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  5. Pseudo-elements

Pseudo-elements

A CSS pseudo-element is a keyword added to a selector that lets you style a specific part of the selected element(s).

Syntax

css
selector::pseudo-element {
  property: value;
}

For example, ::first-line can be used to change the font of the first line of a paragraph.

css
/* The first line of every <p> element. */
p::first-line {
  color: blue;
  text-transform: uppercase;
}

Double colons (::) are used for pseudo-elements. This distinguishes pseudo-elements from pseudo-classes that use a single colon (:) in their notation. Note, browsers support single colon syntax for the original four pseudo-elements: ::before, ::after, ::first-line, and ::first-letter.

Pseudo-elements do not exist independently. The element of which a pseudo-element is a part is called its originating element. A pseudo-element must appear after all the other components in the complex or compound selector. The last element in the selector is the originating element of the pseudo-element. For example, you can select a paragraph's first line using p::first-line but not the first-line's children. So p::first-line > * is invalid.

A pseudo-element can be selected based on the current state of the originating element. For example, p:hover::first-line selects the first line (pseudo-element) of a paragraph when the paragraph itself is being hovered (pseudo-class).

Note: When a selector list contains an invalid selector, the entire style block is ignored.

Typographic pseudo-elements

::first-line

The first line-box of the originating element.

::first-letter

The first letter, number, or symbol character on the first line of its originating element.

::cue

The WebVTT cues within a selected element. This can be used to style captions and other cues in media with VTT tracks. The CSS pseudo-elements module also defines the ::postfix and ::prefix sub-pseudo elements. These are not yet supported by any browser.

Highlight pseudo-elements

Selects document sections based on content and document status, enabling those areas to be styled differently to indicate that status to the user.

::selection

The portion of a document that has been selected.

::target-text

The document's target element. The target element is identified using the URL's fragment identifier.

::spelling-error

A portion of text that the browser thinks is misspelled.

::grammar-error

A portion of text that the browser thinks is grammatically incorrect.

::highlight()

The elements in the highlight registry. It is used to create custom highlights.

Tree-Abiding pseudo-elements

These pseudo-elements behave like regular elements, fitting seamlessly within the box model. They act as a child element that can be styled directly within the originating element hierarchy.

::before

Creates a pseudo-element that is the first child of the selected element.

::after

Creates a pseudo-element that is the last child of the selected element.

::column

Each column fragment of a multi-column layout.

::marker

The automatically generated marker box of a list item.

::backdrop

The backdrop of the originating element rendered in the top layer.

::scroll-button()

Creates a button that can control the scrolling of the scroll container to which it is applied.

::scroll-marker

Creates a pseudo-element that is a scroll marker — a scroll target button for its originating element nested in a scroll-marker group.

::scroll-marker-group

Generates a container before or after a scroll container to contain the ::scroll-marker pseudo-elements generated on the element or its descendants.

Element-backed pseudo-elements

These pseudo-elements are real elements that are not otherwise selectable.

::details-content

The expandable/collapsible contents of a <details> element.

::part()

Any element within a shadow tree that has a matching part attribute.

::slotted()

Any element placed into a slot inside an HTML template.

The pseudo-elements are related to form controls.

::checkmark

Targets the checkmark placed inside the currently-selected <option> element of a customizable select element to provide a visual indication of which one is selected.

::file-selector-button

The button of an <input> of type="file".

::picker()

The picker part of an element, for example the drop-down picker of a customizable select element.

::picker-icon

The picker icon inside form controls that have an icon associated with them. In the case of a customizable select element, it selects the arrow that points down when the select is closed.

::placeholder

The placeholder text in an input field.

Alphabetical index

Pseudo-elements defined by a set of CSS specifications include the following:

A

B

C

D

F

G

H

M

P

S

T

V

Nesting pseudo-elements

You can chain some pseudo-element selectors together to style pseudo-elements nested inside other pseudo-elements. The following nested pseudo-element combinations are supported:

Check out the individual pseudo-element reference pages for examples and browser compatibility information.

Highlight pseudo-elements inheritance

Highlight pseudo-elements, such as ::selection, ::target-text, ::highlight(), ::spelling-error, and ::grammar-error, follow a consistent inheritance model that differs from regular element inheritance.

When you apply styles to highlight pseudo-elements, they inherit from both:

  1. Their parent elements (following normal inheritance).
  2. The highlight pseudo-elements of their parent elements (following highlight inheritance).

This means that if you style both a parent element's highlight pseudo-element and a child element's highlight pseudo-element, the child's highlighted text will combine properties from both sources.

Here is a concrete example.

First, we have some HTML that includes two nested <div> elements. Some of the included text content is contained directly inside the parent <div>, and some is nested inside the child <div>.

html
<div class="parent">
  Parent text
  <div class="child">Child text</div>
</div>

Next we include some CSS, which selects the parent and child <div> elements separately and gives them different color values, and selects the parent and child's selected text (::selection). This gives each <div> a different background-color and sets a different text color on the parent selection.

css
/* Style for the parent element */
.parent {
  color: blue;
}

/* Style for the parent's selected text */
.parent::selection {
  background-color: yellow;
  color: red;
}

/* Style for the child element */
.child {
  color: green;
}

/* Style for the child's selected text */
.child::selection {
  background-color: orange;
}

The example renders as follows:

Try selecting the text in both the parent and child elements. Notice that:

  1. When you select the parent text, it uses the yellow background and red text color defined in .parent::selection.
  2. When you select the child text, it uses:
    • The orange background from .child::selection.
    • The red text color inherited from the parent's ::selection pseudo-element.

This demonstrates how the child's highlight pseudo-element inherits from both its parent element and the parent's highlight pseudo-element.

CSS custom properties (variables) in highlight pseudo-elements inherit from their originating element (the element they're being applied to), not through the highlight inheritance chain. For example:

css
:root {
  --selection-color: lightgreen;
}

::selection {
  color: var(--selection-color);
}

.blue {
  --selection-color: blue;
}

When using the universal selector with highlight pseudo-elements, it prevents highlight inheritance. For example:

css
/* This prevents highlight inheritance */
*::selection {
  color: lightgreen;
}

/* Prefer this to allow inheritance */
:root::selection {
  color: lightgreen;
}

Specifications

Specification
CSS Pseudo-Elements Module Level 4
CSS Positioned Layout Module Level 4
CSS Shadow Parts
WebVTT: The Web Video Text Tracks Format

See also

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