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javaregexstringreplaceall

Java replaceAll

I was using String.replaceAll(String, String) when I noticed that replacing a string with $ symbols around it would not work. Example $REPLACEME$ would not be replaced in a Linux system. Anyone know why this is?

Some code:

String foo = "Some string with $REPLACEME$";
foo = foo.replaceAll("$REPLACEME$", "characters");
System.out.println(foo);

Output:

Some string with $REPLACEME$
Solution

  • $ is a special character that needs to be escaped:

    foo = foo.replaceAll("\\$REPLACEME\\$", "characters");

    Or more generally use Pattern.quote which will escape all metacharacters (special characters like $ and ?) into string literals:

    foo = foo.replaceAll(Pattern.quote("$REPLACEME$"), "characters");