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Choose the splitting method that matches your input
| Input pattern | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One exact separator string | str.split(sep) |
It splits on that literal separator without regex syntax. |
| Several one-character separators | re.split() with a character class |
The class matches any one of the listed characters. |
| Several multi-character separator tokens | re.split() with alternation |
Alternation matches any complete token in the pattern. |
| Whitespace as the separator | str.split() with no argument |
This tokenizes whitespace rather than a specified delimiter set. |
| General line boundaries | str.splitlines() |
It recognizes more line boundaries than just the newline character. |
Split on several single-character delimiters
Pass a character class to re.split(). This example splits wherever it encounters a comma, semicolon, or vertical bar:
import re
text = "red,green;blue|yellow"
parts = re.split(r"[,;|]", text)
print(parts)
# ['red', 'green', 'blue', 'yellow']Inside square brackets, [,;|] means “match one of these characters.” The vertical bar is a literal character in this class; it does not mean “or” there. The Python re.split() reference defines the function as splitting a string at occurrences of a pattern.
Split on multi-character delimiter tokens
When each delimiter is a token made of more than one character, use alternation inside a group. A non-capturing group, written (?:...), keeps the alternatives together without adding the matched delimiter to the output:
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import re
text = "alphaENDbetaSTOPgamma"
parts = re.split(r"(?:END|STOP)", text)
print(parts)
# ['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma']Use a character class for alternatives that are individual characters, not whole strings. For example, [END] matches one character—E, N, or D—rather than the token END.
Decide whether to keep delimiters and empty fields
Keep delimiters only when the pattern captures them
Capturing parentheses make re.split() include the matched separator in the returned list. Use this when later code needs to inspect or reconstruct the separators; otherwise, use a non-capturing group.
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re.split(r"(,|;)", "red,green;blue")
# ['red', ',', 'green', ';', 'blue']Preserve or filter empty fields deliberately
A delimiter at the beginning or end of a string, or two adjacent delimiters, can produce an empty field. That may be meaningful—for example, as an empty value between separators—or it may violate the format your program expects.
re.split(r"[,;]", ",red,,blue;")
# ['', 'red', '', 'blue', '']If empty fields are not valid for your data, filter them explicitly after splitting:
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parts = [part for part in re.split(r"[,;]", text) if part]Filtering also removes fields that contain only an empty string, but it does not remove whitespace around non-empty fields. If surrounding spaces should be discarded, strip each field as a separate step and decide whether whitespace-only values count as empty.
Limit how many times Python splits
Use maxsplit when only the first delimiters should be treated as separators. Any remaining text stays together in the final list element:
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re.split(r"[,;]", "name,description;with;semicolons", maxsplit=1)
# ['name', 'description;with;semicolons']With Python 3.13 and later, passing maxsplit or flags positionally is deprecated. Using the keyword form, as above, makes the argument explicit and avoids that version-sensitive form.
Use the right method for line boundaries
For text lines, prefer str.splitlines() rather than building a delimiter pattern for newline characters. It recognizes n, r, rn, vertical tab, form feed, and additional Unicode line separators. By default it omits line endings; pass keepends=True to retain them.
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text = "firstrnsecondnthird"
lines = text.splitlines()
# ['first', 'second', 'third']A pattern such as re.split(r"n+", text) is suitable when one or more newline characters specifically define the separators, but it does not cover the broader set of line boundaries handled by splitlines(). See the Python str.splitlines() documentation.
Quick Recap
Write patterns that are clear and predictable
- Use raw string notation. Write patterns such as
r"[,;|]". Both Python string literals and regular expressions use backslashes, so raw strings make patterns easier to read and reason about. - Avoid accidental capturing groups. Use
(?:...)for grouping alternatives when you do not want delimiter text in the result. - Avoid patterns that match an empty string unless that is intentional. Zero-width or empty-matching patterns can split at boundaries or between characters, producing results unlike ordinary delimiter splitting. Check the behavior of the specific pattern before using it as a delimiter.
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