Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/RegExp/@@species

The RegExp[@@species] accessor property returns the RegExp constructor.

Description

The species accessor property returns the default constructor for RegExp objects. Subclass constructors may over-ride it to change the constructor assignment.

Examples

Species in ordinary objects

The species property returns the default constructor function, which is the RegExp constructor for RegExp objects:

RegExp[Symbol.species]; // function RegExp()

Species in derived objects

In a derived collection object (e.g. your custom regexp MyRegExp), the MyRegExp species is the MyRegExp constructor. However, you might want to overwrite this, in order to return parent RegExp objects in your derived class methods:

class MyRegExp extends RegExp {
  // Overwrite MyRegExp species to the parent RegExp constructor
  static get [Symbol.species]() { return RegExp; }
}

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript (ECMA-262)The definition of 'get RegExp [ @@species ' in that specification.]

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet	Node.js
`@@species`	Chrome Full support 50	Edge Full support 13	Firefox Full support 49	IE No support No	Opera Full support 37	Safari Full support 10	WebView Android Full support 50	Chrome Android Full support 50	Firefox Android Full support 49	Opera Android Full support 37	Safari iOS Full support 10	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0	nodejs Full support 6.5.0 Full support 6.5.0 Full support 6.0.0 Disabled' Disabled' From version 6.0.0: this feature is behind the `--harmony` runtime flag.

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.