diff --git a/SConstruct b/SConstruct
index c3b415a5..639d387e 100644
--- a/SConstruct
+++ b/SConstruct
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ vars.AddVariables(
 	PackageVariable('with_wolfssl', 'enable wolfSSL support', 'no'),
 	BoolVariable('with_nettle', 'enable Nettle support', 'no'),
 	BoolVariable('with_pam', 'enable PAM auth support', 'no'),
+	PackageVariable('with_pcre2', 'enable pcre2 support', 'no'),
 	PackageVariable('with_pcre', 'enable pcre support', 'yes'),
 	PackageVariable('with_pgsql', 'enable pgsql support', 'no'),
 	PackageVariable('with_sasl', 'enable SASL support', 'no'),
@@ -691,11 +692,16 @@ if 1:
 			LIBPAM = 'pam',
 		)
 
-	if env['with_pcre']:
+	if env['with_pcre2']:
+		pcre2_config = autoconf.checkProgram('pcre2', 'pcre2-config')
+		if not autoconf.CheckParseConfigForLib('LIBPCRE', pcre2_config + ' --cflags --libs8'):
+			fail("Couldn't find pcre2")
+		autoconf.env.Append(CPPFLAGS = [ '-DHAVE_PCRE2_H', '-DHAVE_PCRE' ])
+	elif env['with_pcre']:
 		pcre_config = autoconf.checkProgram('pcre', 'pcre-config')
 		if not autoconf.CheckParseConfigForLib('LIBPCRE', pcre_config + ' --cflags --libs'):
 			fail("Couldn't find pcre")
-		autoconf.env.Append(CPPFLAGS = [ '-DHAVE_PCRE_H', '-DHAVE_LIBPCRE' ])
+		autoconf.env.Append(CPPFLAGS = [ '-DHAVE_PCRE_H', '-DHAVE_PCRE' ])
 
 	if env['with_pgsql']:
 		if not autoconf.CheckParseConfigForLib('LIBPGSQL', 'pkg-config libpq --cflags --libs'):
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index bd9c4517..a4a9da74 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -902,6 +902,37 @@ if test "x$use_nss" = "xyes"; then
 fi
 
 
+dnl pcre2 support
+AC_MSG_NOTICE([----------------------------------------])
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([for perl regular expressions support])
+AC_ARG_WITH([pcre2],
+  [AS_HELP_STRING([--with-pcre2], [Enable pcre2 support (default no)])],
+  [WITH_PCRE2=$withval],
+  [WITH_PCRE2=no]
+)
+AC_MSG_RESULT([$WITH_PCRE2])
+
+if test "$WITH_PCRE2" != no; then
+  if test "$WITH_PCRE2" != yes; then
+    PCRE_LIB="-L$WITH_PCRE2/lib -lpcre2-8"
+    CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -I$WITH_PCRE/include"
+  else
+    AC_PATH_PROG([PCRE2CONFIG], [pcre2-config])
+    if test -n "$PCRE2CONFIG"; then
+      PCRE_LIB=`"$PCRE2CONFIG" --libs8`
+      CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS `"$PCRE2CONFIG" --cflags`"
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  if test -z "$PCRE_LIB"; then
+    AC_MSG_ERROR([pcre2-config not found, install the pcre2-devel package or build with --without-pcre2])
+  fi
+
+  AC_DEFINE([HAVE_PCRE], [1], [libpcre2-8])
+  AC_DEFINE([HAVE_PCRE2_H], [1], [pcre.h])
+  AC_SUBST([PCRE_LIB])
+fi
+
 dnl pcre support
 AC_MSG_NOTICE([----------------------------------------])
 AC_MSG_CHECKING([for perl regular expressions support])
@@ -912,7 +943,7 @@ AC_ARG_WITH([pcre],
 )
 AC_MSG_RESULT([$WITH_PCRE])
 
-if test "$WITH_PCRE" != no; then
+if test "$WITH_PCRE" != no && test "$WITH_PCRE2" = "no"; then
   if test "$WITH_PCRE" != yes; then
     PCRE_LIB="-L$WITH_PCRE/lib -lpcre"
     CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -I$WITH_PCRE/include"
@@ -928,7 +959,7 @@ if test "$WITH_PCRE" != no; then
     AC_MSG_ERROR([pcre-config not found, install the pcre-devel package or build with --without-pcre])
   fi
 
