TOML Bare Key Regex for PHP

What this pattern does

This page provides a lightweight, single-purpose regular expression for matching toml bare key, ported and verified for PHP. A rigorously tested regex reduces debugging time and protects your application from edge-case failures. The snippet below is ready to drop into your PHP project — whether you're validating in a Laravel validator, a WordPress plugin, or a standalone PHP script.

Php Implementation

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

define('TOML_BARE_KEY_PATTERN', '/^[a-zA-Z0-9_\-]+$/');

function validate_toml_bare_key(string $input): bool {
    return (bool) preg_match(TOML_BARE_KEY_PATTERN, $input);
}

// Example
var_dump(validate_toml_bare_key("name")); // bool(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 PHP developers because especially relevant in PHP where PCRE backtracking limits can trigger silent failures on malicious input. 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.