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CSS pseudo-classes let you style an element according to its state, position, or relationship to other elements—without adding a class in JavaScript. For example, use :hover for pointer interaction, :focus-visible for keyboard-friendly focus styling, :nth-child() for sibling positions, and :has() when an element’s style should depend on a related element.

What is a CSS pseudo-class?

A pseudo-class is a selector that matches an element based on information that is not expressed by its ordinary name, class, or ID. That information can be a changing state, such as whether a control is checked, or a context, such as an element’s position among its siblings. A pseudo-class starts with one colon; functional pseudo-classes accept arguments in parentheses. The matched element is the element the pseudo-class is attached to.

For example, button:hover matches a button while it is designated by a pointer. The button is the matched element; :hover describes the condition under which the rule applies. Because some conditions change as a person interacts with a page, the match can change without the document’s markup changing. See the W3C Selectors Level 4 specification and MDN’s pseudo-class reference.

Pseudo-class versus pseudo-element

A pseudo-class selects an existing element in a state or context, as in a:focus. A pseudo-element represents a particular part of an element, as in p::before. Use the modern double-colon spelling for pseudo-elements. The single-colon forms remain recognized for the legacy pseudo-elements ::before, ::after, ::first-line, and ::first-letter; new code should use double colons. See the W3C specification.

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Which pseudo-class should you use?

Need Useful selectors What they match
Pointer or keyboard interaction :hover, :active, :focus, :focus-visible Pointer designation, activation, input focus, or focus for which the browser determines a visible indicator is appropriate.
Position among siblings :first-child, :last-child, :nth-child() Position in the complete sibling set.
Position among siblings of the same element type :first-of-type, :last-of-type, :nth-of-type() Position after restricting the sibling set to a particular element type.
Native form state :checked, :disabled, :required, :valid, :invalid A control’s checked, disabled, required, or validity state.
Related elements or selector alternatives :has(), :is(), :not(), :where() A relationship, a match to any listed alternative, an exclusion, or alternatives grouped without added specificity.
Document location or root :target, :root, :empty An element targeted by the URL fragment, the document root, or an element with no child content under the selector’s rules.

How do interaction and focus pseudo-classes work?

Interaction pseudo-classes describe user input states. They can overlap: an element may match more than one state at a time, so avoid assuming that each is an exclusive step in a single sequence. :hover is pointer-oriented, while focus states matter for keyboard and other input methods.

/* Pointer is over the link */
a:hover { text-decoration-thickness: 0.15em; }

/* The link is being activated */
a:active { color: maroon; }

/* Keep an obvious indicator when focus should be visible */
a:focus-visible {
  outline: 3px solid currentColor;
  outline-offset: 3px;
}

/* Highlight a field container when one of its controls has focus */
.field:focus-within { border-color: steelblue; }

:focus and :focus-visible

:focus matches an element that has input focus. :focus-visible matches when the browser determines a visible focus indicator should be drawn. In a typical interaction, tabbing to a link may show the focus ring, while clicking it with a pointer may not; browser logic determines when :focus-visible matches. Preserve a visible focus indicator for keyboard users rather than removing outlines without a replacement. MDN’s :focus-visible guide shows this approach and a fallback:

.button:focus-visible {
  outline: 3px solid deepskyblue;
  outline-offset: 3px;
}

@supports not selector(:focus-visible) {
  .button:focus {
    outline: 3px solid deepskyblue;
    outline-offset: 3px;
  }
}

The fallback uses @supports not selector(:focus-visible) to apply focus styling when the selector is unsupported. MDN states that :focus has been available across browsers since July 2015; that date describes :focus, not every pseudo-class discussed here. See MDN’s :focus reference.

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How do structural pseudo-classes count elements?

:first-child and :last-child count from the ends of the full sibling set. :first-of-type and :last-of-type first limit the set to siblings of the same element type. :nth-child() and :nth-last-child() select positions by counting from the start or end respectively. See MDN’s pseudo-class reference.

