This is a good overview of how regex works
“Regex is a pattern-matching language; it's a way to expressively describe patterns that match strings (e.g., words or sentences). For example, say you're searching your hard drive for an image called foo, but you cannot remember if it's a JPEG or a PNG. Many utilities make use of regex for searching, transforming, and interacting with text.”
You won't be able to just effortlessly compose your own regex after just reading the linked article, but a quick read through will at least help put it in context. It also gives a feel of what regex can be used for. The reason regex persists after many years, despite looking very confusing, is that it is very powerful. With many GUI applications, you could well find regex running in the background to perform the more complex tasks.
See
Boost Your Linux Terminal Productivity by Learning This Advanced Search Syntax
The fundamentals are easy and will carry you far.
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