TOML Bare Key Regex for JavaScript

What this pattern does

This page provides a lightweight, single-purpose regular expression for matching toml bare key, ported and verified for JavaScript. A rigorously tested regex reduces debugging time and protects your application from edge-case failures. The snippet below is ready to drop into your JavaScript project — whether you're validating in an Express middleware, a Next.js API route, or a client-side form.

Javascript Implementation

// TOML Bare Key
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Dev & Systems > Config

const tomlBareKeyRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9_\-]+$/;

function validateTomlBareKey(input: string): boolean {
  return tomlBareKeyRegex.test(input);
}

// Example
console.log(validateTomlBareKey("name")); // true

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Dev & Systems > Config category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for JavaScript developers because especially critical in long-running Node.js event loops where a ReDoS vulnerability can block the entire process. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

TOML bare keys are restrictive — dots, spaces, and most special characters require quoting. Dotted keys (table.key = value) are parsed differently — split by dots first. Quoted keys in TOML are valid for names with spaces.