diff --git a/include/tools/stringTools.h b/include/tools/stringTools.h
index 7dd2605ed..f106d7893 100644
--- a/include/tools/stringTools.h
+++ b/include/tools/stringTools.h
@@ -70,5 +70,7 @@ T extractFromString(const std::string& str) {
     iss >> ret;
     return ret;
 }
+
+bool startsWith(const std::string& base, const std::string& start);
 } //namespace kiwix
 #endif
diff --git a/src/tools/stringTools.cpp b/src/tools/stringTools.cpp
index feb0f34f0..c1025b522 100644
--- a/src/tools/stringTools.cpp
+++ b/src/tools/stringTools.cpp
@@ -377,3 +377,11 @@ std::string kiwix::normalize(const std::string& word)
 {
   return kiwix::lcAll(word);
 }
+
+
+bool kiwix::startsWith(const std::string& base, const std::string& start)
+{
+   return start.length() <= base.length()
+        && std::equal(start.begin(), start.end(), base.begin());
+}
+