-  AC_DEFINE([HAVE_LIBPCRE], [1], [libpcre])
+  AC_DEFINE([HAVE_PCRE], [1], [libpcre])
   AC_DEFINE([HAVE_PCRE_H], [1], [pcre.h])
   AC_SUBST([PCRE_LIB])
 fi
diff --git a/meson_options.txt b/meson_options.txt
index f6687159..92c85ec0 100644
--- a/meson_options.txt
+++ b/meson_options.txt
@@ -98,6 +98,11 @@ option('with_pam',
 	value: false,
 	description: 'with PAM-support for mod_auth [default: off]',
 )
+option('with_pcre2',
+	type: 'boolean',
+	value: false,
+	description: 'with regex support [default: off]',
+)
 option('with_pcre',
 	type: 'boolean',
 	value: true,
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 1960a6fa..d58ba8eb 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ option(WITH_NSS "with NSS-crypto-support [default: off]")
 option(WITH_OPENSSL "with openssl-support [default: off]")
 option(WITH_WOLFSSL "with wolfSSL-support [default: off]")
 option(WITH_NETTLE "with Nettle-support [default: off]")
+option(WITH_PCRE2 "with regex support [default: off]")
 option(WITH_PCRE "with regex support [default: on]" ON)
 option(WITH_WEBDAV_PROPS "with property-support for mod_webdav [default: off]")
 option(WITH_WEBDAV_LOCKS "locks in webdav [default: off]")
@@ -255,7 +256,11 @@ macro(XCONFIG _package _include_DIR _link_DIR _link_FLAGS _cflags)
 		set(XCONFIG_EXECUTABLE "${${_package}CONFIG_EXECUTABLE}")
 		message(STATUS "found ${_package}: ${XCONFIG_EXECUTABLE}")
 
-		exec_program(${XCONFIG_EXECUTABLE} ARGS --libs OUTPUT_VARIABLE __link_FLAGS)
+		if(${_package} EQUAL "pcre2-config")
+			exec_program(${XCONFIG_EXECUTABLE} ARGS --libs8 OUTPUT_VARIABLE __link_FLAGS)
+		else()
+			exec_program(${XCONFIG_EXECUTABLE} ARGS --libs OUTPUT_VARIABLE __link_FLAGS)
+		endif()
 		string(REPLACE "\n" "" ${_link_FLAGS} ${__link_FLAGS})
 		exec_program(${XCONFIG_EXECUTABLE} ARGS --cflags OUTPUT_VARIABLE __cflags)
 		string(REPLACE "\n" "" ${_cflags} ${__cflags})
@@ -467,7 +472,55 @@ if(WITH_GNUTLS)
 	endif()
 endif()
 
-if(WITH_PCRE)
+if(WITH_PCRE2)
+	## if we have pcre2-config, use it
+	xconfig(pcre2-config PCRE_INCDIR PCRE_LIBDIR PCRE_LDFLAGS PCRE_CFLAGS)
+	if(PCRE_LDFLAGS OR PCRE_CFLAGS)
+		message(STATUS "found pcre2 at: LDFLAGS: ${PCRE_LDFLAGS} CFLAGS: ${PCRE_CFLAGS}")
+
+		if(NOT PCRE_CFLAGS STREQUAL "\n")
+			## if it is empty we'll get newline returned
+			set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} ${PCRE_CFLAGS}")
+		endif()
+
+		set(HAVE_PCRE2_H 1)
+		set(HAVE_PCRE 1)
+	else()
+		if(NOT WIN32)
+			check_include_files(pcre2.h HAVE_PCRE_H)
+			check_library_exists(pcre2-8 pcre_match "" HAVE_PCRE)
+			set(PCRE_LDFLAGS -lpcre2-8)
+		else()
+			find_path(PCRE_INCLUDE_DIR pcre2.h
+			/usr/local/include
+			/usr/include
+			)
+
+			set(PCRE_NAMES pcre2-8)
+			find_library(PCRE_LIBRARY
+			NAMES ${PCRE_NAMES}
+			PATHS /usr/lib /usr/local/lib
+			)
+
+			if(PCRE_INCLUDE_DIR AND PCRE_LIBRARY)
+				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_INCLUDES ${PCRE_INCLUDE_DIR})
+				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES ${PCRE_LIBRARY})
+				check_include_files(pcre2.h HAVE_PCRE2_H)
+				check_library_exists(pcre2-8 pcre_match "" HAVE_PCRE)
+				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_INCLUDES)
+				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES)
+				include_directories(${PCRE_INCLUDE_DIR})
+			endif()
+		endif()
+	endif()
+
+	if(NOT HAVE_PCRE2_H)
+		message(FATAL_ERROR "pcre2.h couldn't be found")
+	endif()
+	if(NOT HAVE_PCRE)
+		message(FATAL_ERROR "libpcre2-8 couldn't be found")
+	endif()
+elseif(WITH_PCRE)
 	## if we have pcre-config, use it
 	xconfig(pcre-config PCRE_INCDIR PCRE_LIBDIR PCRE_LDFLAGS PCRE_CFLAGS)
 	if(PCRE_LDFLAGS OR PCRE_CFLAGS)
@@ -479,11 +532,11 @@ if(WITH_PCRE)
 		endif()
 
