How to remove tabs and newlines using Python regular expression?

Regular expressions provide a powerful way to remove tabs and newlines from strings. Python's re.sub() function can replace whitespace characters including tabs (\t) and newlines (\n) with spaces or remove them entirely.

Basic Approach Using \s+

The \s+ pattern matches one or more whitespace characters (spaces, tabs, newlines) and replaces them with a single space ?

import re

text = """I find
	Tutorialspoint helpful"""

result = re.sub(r"\s+", " ", text)
print(result)

I find Tutorialspoint helpful

Removing Only Tabs and Newlines

To target only tabs and newlines while preserving regular spaces, use the pattern [\t\n]+ ?

import re

text = """Python is great
	for data science"""

# Remove only tabs and newlines
result = re.sub(r"[\t\n]+", " ", text)
print(result)

Python is great for data science

Complete Removal Without Replacement

To completely remove tabs and newlines without adding spaces, use an empty string as replacement ?

import re

text = """Hello
World	Tab"""

# Remove completely without spaces
result = re.sub(r"[\t\n]", "", text)
print(result)

HelloWorldTab

Comparison of Methods

Conclusion

Use re.sub(r"\s+", " ", text) to normalize all whitespace to single spaces. For targeted removal of only tabs and newlines, use [\t\n]+ pattern to preserve existing spaces in your text.