Unix Signal Name Regex for JavaScript

What this pattern does

This page provides a comprehensive, battle-tested regular expression for matching unix signal name, 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

// Unix Signal Name
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Dev & Systems > Shell

const unixSignalNameRegex = /^(?:SIG)?(HUP|INT|QUIT|ILL|TRAP|ABRT|BUS|FPE|KILL|USR1|SEGV|USR2|PIPE|ALRM|TERM|CHLD|CONT|STOP|TSTP|TTIN|TTOU|URG|XCPU|XFSZ|VTALRM|PROF|WINCH|IO|PWR|SYS|RTMIN(?:\+[1-9]|\+[12][0-9]|\+30)?|RTMAX(?:-[1-9]|-[12][0-9]|-30)?)$/i;

function validateUnixSignalName(input: string): boolean {
  return unixSignalNameRegex.test(input);
}

// Example
console.log(validateUnixSignalName("SIGTERM")); // true

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Dev & Systems > Shell 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

The SIG prefix is optional. SIGKILL (9) and SIGSTOP (19/17/23 by OS) cannot be caught or ignored. Real-time signals (RTMIN, RTMAX) are available on Linux for application-defined signaling.