Window: parent property

The Window.parent property is a reference to the parent of the current window or subframe.

If a window does not have a parent, its parent property is a reference to itself.

When a window is loaded in an <iframe>, <object>, or <frame>, its parent is the window with the element embedding the window.

Value

A Window or <iframe> object.

Examples

js
if (window.parent !== window.top) {
  // We're deeper than one down
}

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard
# dom-parent-dev

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also

  • window.frameElement returns the specific element (such as <iframe>) the window is embedded into.
  • window.top returns a reference to the top-level window.