FNMATCH(3)             FreeBSD Library Functions Manual             FNMATCH(3)

NAME

     fnmatch - test whether a filename or pathname matches a shell-style
     pattern

LIBRARY

     Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS

     #include <fnmatch.h>

     int
     fnmatch(const char *pattern, const char *string, int flags);

DESCRIPTION

     The fnmatch() function matches patterns according to the rules used by
     the shell.  It checks the string specified by the string argument to see
     if it matches the pattern specified by the pattern argument.

     The flags argument modifies the interpretation of pattern and string.
     The value of flags is the bitwise inclusive OR of any of the following
     constants, which are defined in the include file <fnmatch.h>.

     FNM_NOESCAPE  Normally, every occurrence of a backslash (`\') followed by
                   a character in pattern is replaced by that character.  This
                   is done to negate any special meaning for the character.
                   If the FNM_NOESCAPE flag is set, a backslash character is
                   treated as an ordinary character.

     FNM_PATHNAME  Slash characters in string must be explicitly matched by
                   slashes in pattern.  If this flag is not set, then slashes
                   are treated as regular characters.

     FNM_PERIOD    Leading periods in string must be explicitly matched by
                   periods in pattern.  If this flag is not set, then leading
                   periods are treated as regular characters.  The definition
                   of "leading" is related to the specification of
                   FNM_PATHNAME.  A period is always "leading" if it is the
                   first character in string.  Additionally, if FNM_PATHNAME
                   is set, a period is leading if it immediately follows a
                   slash.

     FNM_LEADING_DIR
                   Ignore "/*" rest after successful pattern matching.

     FNM_CASEFOLD  Ignore case distinctions in both the pattern and the
                   string.

RETURN VALUES

     The fnmatch() function returns zero if string matches the pattern
     specified by pattern, otherwise, it returns the value FNM_NOMATCH.

SEE ALSO

     sh(1), glob(3), regex(3)

STANDARDS

     The current implementation of the fnmatch() function is expected to
     conform to IEEE Std 1003.2 ("POSIX.2").

HISTORY

     A predecessor to fnmatch(), gmatch(), first appeared in the Programmer's
     Workbench (PWB/UNIX).  The fnmatch() function first appeared in 4.4BSD.

BUGS

     The pattern `*' matches the empty string, even if FNM_PATHNAME is
     specified.

FreeBSD 15.1-STABLE-HBSD         April 7, 2025                      FNMATCH(3)