Wildcards & Globs
Use * to match exactly one unnamed segment, or ** to consume all remaining segments. Both are captured into req.captures[] in order.
Single wildcard — *
* matches any one path segment. The matched value is stored as a string in req.captures[n], where n is the left-to-right index of that wildcard in the pattern.
-- matches: asset/sword/preview, asset/shield/preview, …
app:Get("asset/*/preview", function(req, res)
print(req.captures[1]) -- "sword", "shield" …
end)Multiple wildcards
Each * gets its own sequential index in req.captures.
-- matches: zone/forest/item/axe, zone/cave/item/torch, …
app:Get("zone/*/item/*", function(req, res)
print(req.captures[1]) -- zone name, e.g. "forest"
print(req.captures[2]) -- item name, e.g. "axe"
end)Glob — **
** must appear at the end of the pattern. It matches zero or more remaining segments and stores them as a table of strings in req.captures[1].
-- matches: assets/a assets/a/b assets/a/b/c …
app:Get("assets/**", function(req, res)
-- req.captures[1] = { "a", "b", "c" }
print(table.concat(req.captures[1], "/"))
end)** matches even when there are no trailing segments. In that case req.captures[1] is an empty table {}.Captures reference
| Pattern | Matches | Captured in | Value type |
|---|---|---|---|
item/* | Any single segment after item/ | req.captures[1] | string |
zone/*/item/* | Two unnamed segments | req.captures[1], req.captures[2] | string, string |
files/** | Zero or more trailing segments | req.captures[1] | table of strings |
Route priority
Wildcards are lower priority than named params, and globs are lowest of all. Literal segments beat everything. Registration order breaks ties within the same specificity level.
| Priority (high → low) | Example |
|---|---|
| Literal | item/sword |
| Constrained param | item/:id(%d+) |
| Typed param | item/:id=number |
| Plain param | item/:id |
| Wildcard | item/* |
| Glob | item/** |
See also
← Router · Named Params | named captures with type coercion · Constraints | Lua pattern restrictions · App | route registration methods