase(input, glob)

Matches only the basename of a path (ignores directories).

picomatch.matchBase('foo/bar.js', '*.js');  // true

picomatch.scan(input[, options])

Parses a glob pattern into a structured object.

picomatch.scan('!./foo/*.js', { tokens: true });
// { prefix: '!./', base: 'foo', glob: '*.js', negated: true, tokens: [...] }

picomatch.parse(pattern[, options]) → state

Converts a glob to an intermediate state object, which can be used with .compileRe / .makeRe.

picomatch.makeRe(pattern[, options]) → RegExp

Directly converts a glob to a RegExp.

picomatch.makeRe('*.js');  // /^(?:(?!\.)(?=.)[^/]*?\.js)$/

picomatch.toRegex(source[, options]) → RegExp

Creates a RegExp from a regex source string.

Common Options

Option	Type	Description
dot	boolean	Allow matching dotfiles, default false
nocase	boolean	Case-insensitive matching
matchBase	boolean	Match against basename only
noglobstar	boolean	Disable ** matching nested directories
noextglob	boolean	Disable extglob (+(a|b))
nobrace	boolean	Disable brace expansion ({a,b})
globstar	boolean	Treat single * as globstar (bash option)
windows	boolean	Support Windows backslash paths
ignore	array	Exclusion list (blacklist)
onMatch	function	Callback on match success
onIgnore	function	Callback on ignore
onResult	function	Callback on all results

Glob Syntax Quick Reference

Syntax	Description
*	Match any character (excluding /, excluding dotfiles)
**	Match any character, including path separators
?	Match a single character
[abc]	Match any character within brackets
{a,b}	Match a or b (brace expansion)
+(a|b)	Extglob: match one or more times
!(pattern)	Exclude matches
! prefix	Negated pattern

Practical Pattern Examples

const pm = require('picomatch');

// JS/TS files
pm('**/*.{js,ts,mjs}');

// Ignore node_modules
pm('**', { ignore: 'node_modules/**' });

// Specific extension with subdirectories
pm('src/**/*.md');

// Dotfiles (hidden files)
pm('.*', { dot: true });

// Case-insensitive (Windows/macOS)
pm('*.JPG', { nocase: true });

// Windows paths
pm('src\\**\\*.js', { windows: true });

Common Use Cases

• File watcher allow/deny lists — glob filtering for watchman / chokidar
• .gitignore parsing — parsing ignore pattern lists
• CLI path filtering — underlying engine for glob / fast-glob
• Build artifact matching — determining if a file belongs to dist output
• minimatch alternative — similar API but better performance (micromatch ecosystem)

Detailed Reference

For complete API signatures, option descriptions, scan options, and option examples, see references/api_reference.md.