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:empty

The :emptyCSS pseudo-class represents any element that has no children. Children can be either element nodes or text (including whitespace). Comments or processing instructions do not affect whether an element is considered empty.

Note: In Selectors Level 4 the :empty selector was changed to act like :-moz-only-whitespace, but no browsers currently support this yet.

/* Selects any <div> that contains no content */
div:empty {
  background: lime;
}

Syntax

:empty

Examples

HTML

<div class="box"><!-- I will be lime. --></div>
<div class="box">I will be pink.</div>
<div class="box">
    <!-- I will be pink in older browsers because of the whitespace around this comment. -->
</div>

CSS

.box {
  background: pink;
  height: 80px;
  width: 80px;
}

.box:empty {
  background: lime;
}

Result

Accessibility concerns

Assistive technology such as screen readers cannot parse interactive content that is empty. All interactive content must have an accessible name, which is created by providing a text value for the interactive control's parent element (anchors, buttons, etc.). Accessible names expose the interactive control to the accessibility tree, an API that communicates information useful for assistive technologies.

The text that provides the interactive control's accessible name can be hidden using a combination of properties that remove it visually from the screen but keep it parseable by assistive technology. This is commonly used for buttons that rely solely on an icon to convey purpose.

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Selectors Level 4
The definition of ':empty' in that specification.
Working Draft Changed to act like :-moz-only-whitespace.
Selectors Level 3
The definition of ':empty' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

Desktop
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 1 Yes 1 9 9.5 3.1
Mobile
Android webview Chrome for Android Edge Mobile Firefox for Android Opera for Android iOS Safari Samsung Internet
Basic support 2 ? Yes 4 10 3.1 ?

See also

© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:empty