{"id":1377,"date":"2026-02-20T12:23:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/razvanvancea.ro\/blog\/?p=1377"},"modified":"2026-02-20T12:26:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:26:22","slug":"understanding-vs-patterns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razvanvancea.ro\/blog\/2026\/02\/20\/understanding-vs-patterns\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding \/* vs \/** Patterns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In software development and test automation, of the most overlooked yet powerful skills is mastering path matching patterns – especially wildcards like \/* and \/**. These patterns show up everywhere: request mocking, route interception, contract testing, proxy rules, and even security testing.<\/p>

Despite their simplicity, they can dramatically affect test accuracy, coverage, and maintainability. In this deep dive, we\u2019ll explore what these patterns actually mean and how they behave in different contexts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Core difference: \/* vs \/**<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\/* \u2014 Single Path Segment<\/strong><\/p>

Matches exactly one level in a path.<\/p>

e.g.<\/strong>
\/api\/*<\/strong><\/p>

matches<\/strong><\/p>

\/api\/users
\/api\/orders
DOES NOT match<\/strong>
\/api\/users\/123
\/api\/users\/profile<\/p>

Conclusion: think of \/* as “match exactly one folder level.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\/** \u2014 Recursive Match<\/strong><\/p>

Matches zero or more path segments.<\/p>

e.g.<\/strong><\/p>

\/api\/**<\/strong><\/p>

matches<\/strong>
\/api\/users
\/api\/users\/123
\/api\/users\/123\/orders
\/api\/

Conclusion: think of \/** as “match everything under this path.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Quick pattern comparison<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"api-matchers-comparison\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Enjoyed this article?
I share more practical automation tips on YouTube<\/strong><\/a> and LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a>.

Need structured guidance instead of learning alone?<\/strong>
I offer 1-on-1 mentoring<\/strong> – learn more \u2192 HERE<\/a><\/strong>

Or email me at iamqarv [at] gmail [dot] com<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In software development and test automation, of the most overlooked yet powerful skills is mastering…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-programming"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t