Unfortunately I suck at regexp. If I have a path like so: /long/path/to/file ,

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Editorial Team

Asked: May 31, 20262026-05-31T09:56:44+00:00 2026-05-31T09:56:44+00:00

Unfortunately I suck at regexp. If I have a path like so:

/long/path/to/file, I just need to extact file.

If someone supplies file/ I just need file.

If someone supplies /file/, I still need just file.

I’ve been using stringr functions as a crutch but this seems like straight up grep territory. Help, please?

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Editorial Team · Answer 1 · 2026-05-31T09:56:46+00:00

Editorial Team

If I understand correctly, you could use the basename function.

f <- "/long/path/to/file"
basename(f)
# [1] "file"

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