 		set(HAVE_PCRE_H 1)
-		set(HAVE_LIBPCRE 1)
+		set(HAVE_PCRE 1)
 	else()
 		if(NOT WIN32)
 			check_include_files(pcre.h HAVE_PCRE_H)
-			check_library_exists(pcre pcre_exec "" HAVE_LIBPCRE)
+			check_library_exists(pcre pcre_exec "" HAVE_PCRE)
 			set(PCRE_LDFLAGS -lpcre)
 		else()
 			find_path(PCRE_INCLUDE_DIR pcre.h
@@ -501,7 +554,7 @@ if(WITH_PCRE)
 				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_INCLUDES ${PCRE_INCLUDE_DIR})
 				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES ${PCRE_LIBRARY})
 				check_include_files(pcre.h HAVE_PCRE_H)
-				check_library_exists(pcre pcre_exec "" HAVE_LIBPCRE)
+				check_library_exists(pcre pcre_exec "" HAVE_PCRE)
 				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_INCLUDES)
 				set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES)
 				include_directories(${PCRE_INCLUDE_DIR})
@@ -512,12 +565,12 @@ if(WITH_PCRE)
 	if(NOT HAVE_PCRE_H)
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "pcre.h couldn't be found")
 	endif()
-	if(NOT HAVE_LIBPCRE)
+	if(NOT HAVE_PCRE)
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "libpcre couldn't be found")
 	endif()
 else()
 	unset(HAVE_PCRE_H)
-	unset(HAVE_LIBPCRE)
+	unset(HAVE_PCRE)
 endif()
 
 if(WITH_SASL)
@@ -895,7 +948,7 @@ add_executable(test_common
 )
 add_test(NAME test_common COMMAND test_common)
 
-if(HAVE_PCRE_H)
+if(HAVE_PCRE)
 	target_link_libraries(lighttpd ${PCRE_LDFLAGS})
 	add_target_properties(lighttpd COMPILE_FLAGS ${PCRE_CFLAGS})
 	target_link_libraries(test_common ${PCRE_LDFLAGS})
@@ -906,7 +959,7 @@ if(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 	add_target_properties(test_mod COMPILE_FLAGS ${PCRE_CFLAGS})
 endif()
 
-if(WITH_PCRE AND (WITH_MEMCACHED OR WITH_GDBM))
+if(HAVE_PCRE AND (WITH_MEMCACHED OR WITH_GDBM))
 	add_and_install_library(mod_trigger_b4_dl mod_trigger_b4_dl.c)
 endif()
 
diff --git a/src/base.h b/src/base.h
index d0cc761a..a8e0d3e6 100644
--- a/src/base.h
+++ b/src/base.h
@@ -194,6 +194,9 @@ struct server {
 	int stdin_fd;
 
 	char **argv;
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+	void *match_data; /*(shared and reused)*/
+  #endif
 };
 
 
diff --git a/src/config.h.cmake b/src/config.h.cmake
index d1d78059..fbcc385a 100644
--- a/src/config.h.cmake
+++ b/src/config.h.cmake
@@ -73,8 +73,9 @@
 #cmakedefine  HAVE_LIBXML
 
 /* PCRE */
+#cmakedefine  HAVE_PCRE
 #cmakedefine  HAVE_PCRE_H
-#cmakedefine  HAVE_LIBPCRE
+#cmakedefine  HAVE_PCRE2_H
 
 #cmakedefine  HAVE_MALLOC_H
 #cmakedefine  HAVE_POLL_H
@@ -82,7 +83,6 @@
 
 /* sqlite3 */
 #cmakedefine  HAVE_SQLITE3_H
-#cmakedefine  HAVE_LIBPCRE
 
 #cmakedefine  HAVE_STDDEF_H
 #cmakedefine  HAVE_STDINT_H
diff --git a/src/configfile-glue.c b/src/configfile-glue.c
index 9e2de5bf..f4fbea41 100644
--- a/src/configfile-glue.c
+++ b/src/configfile-glue.c
@@ -636,12 +636,50 @@ void config_cond_cache_reset(request_st * const r) {
 		memset(r->cond_cache, 0, used*sizeof(cond_cache_t));
 }
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+#define PCRE2_CODE_UNIT_WIDTH 8
+#include <pcre2.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 #include <pcre.h>
 #endif
 
