:empty

Baseline Widely available *

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

* Some parts of this feature may have varying levels of support.

The :empty CSS pseudo-class represents any element that has no children. Children can be either element nodes or text (including whitespace). Comments, processing instructions, and CSS content do not affect whether an element is considered empty.

Try it

Note: In Selectors Level 4, the :empty pseudo-class was changed to act like :-moz-only-whitespace, but no browser currently supports this yet.

Syntax

css
:empty {
  /* ... */
}

Accessibility

Assistive technology such as screen readers cannot parse interactive content that is empty. All interactive content must have an accessible name, which is created by providing a text value for the interactive control's parent element (anchors, buttons, etc.). Accessible names expose the interactive control to the accessibility tree, an API that communicates information useful for assistive technologies.

The text that provides the interactive control's accessible name can be hidden using a combination of properties that remove it visually from the screen but keep it parsable by assistive technology. This is commonly used for buttons that rely solely on an icon to convey purpose.

Examples

HTML

html
<div class="box"><!-- I will be lime. --></div>
<div class="box">I will be pink.</div>
<div class="box">
  <!-- I will be pink in older browsers because of the whitespace around this comment. -->
</div>
<div class="box">
  <p>
    <!-- I will be pink in all browsers because of the non-collapsible whitespace and elements around this comment. -->
  </p>
</div>

CSS

css
.box {
  background: pink;
  height: 80px;
  width: 80px;
}

.box:empty {
  background: lime;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
Selectors Level 4
# the-empty-pseudo

Browser compatibility

Report problems with this compatibility data on GitHub
desktopmobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
:empty
Matches elements with whitespace

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support
No support
No support
See implementation notes.

See also