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The Simple Version

Phrase = exactly what you typed, found anywhere in the name. Nothing is “special.” Regex = a mini search language where certain characters have magic powers.
Both types are case-sensitive by default, and both match anywhere in the name (substring match).

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When They Behave the Same

For plain words with no special characters, phrase and regex are identical:
UsernamePhrase: houseRegex: house
housematchmatch
housepartymatchmatch
treehouse99matchmatch
HOUSEno matchno match
No difference here because house has no special regex characters.

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When It Actually Matters

The difference shows up when your filter contains characters that are special in regex: . [ ] ( ) + * ? ^ $ | Example: filtering the name [evil]
  • Phrase: [evil] --- matches the literal text [evil]. Brackets are just brackets.
  • Regex: [evil] --- brackets have meaning in regex. [evil] means “any single character: e, v, i, or l.” So it matches Steve, olive, Bill --- not what you wanted.
Example: filtering crazy.guy
  • Phrase: crazy.guy --- matches exactly crazy.guy
  • Regex: crazy.guy --- the . means “any character”, so it also matches crazy-guy, crazy guy, crazy3guy
Rule of thumb: if you’re filtering an exact word or phrase, use Phrase. If you need pattern flexibility (case-insensitive, anchoring, alternatives), use Regex.

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What Regex Can Do That Phrase Can’t

GoalRegex PatternWhat It Does
Case-insensitive(?i)houseMatches house, HOUSE, HoUsE
Starts with^houseMatches houseparty but NOT treehouse
Ends withhouse$Matches treehouse but NOT houseparty
Exact full name^house$ONLY matches house, nothing else
Alternativeshouse|homeMatches house OR home
Character variants[a@]dminMatches admin and @dmin

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Which One Should You Use?

Use Phrase

  • Filtering exact words or names
  • Your filter contains special characters you want matched literally (brackets, dots, etc.)
  • You want simple, safe, no-surprises matching
  • 90% of filters should be phrase

Use Regex

  • You need case-insensitive matching ((?i))
  • You want to anchor to start/end of name (^, $)
  • You need to match character variants ([a@4]dmin)
  • You need alternatives (support|help)

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Emergency Pause

If a filter causes widespread issues, pause all actions immediately:
  • Pause Hashbot: /settings pause pause-state:pause
  • Resume after review: /settings pause pause-state:unpause
Use the pause feature if you see false positives affecting users.

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Need Help?

Regex can be complex. If you’re unsure: Join our Support Discord and open a ticket. We’re happy to help review, fix, or write regex filters tailored to your needs.