 static int config_pcre_match(request_st * const r, const data_config * const dc, const buffer * const b) {
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+
+    if (__builtin_expect( (0 == dc->capture_idx), 1))
+        return pcre2_match(dc->code, (PCRE2_SPTR)BUF_PTR_LEN(b),
+                           0, 0, dc->match_data, NULL);
+
+    cond_match_t * const cond_match =
+      r->cond_match[dc->capture_idx] = r->cond_match_data + dc->capture_idx;
+    pcre2_match_data *match_data = cond_match->match_data;
+    if (__builtin_expect( (NULL == match_data), 0)) {
+        /*(allocate on demand)*/
+      #if 0 /*(if we did not want to share dc->match_data across requests)*/
+        /* index 0 is reused for all matches for which captures not used by
+         * other directives within the condition, so allocate for up to 9
+         * captures, plus 1 for %0 for full match.  Number of captures is
+         * checked at startup to be <= 9 in data_config_pcre_compile()
+         * (future: could save a few bytes if max captures were calculated
+         *  at startup in config_finalize()) */
+        match_data = cond_match->match_data = (0 == dc->capture_idx)
+          ? pcre2_match_data_create(10, NULL)
+          : pcre2_match_data_create_from_pattern(dc->code, NULL);
+      #else
+        match_data = cond_match->match_data =
+          pcre2_match_data_create_from_pattern(dc->code, NULL);
+      #endif
+        force_assert(match_data);
+        cond_match->matches = pcre2_get_ovector_pointer(match_data);
+    }
+    cond_match->comp_value = b; /*holds pointer to b (!) for pattern subst*/
+    cond_match->captures =
+      pcre2_match(dc->code, (PCRE2_SPTR)BUF_PTR_LEN(b), 0, 0, match_data, NULL);
+    return cond_match->captures;
+
+  #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
+
     if (__builtin_expect( (0 == dc->capture_idx), 1)) {
         int matches[3 * 10];
         return pcre_exec(dc->regex, dc->regex_study, BUF_PTR_LEN(b), 0, 0,
@@ -658,10 +696,13 @@ static int config_pcre_match(request_st * const r, const data_config * const dc,
       pcre_exec(dc->regex, dc->regex_study, BUF_PTR_LEN(b), 0, 0,
                 cond_match->matches, elementsof(cond_match->matches));
     return cond_match->captures;
-#else
+
+  #else
+
     UNUSED(r);
     UNUSED(dc);
     UNUSED(b);
     return 0;
-#endif
+
+  #endif
 }
diff --git a/src/configfile.c b/src/configfile.c
index 5055a9e6..fbc19fb2 100644
--- a/src/configfile.c
+++ b/src/configfile.c
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@
 # include <syslog.h>
 #endif
 
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+#define PCRE2_CODE_UNIT_WIDTH 8
+#include <pcre2.h>
+#endif
+
 #ifndef PATH_MAX
 #define PATH_MAX 4096
 #endif
@@ -1231,6 +1236,43 @@ int config_finalize(server *srv, const buffer *default_server_tag) {
     /* adjust cond_match_data list size if regex config conditions present */
     if (srv->config_captures) ++srv->config_captures;
 
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+    for (uint32_t i = 1; i < srv->config_context->used; ++i) {
+        data_config * const dc =
+          (data_config *)srv->config_context->data[i];
+        if ((dc->cond == CONFIG_COND_MATCH || dc->cond == CONFIG_COND_NOMATCH)
+            && 0 == dc->capture_idx) {
+            if (__builtin_expect( (NULL == srv->match_data), 0)) {
+              #if 0
+                /* calculate max output vector size to save a few bytes;
+                 * currently using hard-coded ovec_max = 10 below
+                 * (increase in code size is probably more than bytes saved) */
+                uint32_t ovec_max = 0;
+                for (uint32_t j = i; j < srv->config_context->used; ++j) {
+                    const data_config * const dc =
+                      (data_config *)srv->config_context->data[j];
+                    if ((dc->cond == CONFIG_COND_MATCH
+                         || dc->cond == CONFIG_COND_NOMATCH)
+                        && 0 == dc->capture_idx) {
+                        uint32_t v;
+                        if (0==pcre2_pattern_info(dc->code,
+                                                  PCRE2_INFO_CAPTURECOUNT,&v)) {
+                            if (ovec_max < v)
+                                ovec_max = v;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+              #else
+                uint32_t ovec_max = 10;
+              #endif
+                srv->match_data = pcre2_match_data_create(ovec_max, NULL);
+                force_assert(srv->match_data);
+            }
+            dc->match_data = srv->match_data;
+        }
+    }
+  #endif
+
     return 1;
 }
 
@@ -1416,6 +1458,9 @@ void config_free(server *srv) {
     array_free(srv->srvconf.modules);
     buffer_free(srv->srvconf.modules_dir);
     array_free(srv->srvconf.upload_tempdirs);
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+    if (NULL == srv->match_data) pcre2_match_data_free(srv->match_data);
+  #endif
 }
 
 void config_init(server *srv) {
diff --git a/src/configfile.h b/src/configfile.h
index ae75e713..a181ee72 100644
--- a/src/configfile.h
+++ b/src/configfile.h
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@
  * for compare: comp          cond  string/regex
  */
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+struct pcre2_real_match_data_8; /* declaration */
+#elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 struct pcre_extra;      /* declaration */
 #endif
 
