Matcher end() method in Java with Examples

Last Updated : 3 Jul, 2026

The end() method of the Matcher class returns the index immediately after the last character of the most recent match. It is commonly used to determine where a matched substring ends in the input string.

  • Must be called after a successful find() or matches() operation.
  • Returns an integer representing the position after the last matched character.
  • Throws IllegalStateException if no successful match has been performed.
Java 
import java.util.regex.*;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile("Java");
        Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher("Learn Java Programming");

        if (matcher.find()) {
            System.out.println("End Index: " + matcher.end());
        }
    }
}

Explanation: The word "Java" starts at index 6 and ends at index 9. Therefore, end() returns 10, which is the position immediately after the last matched character.

Syntax

public int end()

Returns

  • An integer representing the index immediately after the last matched character.

Exception

  • IllegalStateException –> Thrown if no match has been attempted or the previous match failed.

Example 1: Java code to illustrate end() method

Java 
import java.util.regex.*;

public class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {

        // Get the regex to be checked
        String regex = "(G*s)";

        // Create a pattern from regex
        Pattern pattern
            = Pattern.compile(regex);

        // Get the String to be matched
        String stringToBeMatched
            = "GeeksForGeeks";

        // Create a matcher for the input String
        Matcher matcher
            = pattern
                  .matcher(stringToBeMatched);

        // Get the current matcher state
        MatchResult result
            = matcher.toMatchResult();
        System.out.println("Current Matcher: "
                           + result);

        while (matcher.find()) {
            // Get the last index of match result
            System.out.println(matcher.end());
        }
    }
}

Output
Current Matcher: java.util.regex.Matcher$ImmutableMatchResult@1dbd16a6
5
13

Explanation: The pattern (G*s) matches the character s at the end of "Geeks" and "Geeks" again. The end() method returns 5 and 13, which are the positions immediately after each matched substring.

Example 2:

Java 
import java.util.regex.*;

public class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {

        // Get the regex to be checked
        String regex = "(G*G)";

        // Create a pattern from regex
        Pattern pattern
            = Pattern.compile(regex);

        // Get the String to be matched
        String stringToBeMatched
            = "GFG FGF GFG";

        // Create a matcher for the input String
        Matcher matcher
            = pattern
                  .matcher(stringToBeMatched);

        // Get the current matcher state
        MatchResult result
            = matcher.toMatchResult();
        System.out.println("Current Matcher: "
                           + result);

        while (matcher.find()) {
            // Get the last index of match result
            System.out.println(matcher.end());
        }
    }
}

Output
Current Matcher: java.util.regex.Matcher$ImmutableMatchResult@1dbd16a6
1
3
6
9
11

Explanation: The pattern (G*G) matches multiple occurrences of G in the input string. For each match, the end() method returns the index immediately after the matched character, resulting in 1, 3, 6, 9, and 11.

Advantages of Matcher.end() Method

  • Finds the end position of a matched substring in the input string.
  • Helps extract text after a matched pattern.
  • Useful for text parsing and string processing tasks.
  • Works with find() to process multiple matches efficiently.
  • Supports accurate indexing for highlighting or replacing matched text.

Reference: Oracle Doc

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