playwright/docs/selectors.md

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# Element selectors

Selectors query elements on the web page for interactions, like
[page.click(selector[, options])](./api.md#pageclickselector-options), and to
obtain `ElementHandle` through [page.$(selector)](./api.md#pageselector).
Built-in selectors auto-pierce
[shadow DOM](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Web_Components/Using_shadow_DOM).

<!-- GEN:toc-top-level -->
- [Syntax](#syntax)
- [Best practices](#best-practices)
- [Examples](#examples)
- [Selector engines](#selector-engines)
<!-- GEN:stop -->

## Syntax

Selectors are defined by selector engine name and selector body, `engine=body`.
* `engine` refers to one of the [supported engines](#selector-engines)
  * Built-in selector engines: [css], [text], [xpath] and [id selectors][id]
  * Learn more about [custom selector engines](./extensibility.md)
* `body` refers to the query string for the respective engine
  * For `text`, body is the text content
  * For `css`, body is a
    [css selector](https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_Selectors)

Body format is assumed to ignore leading and trailing white spaces, so that
extra whitespace can be added for readability.

### Short-forms

For convenience, common selectors have short-forms:
- Selector starting with `//` or `..` is assumed to be `xpath=selector`
  - Example: `page.click('//html')` is converted to
    `page.click('xpath=//html')`.
- Selector starting and ending with a quote (either `"` or `'`) is assumed to
  be `text=selector`
  - Example: `page.click('"foo"')` is converted to
    `page.click('text="foo"')`.
- Otherwise, selector is assumed to be `css=selector`
  - Example: `page.click('div')` is converted to `page.click('css=div')`.

### Chaining selectors

Selectors defined as `engine=body` or in short-form can be combined with the
`>>` token, e.g. `selector1 >> selector2 >> selectors3`. When selectors are
chained, next one is queried relative to the previous one's result.

For example,

```
css=article >> css=.bar > .baz >> css=span[attr=value]
```

```js
document
  .querySelector('article')
  .querySelector('.bar > .baz')
  .querySelector('span[attr=value]')
```

If a selector needs to include `>>` in the body, it should be escaped inside a
string to not be confused with chaining separator, e.g. `text="some >> text"`.

### Intermediate matches

By default, chained selectors resolve to an element queried by the last
selector. A selector can be prefixed with `*` to capture elements that are
queried by an intermediate selector.

For example, `css=article >> text=Hello` captures the element with the text
`Hello`, and `*css=article >> text=Hello` (note the `*`) captures the `article`
element that contains some element with the text `Hello`.

## Best practices

The choice of selectors determines the resiliency of automation scripts. To
reduce the maintenance burden, we recommend prioritizing user-facing attributes
and explicit contracts.

### Prioritize user-facing attributes

Attributes like text content, input placeholder, accessibility roles and labels
are user-facing attributes that change rarely. These attributes are not impacted
by DOM structure changes.

The following examples use the built-in [text] and [css] selector engines.

```js
// queries "Login" text selector
await page.click('text="Login"');
await page.click('"Login"'); // short-form

// queries "Search GitHub" placeholder attribute
await page.fill('css=[placeholder="Search GitHub"]');
await page.fill('[placeholder="Search GitHub"]'); // short-form

// queries "Close" accessibility label
await page.click('css=[aria-label="Close"]');
await page.click('[aria-label="Close"]'); // short-form

// combine role and text queries
await page.click('css=nav >> text=Login');
```

### Define explicit contract

When user-facing attributes change frequently, it is recommended to use explicit
test ids, like `data-test-id`. These `data-*` attributes are supported by the
[css] and [id selectors][id].

```html
<button data-test-id="directions">Itinéraire</button>
```

```js
// queries data-test-id attribute with css
await page.click('css=[data-test-id=directions]');
await page.click('[data-test-id=directions]'); // short-form

// queries data-test-id with id
await page.click('data-test-id=directions');
```

### Avoid selectors tied to implementation

[xpath] and [css] can be tied to the DOM structure or implementation. These
selectors can break when the DOM structure changes.

```js
// avoid long css or xpath chains
await page.click('#tsf > div:nth-child(2) > div.A8SBwf > div.RNNXgb > div > div.a4bIc > input');
await page.click('//*[@id="tsf"]/div[2]/div[1]/div[1]/div/div[2]/input');
```