@@ -33,10 +35,13 @@ struct data_config {
 	data_config *next;
 
 	buffer string;
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+	void *code;
+	struct pcre2_real_match_data_8 *match_data;
+  #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 	void *regex;
 	struct pcre_extra *regex_study;
-#endif
+  #endif
 	int capture_idx;
 	int ext;
 	buffer comp_tag;
diff --git a/src/data_config.c b/src/data_config.c
index d983178c..56c3a416 100644
--- a/src/data_config.c
+++ b/src/data_config.c
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+#define PCRE2_CODE_UNIT_WIDTH 8
+#include <pcre2.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 #include <pcre.h>
 #ifndef PCRE_STUDY_JIT_COMPILE
 #define PCRE_STUDY_JIT_COMPILE 0
@@ -40,10 +43,15 @@ static void data_config_free(data_unset *d) {
 	vector_config_weak_clear(&ds->children);
 
 	free(ds->string.ptr);
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+        if (ds->code) pcre2_code_free(ds->code);
+   #if 0 /*(see config_finalize())*/
+        if (ds->match_data) pcre2_match_data_free(ds->match_data);
+   #endif
+  #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 	if (ds->regex) pcre_free(ds->regex);
 	if (ds->regex_study) pcre_free_study(ds->regex_study);
-#endif
+  #endif
 
 	free(d);
 }
@@ -72,7 +80,58 @@ data_config *data_config_init(void) {
 #include "log.h"
 
 int data_config_pcre_compile(data_config * const dc, const int pcre_jit, log_error_st * const errh) {
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+
+    int errcode;
+    PCRE2_SIZE erroff;
+    PCRE2_UCHAR errbuf[1024];
+
+    dc->code = pcre2_compile((PCRE2_SPTR)BUF_PTR_LEN(&dc->string),
+                             PCRE2_UTF, &errcode, &erroff, NULL);
+    if (NULL == dc->code) {
+        pcre2_get_error_message(errcode, errbuf, sizeof(errbuf));
+        log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+                  "pcre2_compile: %s at offset %zu, regex: %s",
+                  (char *)errbuf, erroff, dc->string.ptr);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (pcre_jit) {
+        errcode = pcre2_jit_compile(dc->code, PCRE2_JIT_COMPLETE);
+        if (0 != errcode) {
+            pcre2_get_error_message(errcode, errbuf, sizeof(errbuf));
+            log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+                      "pcre2_jit_compile: %s, regex: %s",
+                      (char *)errbuf, dc->string.ptr);
+        }
+        /*return 0;*/
+    }
+
+    uint32_t captures;
+    errcode = pcre2_pattern_info(dc->code, PCRE2_INFO_CAPTURECOUNT, &captures);
+    if (0 != errcode) {
+        pcre2_get_error_message(errcode, errbuf, sizeof(errbuf));
+        log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+          "pcre2_pattern_info: %s, regex: %s", (char *)errbuf, dc->string.ptr);
+        return 0;
+    }
+    else if (captures > 9) {
+        log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+          "Too many captures in regex, use (?:...) instead of (...): %s",
+          dc->string.ptr);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+   #if 0 /*(see config_finalize())*/
+    dc->match_data = pcre2_match_data_create_from_pattern(dc->code, NULL);
+    force_assert(dc->match_data);
+   #endif
+
+    return 1;
+
+  #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
+
     const char *errptr;
     int erroff, captures;
 
@@ -108,12 +167,15 @@ int data_config_pcre_compile(data_config * const dc, const int pcre_jit, log_err
         return 0;
     }
     return 1;
-#else
+
+  #else
+
     UNUSED(pcre_jit);
     log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
               "can't handle '%s' as you compiled without pcre support. \n"
               "(perhaps just a missing pcre-devel package ?) \n",
               dc->comp_key);
     return 0;
-#endif
+
+  #endif
 }
diff --git a/src/h2.c b/src/h2.c
index fd4b8046..07b94071 100644
--- a/src/h2.c
+++ b/src/h2.c
@@ -2570,7 +2570,7 @@ h2_init_stream (request_st * const h2r, connection * const con)
     const uint32_t used = srv->config_context->used;
     r->conditional_is_valid = h2r->conditional_is_valid;
     memcpy(r->cond_cache, h2r->cond_cache, used * sizeof(cond_cache_t));
-  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE
     if (srv->config_captures > 1)
         memcpy(r->cond_match, h2r->cond_match,
                srv->config_captures * sizeof(cond_match_t));
diff --git a/src/keyvalue.c b/src/keyvalue.c
index 4c9cf9fa..d44f812c 100644
--- a/src/keyvalue.c
+++ b/src/keyvalue.c
@@ -15,7 +15,10 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+#define PCRE2_CODE_UNIT_WIDTH 8
+#include <pcre2.h>
+#elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 #include <pcre.h>
 #ifndef PCRE_STUDY_JIT_COMPILE
 #define PCRE_STUDY_JIT_COMPILE 0
@@ -23,11 +26,18 @@
 #endif
 #endif
 
