---
name: "pcre2_set_max_varlookbehind"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "pcre2"
version: "10.49-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pcre2_set_max_varlookbehind"
---

# pcre2\_set\_max\_varlookbehind(3)

Perl-compatible regular expressions (revised API)

## NAME

PCRE2 - Perl-compatible regular expressions (revised API)

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<pcre2.h\>**

```
int pcre2_set_max_varlookbehind(pcre2_compile_context *ccontext,
  uint32_t value);
```

## DESCRIPTION

This sets a maximum length for the number of characters matched by a variable-length lookbehind assertion. The default is set when PCRE2 is built, with the ultimate default being 255, the same as Perl. Lookbehind assertions without a bounding length are not supported. The result is always zero.

There is a complete description of the PCRE2 native API in the **pcre2api** page and a description of the POSIX API in the **pcre2posix** page.