The :root CSS pseudo-class matches the root element of a tree representing the document. In HTML, :root represents the <html> element and is identical to the selector html, except that its specificity is higher.
/* Selects the root element of the document:
<html> in the case of HTML */
:root {
background: yellow;
}
Syntax
:root
Examples
Declaring global CSS variables
:root can be useful for declaring global CSS variables:
:root {
--main-color: hotpink;
--pane-padding: 5px 42px;
}
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Selectors Level 4 The definition of ':root' in that specification. |
Working Draft | No change. |
| Selectors Level 3 The definition of ':root' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
:root | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 1 | IE Full support 9 | Opera Full support 9.5 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android Full support 37 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 14 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support