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UUID Regex Examples

UUID validation is common in APIs, databases, logs and configuration files. This guide provides practical UUID regex examples you can test and adapt.

Standard UUID

Matches a UUID in the common 8-4-4-4-12 format.

Suggested pattern

^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$
Quick test

What it matches

  • 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
  • A987FBC9-4BED-3078-CF07-9141BA07C9F3

Common limitations

  • Does not check the UUID version.
  • Accepts uppercase and lowercase hexadecimal characters.

UUID v4

Matches UUID version 4 values.

Suggested pattern

^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-4[0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[89abAB][0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$
Quick test

What it matches

  • 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Common limitations

  • Only validates the UUID v4 format.
  • Does not verify that the value was generated randomly.

UUID v1 to v5

Matches UUID versions 1 through 5.

Suggested pattern

^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[1-5][0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[89abAB][0-9a-fA-F]{3}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$
Quick test

What it matches

  • 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
  • 6ba7b810-9dad-11d1-80b4-00c04fd430c8

Common limitations

  • Checks the version digit only.
  • Does not validate how the UUID was generated.

UUID without hyphens

Matches compact UUID values written as 32 hexadecimal characters.

Suggested pattern

^[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$
Quick test

What it matches

  • 550e8400e29b41d4a716446655440000

Common limitations

  • Does not check UUID version or variant.
  • May also match any 32-character hexadecimal identifier.

What is a UUID?

A UUID is a universally unique identifier commonly used to identify records, users, sessions, objects and resources.

UUIDs are often found in databases, APIs, logs, configuration files and distributed systems.

Common UUID format

The most recognizable UUID format uses 32 hexadecimal characters separated into five groups: 8-4-4-4-12.

A standard UUID looks like 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000.

UUID versions

UUIDs can have different versions, such as v1, v3, v4 and v5.

A regex can check the version digit, but it cannot verify the generation method or uniqueness of the identifier.

Can regex verify UUID uniqueness?

A regex can validate the format of a UUID, but it cannot prove that the UUID is truly unique.

Uniqueness must be guaranteed by the generation algorithm, database constraints or application logic.

When to use a UUID regex

UUID regex patterns are useful for validating API parameters, database IDs, log entries, import files and configuration values.

They provide a quick first layer of validation before deeper application-specific checks.