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+static struct pcre2_real_match_data_8 *keyvalue_match_data;
+#endif
+
 typedef struct pcre_keyvalue {
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+	pcre2_code *code;
+	struct pcre2_real_match_data_8 *match_data;
+  #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 	pcre *key;
 	pcre_extra *key_extra;
-#endif
+  #endif
 	buffer value;
 } pcre_keyvalue;
 
@@ -41,9 +51,9 @@ pcre_keyvalue_buffer *pcre_keyvalue_buffer_init(void) {
 }
 
 int pcre_keyvalue_buffer_append(log_error_st *errh, pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, const buffer *key, const buffer *value, const int pcre_jit) {
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
-	const char *errptr;
-	int erroff;
+
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE
+
 	pcre_keyvalue *kv;
 
 	if (0 == (kvb->used & 3)) { /*(allocate in groups of 4)*/
@@ -52,12 +62,70 @@ int pcre_keyvalue_buffer_append(log_error_st *errh, pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, c
 	}
 
 	kv = kvb->kv + kvb->used++;
-	kv->key_extra = NULL;
 
         /* copy persistent config data, and elide free() in free_data below */
 	memcpy(&kv->value, value, sizeof(buffer));
 	/*buffer_copy_buffer(&kv->value, value);*/
 
+   #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+
+	int errcode;
+	PCRE2_SIZE erroff;
+	PCRE2_UCHAR errbuf[1024];
+
+	kv->code = pcre2_compile((PCRE2_SPTR)BUF_PTR_LEN(key),
+	                         PCRE2_UTF, &errcode, &erroff, NULL);
+	if (NULL == kv->code) {
+		pcre2_get_error_message(errcode, errbuf, sizeof(errbuf));
+		log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+		          "pcre2_compile: %s at offset %zu, regex: %s",
+		          (char *)errbuf, erroff, key->ptr);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	if (pcre_jit) {
+		errcode = pcre2_jit_compile(kv->code, PCRE2_JIT_COMPLETE);
+		if (0 != errcode) {
+			pcre2_get_error_message(errcode, errbuf, sizeof(errbuf));
+			log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+			  "pcre2_jit_compile: %s, regex: %s", (char *)errbuf, key->ptr);
+			/*return 0;*/
+		}
+	}
+
+	uint32_t captures;
+	errcode = pcre2_pattern_info(kv->code, PCRE2_INFO_CAPTURECOUNT, &captures);
+	if (0 != errcode) {
+		pcre2_get_error_message(errcode, errbuf, sizeof(errbuf));
+		log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+		  "pcre2_pattern_info: %s, regex: %s", (char *)errbuf, key->ptr);
+		return 0;
+	}
+	else if (captures > 19) {
+		log_error(errh, __FILE__, __LINE__,
+		  "Too many captures in regex, "
+		  "use (?:...) instead of (...): %s", key->ptr);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+    #if 1 /*(share single keyvalue_match_data among all keyvalue regexes)*/
+	if (NULL == keyvalue_match_data) {
+		keyvalue_match_data = pcre2_match_data_create(20, NULL);
+		force_assert(keyvalue_match_data);
+	}
+	kv->match_data = keyvalue_match_data;
+    #else
+	kv->match_data = pcre2_match_data_create_from_pattern(kv->code, NULL);
+	force_assert(kv->match_data);
+    #endif
+
+   #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
+
+	const char *errptr;
+	int erroff;
+
+	kv->key_extra = NULL;
+
 	if (NULL == (kv->key = pcre_compile(key->ptr,
 					  0, &errptr, &erroff, NULL))) {
 
@@ -74,7 +142,11 @@ int pcre_keyvalue_buffer_append(log_error_st *errh, pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, c
 		  key->ptr, errptr);
 		return 0;
 	}
-#else
+
+   #endif
+
+  #else  /* !HAVE_PCRE */
+
 	static int logged_message = 0;
 	if (logged_message) return 1;
 	logged_message = 1;
@@ -84,29 +156,47 @@ int pcre_keyvalue_buffer_append(log_error_st *errh, pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, c
 	UNUSED(key);
 	UNUSED(value);
 	UNUSED(pcre_jit);
-#endif
+
+  #endif /* !HAVE_PCRE */
 
