Find and Replace Text

The Find and Replace Text tool is a free online utility that performs bulk search-and-replace on any text you paste, all inside your browser. Type what you want to find and what to replace it with, and it shows a live count of matches and rewrites every occurrence into a separate result area while leaving your original text untouched.

Everything runs client-side, so your text never leaves your device — no uploads, no accounts, and no server ever sees what you paste. It handles plain literal replacements as well as advanced regular expressions with capture-group references like $1.

How to find and replace text

1. Paste or type your content into the Source text box.
2. Enter the word, phrase, or pattern to look for in the Find field.
3. Type the Replace with value (leave it empty to delete matches).
4. Turn on any of Case sensitive, Whole word, or Regular expression to refine the match, and watch the live match count update.
5. Click Replace All, then use Copy or Download to save the result.

What is find and replace?

Find and replace is the process of locating every instance of a string or pattern in a body of text and swapping it for another value in a single pass. It is the fastest way to rename a variable across a file, fix a repeated typo, standardize terminology, or strip out unwanted characters without editing each line by hand.

Why use case-sensitive and whole-word modes?

Case sensitive means API and api are treated as different strings, which matters for code and identifiers. Whole word stops partial matches — searching for cat will skip category and concatenate. Combining the two gives you precise, predictable replacements even in large documents.

Using regular expressions and capture groups

Switch on Regular expression mode to match by pattern instead of an exact string. For example, (\w+)@(\w+) can capture the two halves of a token, and a replacement of $2-$1 swaps them. Parenthesized groups are captured in order and referenced as $1, $2, and so on in the replacement field. If a pattern is malformed, the tool validates it and shows the exact error instead of running a bad replacement. If you want to build and understand a pattern before applying it, the Regex Tester & Explainer walks through each token in plain English.

Find and Replace features

• Bulk replacement across the whole document in one click, no per-line editing.
• Live match count that updates as you type or toggle options.
• Case-sensitive and whole-word toggles for precise targeting.
• Regex mode with capture groups ($1, $2) and inline error validation.
• Non-destructive output — your source text stays intact so you can compare or retry.
• Copy and Download the result as a .txt file.

When to use this vs. other text tools

Reach for find and replace when you need to substitute content; for reshaping the same text in other ways, a purpose-built tool is quicker. To collapse repeated lines, the Remove Duplicate Lines tool is the right fit, and to add the same text to the start or end of every line, use Line Prefix & Suffix. When the goal is changing letter case rather than swapping words, the Case Converter handles uppercase, lowercase, title case, and more, while the Reverse Text Generator flips characters or lines. Each does one job well, so pick the tool that matches the transformation you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my text uploaded to a server?

No. All searching and replacing happens locally in your browser with client-side JavaScript. Your text is never sent to, stored on, or seen by any server.

How do I use capture groups in the replacement?

Turn on Regular expression mode and wrap parts of your pattern in parentheses. Each group is numbered left to right and can be referenced in the replacement field as $1, $2, and so on, letting you rearrange or reuse the matched text.

Does Replace All change my original text?

No. The source box stays exactly as you left it. Replacements are written to a separate result area, so you can compare the two, tweak your settings, and run it again as many times as you like.

What happens if my regular expression is invalid?

The tool validates the pattern before running. If it is malformed, it shows the exact error message and pauses the live match count instead of producing incorrect output, so you can fix the pattern first.

Can I delete text by finding it?

Yes. Enter what you want to remove in the Find field and leave the Replace with field empty. Clicking Replace All then removes every match from the result.

Is there a limit on how much text I can process?

There is no fixed limit. Because everything runs in your browser, the practical ceiling is your device's memory, and typical documents of thousands of lines process instantly.