Introduction to IP Address Regular Expression

Validating IP addresses in Python is essential for applications related to networking, cybersecurity, and data processing. Python's re module can be used to create regex patterns for both IPv4 and IPv6 address validation. A typical regex pattern for IPv4 might be ^(?:[0-9]{1,3}\\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}$.

IP Address Regex

The regex pattern for an IP address checks for valid IPv4 or IPv6 formats.

The IP Address Regex Patterns

• IPv4: ^(?:[0-9]{1,3}\\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}$

• IPv6: A more complex pattern due to the IPv6 structure.

How to Validate IP Addresses in Python?

To validate IPv4 addresses using regex in Python:

import re

def is_valid_ipv4(ip):
    ipv4_regex = re.compile(r'^(?:[0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}$')
    return bool(ipv4_regex.match(ip))

test_ip = "192.168.1.1"
print(f"Is '{test_ip}' a valid IPv4 address? {is_valid_ipv4(test_ip)}")

Uses of IP Address Regex Validation

1. Network Configuration: Validating IP addresses in network setup and management.

2. Data Filtering: Ensuring IP addresses in logs or datasets are correctly formatted.

What next?

Python’s regex capabilities make it suitable for IP address validation, crucial for network-related applications. For broader validation covering IPv6 and other formats, Akto's regex validator provides an effective tool for comprehensive validation.