 	return 1;
 }
 
 void pcre_keyvalue_buffer_free(pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb) {
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE
 	pcre_keyvalue *kv = kvb->kv;
 	for (int i = 0, used = (int)kvb->used; i < used; ++i, ++kv) {
+	  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+		if (kv->code) pcre2_code_free(kv->code);
+	   #if 1
+		if (keyvalue_match_data) {
+			pcre2_match_data_free(keyvalue_match_data);
+			keyvalue_match_data = NULL;
+		}
+	   #else
+		if (kv->match_data) pcre2_match_data_free(kv->match_data);
+	   #endif
+	  #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
 		if (kv->key) pcre_free(kv->key);
 		if (kv->key_extra) pcre_free_study(kv->key_extra);
 		/*free (kv->value.ptr);*//*(see pcre_keyvalue_buffer_append)*/
+	  #endif
 	}
 
 	if (kvb->kv) free(kvb->kv);
-#endif
+  #endif
 	free(kvb);
 }
 
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE
+
 static void pcre_keyvalue_buffer_append_match(buffer *b, const pcre_keyvalue_ctx *ctx, unsigned int num, int flags) {
     if (num < (unsigned int)ctx->n) { /* n is always > 0 */
+      #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+        const PCRE2_SIZE *ovec = (PCRE2_SIZE *)ctx->ovec;
+      #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
         const int *ovec = (int *)ctx->ovec;
+      #endif
         const size_t off = (size_t)ovec[(num <<= 1)]; /*(num *= 2)*/
         const size_t len = (size_t)ovec[num+1] - off;
         burl_append(b, ctx->subject + off, len, flags);
@@ -117,7 +207,11 @@ static void pcre_keyvalue_buffer_append_ctxmatch(buffer *b, const pcre_keyvalue_
     const struct cond_match_t * const cache = ctx->cache;
     if (!cache) return; /* no enclosing match context */
     if (num < (unsigned int)cache->captures) {
+      #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+        const PCRE2_SIZE *ovec = (PCRE2_SIZE *)cache->matches;
+      #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
         const int *ovec = (int *)cache->matches;
+      #endif
         const size_t off = (size_t)ovec[(num <<= 1)]; /*(num *= 2)*/
         const size_t len = (size_t)ovec[num+1] - off;
         burl_append(b, cache->comp_value->ptr + off, len, flags);
@@ -305,15 +399,23 @@ static void pcre_keyvalue_buffer_subst(buffer *b, const buffer *patternb, const
 handler_t pcre_keyvalue_buffer_process(const pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, pcre_keyvalue_ctx *ctx, const buffer *input, buffer *result) {
     const pcre_keyvalue *kv = kvb->kv;
     for (int i = 0, used = (int)kvb->used; i < used; ++i, ++kv) {
+      #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+        int n = pcre2_match(kv->code, (PCRE2_SPTR)BUF_PTR_LEN(input),
+                            0, 0, kv->match_data, NULL);
+      #else
         #define N 20
         int ovec[N * 3];
         #undef N
         int n = pcre_exec(kv->key, kv->key_extra, BUF_PTR_LEN(input),
                           0, 0, ovec, sizeof(ovec)/sizeof(int));
+      #endif
         if (n < 0) {
-            if (n != PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH) {
+          #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+            if (n != PCRE2_ERROR_NOMATCH)
+          #else
+            if (n != PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH)
+          #endif
                 return HANDLER_ERROR;
-            }
         }
         else if (buffer_is_blank(&kv->value)) {
             /* short-circuit if blank replacement pattern
@@ -325,7 +427,11 @@ handler_t pcre_keyvalue_buffer_process(const pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, pcre_key
             ctx->m = i;
             ctx->n = n;
             ctx->subject = input->ptr;
+          #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+            ctx->ovec = pcre2_get_ovector_pointer(kv->match_data);
+          #else
             ctx->ovec = ovec;
+          #endif
             pcre_keyvalue_buffer_subst(result, &kv->value, ctx);
             return HANDLER_FINISHED;
         }
@@ -333,7 +439,9 @@ handler_t pcre_keyvalue_buffer_process(const pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, pcre_key
 
     return HANDLER_GO_ON;
 }
-#else
+
+#else  /* !HAVE_PCRE */
+
 handler_t pcre_keyvalue_buffer_process(const pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, pcre_keyvalue_ctx *ctx, const buffer *input, buffer *result) {
     UNUSED(kvb);
     UNUSED(ctx);
@@ -341,7 +449,8 @@ handler_t pcre_keyvalue_buffer_process(const pcre_keyvalue_buffer *kvb, pcre_key
     UNUSED(result);
     return HANDLER_GO_ON;
 }
-#endif
+
+#endif /* !HAVE_PCRE */
 
