ChildNode.replaceWith()

The ChildNode.replaceWith() method replaces this ChildNode in the children list of its parent with a set of Node or DOMString objects. DOMString objects are inserted as equivalent Text nodes.

Syntax

[Throws, Unscopable] 
void ChildNode.replaceWith((Node or DOMString)... nodes);

Parameters

nodes

A set of Node or DOMString objects to replace.

Exceptions

• HierarchyRequestError: Node cannot be inserted at the specified point in the hierarchy.

Examples

Using replaceWith()

var parent = document.createElement("div");
var child = document.createElement("p");
parent.appendChild(child);
var span = document.createElement("span");

child.replaceWith(span);

console.log(parent.outerHTML);
// "<div><span></span></div>"

ChildNode.replaceWith() is unscopable

The replaceWith() method is not scoped into the with statement. See Symbol.unscopables for more information.

with(node) { 
  replaceWith("foo");
}
// ReferenceError: replaceWith is not defined 

Polyfill

You can polyfill the replaceWith() method in Internet Explorer 10+ and higher with the following code:

function ReplaceWithPolyfill() {
  'use-strict'; // For safari, and IE > 10
  var parent = this.parentNode, i = arguments.length, currentNode;
  if (!parent) return;
  if (!i) // if there are no arguments
    parent.removeChild(this);
  while (i--) { // i-- decrements i and returns the value of i before the decrement
    currentNode = arguments[i];
    if (typeof currentNode !== 'object'){
      currentNode = this.ownerDocument.createTextNode(currentNode);
    } else if (currentNode.parentNode){
      currentNode.parentNode.removeChild(currentNode);
    }
    // the value of "i" below is after the decrement
    if (!i) // if currentNode is the first argument (currentNode === arguments[0])
      parent.replaceChild(currentNode, this);
    else // if currentNode isn't the first
      parent.insertBefore(currentNode, this.nextSibling);
  }
}
if (!Element.prototype.replaceWith)
    Element.prototype.replaceWith = ReplaceWithPolyfill;
if (!CharacterData.prototype.replaceWith)
    CharacterData.prototype.replaceWith = ReplaceWithPolyfill;
if (!DocumentType.prototype.replaceWith) 
    DocumentType.prototype.replaceWith = ReplaceWithPolyfill;

Specification

Browser compatibility

See also

• ChildNode and ParentNode
• Node.replaceChild()
• NodeList