CSS attribute Selector allows you to select elements based on the presence, value, or specific characteristics of their attributes. They are particularly useful for dynamic or structured content where attributes play a key role, such as in forms or data tables.
Types of CSS Attribute Selectors
1. [attribute] Selector
This selector matches all elements with the specified attribute, regardless of its value.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts-->
<html>
<head>
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<style>
/* Styles all elements with a 'placeholder' attribute */
[placeholder] {
border: 2px solid blue;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts-->
</head>
<body>
<input type="text" placeholder="Enter your name">
<input type="password" placeholder="Enter your password">
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends-->
2. [attribute="value"] Selector
This selector matches elements with an attribute whose value is exactly equal to the specified value.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts-->
<html>
<head>
<!--Driver Code Ends-->
<style>
/* Styles the button with type="submit" */
[type="submit"] {
background-color: green;
color: white;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts-->
</head>
<body>
<button type="submit">Submit</button>
<button type="reset">Reset</button>
</body>
</html>
<!--Driver Code Ends-->
3. [attribute~="value"] Selector
This selector matches elements where the attribute's value is a space-separated list of words and one of the words matches the specified value.
HTML
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<html>
<head>
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<style>
/* Styles elements where class includes 'green' */
[class~="green"] {
border: 3px solid red;
}
.box {
height: 100px;
width: 100px;
position: relative;
background-color: green;
}
.container {
display: flex;
height: 500px;
width: 100vw;
gap: 30px;
}
</style>
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</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<div class="box large green"></div>
<div class="box small red"></div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
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4. [attribute|="value"] Selector
This selector matches elements whose attribute value is either exactly value or starts with value followed by a hyphen (-). It is often used for language attributes.
HTML
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<html>
<head>
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<style>
/* Styles elements with lang="en-US" or lang="en-GB" */
[lang|="en"] {
color: blue;
}
</style>
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</head>
<body>
<p lang="en-US">Hello</p>
<p lang="en-GB">Hello</p>
<p lang="fr">Bonjour</p>
</body>
</html>
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5. [attribute^="value"] Selector
This selector matches elements whose attribute value starts with the specified value.
HTML
<!--Driver Code Starts-->
<html>
<head>
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<style>
/* Styles links with href starting with 'https' */
[href^="https"] {
text-decoration: underline;
color: darkgreen;
}
</style>
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</head>
<body>
<a href="https://example.com">Visit Example</a>
<br>
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">Email Us</a>
</body>
</html>
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6. [attribute$="value"] Selector
This selector matches elements whose attribute value ends with the specified value.
HTML
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<html>
<head>
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<style>
/* Selects all elements whose class ends with "box" */
[class$="box"] {
border: 2px solid blue;
padding: 10px;
background-color: lightgray;
}
</style>
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</head>
<body>
<div class="small-box">This is a small box</div>
<div class="large-box">This is a large box</div>
<div class="circle">This is not a box</div>
</body>
</html>
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7. [attribute="value"] Selector*
This selector matches elements whose attribute value contains the specified value anywhere within it.
HTML
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<html>
<head>
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<style>
/* Selects all div elements where class contains "box" */
div[class*="box"] {
background-color: lightgreen;
color: darkgreen;
padding: 20px;
border: 2px solid green;
}
</style>
<!--Driver Code Starts-->
</head>
<body>
<div class="small-box">This is a small box</div>
<div class="large-box">This is a large box</div>
<div class="circle">This is not a box</div>
</body>
</html>
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8. Combining Attribute Selectors
You can combine multiple attribute selectors to refine your targeting.
HTML
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<html>
<head>
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<style>
/* Styles inputs that are both type="text" and data-required="true" */
[type="text"][data-required="true"] {
background-color: green;
}
</style>
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</head>
<body>
<input type="text" data-required="true">
<input type="password" data-required="true">
</body>
</html>
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Practical Use Cases
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