globlin¶

Unreleased

This documentation covers the upcoming v0.3 API. For the current stable release (v0.2), see the "v0.2 usage" sections and the API reference.

A fast glob pattern matching library for Python. Replaces the standard library's fnmatch with a configurable matcher that supports globstar, brace expansion, and negation.

Features¶

Fast: Rust powers the core matching engine (BTW)
Configurable: Builder pattern enables exactly the features you need
POSIX-compatible defaults: Glob.default() matches fnmatch(3) behavior
Rich pattern syntax: Globstar (**), bracket expansion ([a-z]), brace expansion ({a,b}), negation (!pat), escape sequences (\*), and path separator handling

Quick start¶

Install globlin from PyPI:

pipuv

$ python3 -m venv .venv
$ source .venv/bin/activate
$ pip install globlin

$ uv init
$ uv add globlin

Use the Glob class:

Current unreleased0.2

from globlin import Glob

# POSIX fnmatch-like defaults (bracket expansion + escape)
glob = Glob.default()
glob.match("foo*", "foobar")      # ✅
glob.match("[abc]", "b")          # ✅

# Opt in to path-aware matching
glob = Glob.default().globstar()
glob.match("src/**/test_*.py", "src/a/b/test_foo.py")  # ✅

# Brace expansion
glob = Glob.default().brace_expansion()
glob.match("{src,lib}/*.py", "src/foo.py")  # ✅

from globlin import fnmatch, Flag

fnmatch("foo*", "foobar")                              # ✅
fnmatch("src/**/test_*.py", "src/a/b/test_foo.py",
        Flag.GLOB_STAR)                                # ✅
fnmatch("{src,lib}/*.py", "src/foo.py",
        Flag.BRACE_EXPANSION)                          # ✅

See the Guide for more examples and every pattern feature.

Performance¶

Rust drives the matching engine, which Python calls through PyO3 with minimal overhead. The core algorithm follows Russ Cox's research on glob matching, using byte-by-byte matching with backtracking.