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CLI Open source 193 installs/mo

re2 for Mac

Alternative to backtracking PCRE-style regular expression engines

Quick answer: re2 is a command-line tool for macOS. Install it with brew install re2. It is distributed under the BSD-3-Clause licence. It has 193 Homebrew installs in the last 30 days.

What re2 is

re2 is a command-line tool for macOS: alternative to backtracking PCRE-style regular expression engines.

It is distributed as a Homebrew formula, which builds or pours a binary and puts it on your PATH. The project is open source and lives at https://github.com/google/re2.

How to install re2

  1. Open Terminal (press ⌘ + Space and type “Terminal”).
  2. If Homebrew is not installed yet, run the installer below once.
  3. Run brew install re2.

Homebrew installer, if you need it:

Prefer a graphical installer? Download it from the official site. MacPicks never hosts or mirrors binaries — the Homebrew command always pulls from the vendor's own release.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I install re2 on Mac?

Run brew install re2 in Terminal. This requires Homebrew; if you do not have it, install it first with the command below.

Is re2 open source?

Yes — Homebrew distributes it under the BSD-3-Clause licence.

Does re2 run on Apple silicon?

Homebrew publishes this formula for macOS. If upstream does not ship an Apple silicon build, Rosetta 2 handles the Intel binary.

How popular is re2?

It was installed 193 times in the last 30 days according to Homebrew analytics, ranking #2522 in this catalogue.

What version of re2 is current?

The latest packaged version is 2025-11-05.