:target-within

Experimental: This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The :target-within CSS pseudo-class represents an element that is a target element or contains an element that is a target. A target element is a unique element with an id matching the URL's fragment. In other words, it represents an element that is itself matched by the :target pseudo-class or has a descendant that is matched by :target. (This includes descendants in shadow trees.)

css
/* Selects a <div> when one of its descendants is a target */
div:target-within {
  background: cyan;
}

Syntax

css
:target-within {
  /* ... */
}

Examples

Highlighting an article

The :target-within pseudo-class can be used to highlight the article if anything inside it has been directly linked to. The :target pseudo-class is also being used to show which item has been targeted.

HTML

html
<h3>Table of Contents</h3>
<ol>
  <li><a href="#p1">Jump to the first paragraph!</a></li>
  <li><a href="#p2">Jump to the second paragraph!</a></li>
</ol>

<article>
  <h3>My Fun Article</h3>
  <p id="p1">
    You can target <i>this paragraph</i> using a URL fragment. Click on the link
    above to try out!
  </p>
  <p id="p2">
    This is <i>another paragraph</i>, also accessible from the links above.
    Isn't that delightful?
  </p>
</article>

CSS

css
article:target-within {
  background-color: gold;
}

/* Add a pseudo-element inside the target element */
p:target::before {
  font: 70% sans-serif;
  content: "►";
  color: limegreen;
  margin-right: 0.25em;
}

/* Style italic elements within the target element */
p:target i {
  color: red;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
Selectors Level 4
# the-target-within-pseudo

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also