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/* Every even list item */
li:nth-child(even) { background: #f5f5f5; }

/* First, fourth, seventh, and subsequent items: 3n + 1 */
li:nth-child(3n + 1) { font-weight: 700; }

/* First paragraph among paragraphs, even if another element comes first */
p:first-of-type { margin-top: 0; }

Reading the An+B pattern

The formula An+B describes a repeating sequence of sibling positions: n takes successive non-negative integer values, and the expression gives the positions that match. For 3n + 1, the sequence is 1, 4, 7, and so on. The keywords even and odd are convenient patterns for alternating positions.

Count only matching siblings

Selectors Level 4 allows an of <selector-list> filter in :nth-child() and :nth-last-child(). For example, :nth-child(2 of .item) selects the second sibling that matches .item, rather than simply selecting the second child and then checking its class. This filtered form also affects specificity: the pseudo-class’s specificity is combined with the most specific selector in the filter. See the W3C specification.

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How do form-state pseudo-classes work?

Form pseudo-classes reflect native control states and semantics. Use them when the browser already knows whether a control is checked, disabled, required, optional, valid, invalid, read-only, or still showing its placeholder, rather than duplicating that state in a class.

input:required:invalid { border-color: firebrick; }
input:required:valid { border-color: seagreen; }
input:disabled { opacity: 0.6; }
input:checked + label { font-weight: 700; }

These rules change presentation; they do not replace accessible labels or helpful error messages. Do not communicate an error or checked state through color alone.

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How can CSS match relationships and group selectors?

Logical pseudo-classes let you express alternatives, exclusions, and relationships without repeating whole rules. Their argument syntax and specificity can affect how easily later rules override them.

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:has(): match an element based on a relationship

:has() tests a relative selector against an anchor element. It can match a parent-like container based on a descendant or child, but it is not a generic parent selector for every possible relationship: the relative selector in its argument defines what relationship is tested. It cannot be nested inside another :has().

/* A card with a direct image child */
.card:has(> img) { display: grid; }

/* A section that contains a heading */
section:has(h2) { padding-block-start: 1rem; }

/* A link containing an image */
a:has(> img) { /* styles for that link */ }

Check compatibility against the browsers your project supports before relying on modern selectors such as :has(). The MDN CSS selectors guide provides broader selector guidance; the reference material for this article does not establish a complete, date-stamped browser-version matrix for every modern selector.

:is(), :not(), and :where(): alternatives and exclusions

:is() matches an element that matches any selector in its argument list. :not() excludes elements that match its argument. :where() also groups alternatives, but its specificity is always zero, which can make shared styling easier to override.

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/* Match any of these heading elements */
:is(h1, h2, h3) { text-wrap: balance; }

/* Exclude muted elements */
button:not(.muted) { cursor: pointer; }

/* Group regions without increasing selector specificity */
:where(header, footer) :is(h2, h3) { line-height: 1.2; }
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What do :target, :root, and :empty match?

:target matches the element whose ID corresponds to the URL fragment, which can help identify the destination of an in-page link. :root matches the document root; in an HTML document this is normally <html>. :empty matches an element with no child content under the selector’s specification rules.

:target {
  scroll-margin-top: 5rem;
  background: #fff4c2;
}

:root { color-scheme: light dark; }

How does pseudo-class specificity work?

A pseudo-class generally contributes class-level specificity. Functional pseudo-classes have important exceptions: :is(), :not(), and :has() take the specificity of the most specific selector in their argument list, rather than adding specificity as if each argument were an independent selector. :where() contributes zero specificity. With the filtered form of :nth-child() or :nth-last-child(), the selector list after of contributes its most specific selector in addition to the pseudo-class. These rules are defined by the W3C Selectors Level 4 specification.

  • If a rule unexpectedly wins or loses, inspect the complete selector and the arguments to its functional pseudo-classes.
  • Use :where() for grouped selectors when you want the group not to make later overrides harder.
  • Keep selectors focused so it is clear which element is the anchor and which condition must match.

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