 
 /* modified from burl_normalize_basic() to handle %% extra encoding layer */
diff --git a/src/meson.build b/src/meson.build
index 8e099f5f..dc9b75fd 100644
--- a/src/meson.build
+++ b/src/meson.build
@@ -524,13 +524,20 @@ if get_option('with_nss')
 endif
 
 libpcre = []
-if get_option('with_pcre')
+if get_option('with_pcre2')
+	# manual search:
+	# header: pcre2.h
+	# function: pcre_match (-lpcre2-8)
+	libpcre = [ dependency('libpcre2-8') ]
+	conf_data.set('HAVE_PCRE2_H', true)
+	conf_data.set('HAVE_PCRE', true)
+elif get_option('with_pcre')
 	# manual search:
 	# header: pcre.h
 	# function: pcre_exec (-lpcre)
 	libpcre = [ dependency('libpcre') ]
 	conf_data.set('HAVE_PCRE_H', true)
-	conf_data.set('HAVE_LIBPCRE', true)
+	conf_data.set('HAVE_PCRE', true)
 endif
 
 libpq = []
diff --git a/src/mod_status.c b/src/mod_status.c
index 9998ef2c..8c335721 100644
--- a/src/mod_status.c
+++ b/src/mod_status.c
@@ -834,7 +834,7 @@ static handler_t mod_status_handle_server_config(request_st * const r) {
 			   "  <table summary=\"status\" border=\"1\">\n"));
 
 	mod_status_header_append(b, CONST_STR_LEN("Server-Features"));
-#ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE
 	mod_status_row_append(b, CONST_STR_LEN("RegEx Conditionals"), CONST_STR_LEN("enabled"));
 #else
 	mod_status_row_append(b, CONST_STR_LEN("RegEx Conditionals"), CONST_STR_LEN("disabled - pcre missing"));
diff --git a/src/plugin_config.h b/src/plugin_config.h
index 93ebdbd2..f61646c9 100644
--- a/src/plugin_config.h
+++ b/src/plugin_config.h
@@ -165,10 +165,20 @@ typedef struct cond_cache_t {
     int8_t local_result;  /*(cond_result_t)*/
 } cond_cache_t; /* 2 bytes (2^1) */
 
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+struct pcre2_real_match_data_8; /* declaration */
+#endif
+
 typedef struct cond_match_t {
     const buffer *comp_value; /* just a pointer */
+ #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+    struct pcre2_real_match_data_8 *match_data;
+    int captures;
+    void *matches; /* (PCRE2_SIZE *) */
+ #elif defined(HAVE_PCRE_H)
     int captures;
     int matches[3 * 10];
+ #endif
 } cond_match_t;
 
 int config_check_cond(request_st *r, int context_ndx);
diff --git a/src/reqpool.c b/src/reqpool.c
index dab31702..9ffc1ddd 100644
--- a/src/reqpool.c
+++ b/src/reqpool.c
@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@
 #include "request.h"
 #include "response.h"
 
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+#define PCRE2_CODE_UNIT_WIDTH 8
+#include <pcre2.h>
+#endif
+
 
 static const request_config *request_config_defaults;
 
@@ -60,7 +65,7 @@ request_init_data (request_st * const r, connection * const con, server * const
     r->cond_cache = calloc(srv->config_context->used, sizeof(cond_cache_t));
     force_assert(NULL != r->cond_cache);
 
-  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE
     if (srv->config_captures) {/*(save 128b per con if no regex conditions)*/
         r->cond_match = calloc(srv->config_captures, sizeof(cond_match_t *));
         force_assert(NULL != r->cond_match);
@@ -225,9 +230,17 @@ request_free_data (request_st * const r)
 
     free(r->plugin_ctx);
     free(r->cond_cache);
-  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE_H
-    free(r->cond_match);
-    free(r->cond_match_data);
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE
+    if (r->cond_match_data) {
+      #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+        for (int i = 0, used = r->con->srv->config_captures; i < used; ++i) {
+            if (r->cond_match_data[i].match_data)
+                pcre2_match_data_free(r->cond_match_data[i].match_data);
+        }
+      #endif
+        free(r->cond_match_data);
+        free(r->cond_match);
+    }
   #endif
 
     /* note: r is not zeroed here and r is not freed here */
diff --git a/src/server.c b/src/server.c
index e0fffce9..c3a4f27d 100644
--- a/src/server.c
+++ b/src/server.c
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ static void show_features (void) {
 #else
       "\t- Nettle support\n"
 #endif
-#ifdef HAVE_LIBPCRE
+#ifdef HAVE_PCRE
       "\t+ PCRE support\n"
 #else
       "\t- PCRE support\n"
diff --git a/src/t/test_keyvalue.c b/src/t/test_keyvalue.c
index b5bcd137..57c8bcd3 100644
--- a/src/t/test_keyvalue.c
+++ b/src/t/test_keyvalue.c
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ static void test_keyvalue_pcre_keyvalue_buffer_process (void) {
     memset(&cache, 0, sizeof(cache));
     cache.comp_value = authority;
     cache.captures = 2;
+  #ifdef HAVE_PCRE2_H
+    PCRE2_SIZE matches[4];
+    cache.matches = matches;
+  #endif
     cache.matches[0] = 0;
     cache.matches[1] = 15;
     cache.matches[2] = 0;