:modal

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since September 2022.

The :modal CSS pseudo-class matches an element that is in a state in which it excludes all interaction with elements outside it until the interaction has been dismissed. Multiple elements can be selected by the :modal pseudo-class at the same time, but only one of them will be active and able to receive input.

Try it

button {
  display: block;
  margin: auto;
  width: 10rem;
  height: 2rem;
}

:modal {
  background-color: beige;
  border: 2px solid burlywood;
  border-radius: 5px;
}

p {
  color: black;
}
<p>Would you like to see a new random number?</p>
<button id="showNumber">Show me</button>

<dialog id="favDialog">
  <form method="dialog">
    <p>Lucky number is: <strong id="number"></strong></p>
    <button>Close dialog</button>
  </form>
</dialog>
const showNumber = document.getElementById("showNumber");
const favDialog = document.getElementById("favDialog");
const number = document.getElementById("number");

showNumber.addEventListener("click", () => {
  number.innerText = Math.floor(Math.random() * 1000);
  favDialog.showModal();
});

Syntax

css
:modal {
  /* ... */
}

Usage notes

Examples of elements that will prevent user interaction with the rest of the page and will be selected by the :modal pseudo-class include:

  • The dialog element opened with the showModal() API.
  • The element selected by the :fullscreen pseudo-class when opened with the requestFullscreen() API.

Examples

Styling a modal dialog

This example styles a modal dialog that opens when the "Update details" button is activated. This example has been built on top of the <dialog> element example.

CSS

css
:modal {
  border: 5px solid red;
  background-color: yellow;
  box-shadow: 3px 3px 10px rgb(0 0 0 / 50%);
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
HTML
# selector-modal
Selectors Level 4
# selectordef-modal

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
:modal

Legend

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

Full support
Full support
No support
No support

See also