## Examples

```js
// queries 'div' css selector
const handle = await page.$('css=div');

// queries '//html/body/div' xpath selector
const handle = await page.$('xpath=//html/body/div');

// queries '"foo"' text selector
const handle = await page.$('text="foo"');

// queries 'span' css selector inside the result of '//html/body/div' xpath selector
const handle = await page.$('xpath=//html/body/div >> css=span');

// converted to 'css=div'
const handle = await page.$('div');

// converted to 'xpath=//html/body/div'
const handle = await page.$('//html/body/div');

// converted to 'text="foo"'
const handle = await page.$('"foo"');

// queries 'span' css selector inside the div handle
const handle = await divHandle.$('css=span');
```

## Selector engines

### css and css:light

`css` is a default engine - any malformed selector not starting with `//` nor
starting and ending with a quote is assumed to be a css selector. For example,
Playwright converts `page.$('span > button')` to `page.$('css=span > button')`.

Playwright augments standard CSS selectors in two ways, see below for more
details:
* `css` engine pierces open shadow DOM by default.
* Playwright adds a few custom pseudo-classes like `:visible`.

#### Shadow piercing

`css:light` engine is equivalent to
[`Document.querySelector`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/API/Document/querySelector)
and behaves according to the CSS spec. However, it does not pierce shadow roots,
which may be inconvenient when working with
[Shadow DOM and Web Components](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Web_Components/Using_shadow_DOM).
For that reason, `css` engine pierces shadow roots. More specifically, any
[Descendant combinator](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Descendant_combinator)
or
[Child combinator](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Child_combinator)
pierces an arbitrary number of open shadow roots, including the implicit
descendant combinator at the start of the selector.

`css` engine first searches for elements in the light dom in the iteration
order, and then recursively inside open shadow roots in the iteration order. It
does not search inside closed shadow roots or iframes.

```html
<article>
  <div>In the light dom</div>
  <div slot='myslot'>In the light dom, but goes into the shadow slot</div>
  <open mode shadow root>
    <div class='in-the-shadow'>
      <span class='content'>
        In the shadow dom
        <open mode shadow root>
          <li id='target'>Deep in the shadow</li>
        </open mode shadow root>
      </span>
    </div>
    <slot name='myslot'></slot>
  </open mode shadow root>
</article>
```

Note that `<open mode shadow root>` is not an html element, but rather a shadow
root created with `element.attachShadow({mode: 'open'})`.
- Both `"css=article div"` and `"css:light=article div"` match the first
  `<div>In the light dom</div>`.
- Both `"css=article > div"` and `"css:light=article > div"` match two `div`
  elements that are direct children of the `article`.
- `"css=article .in-the-shadow"` matches the `<div class='in-the-shadow'>`,
  piercing the shadow root, while `"css:light=article .in-the-shadow"` does
  not match anything.
- `"css:light=article div > span"` does not match anything, because both
  light-dom `div` elements do not contain a `span`.
- `"css=article div > span"` matches the `<span class='content'>`, piercing
  the shadow root.
- `"css=article > .in-the-shadow"` does not match anything, because `<div
  class='in-the-shadow'>` is not a direct child of `article`
- `"css:light=article > .in-the-shadow"` does not match anything.
- `"css=article li#target"` matches the `<li id='target'>Deep in the
  shadow</li>`, piercing two shadow roots.

#### CSS extension: visible

The `:visible` pseudo-class matches elements that are visible as defined in the
[actionability](./actionability.md#visible) guide. For example, `input` matches
all the inputs on the page, while `input:visible` matches only visible inputs.
This is useful to distinguish elements that are very similar but differ in
visibility.

```js
// Clicks the first button.
await page.click('button');
// Clicks the first visible button. If there are some invisible buttons, this click will just ignore them.
await page.click('button:visible');
```

Use `:visible` with caution, because it has two major drawbacks:
* When elements change their visibility dynamically, `:visible` will give
  upredictable results based on the timing.
* `:visible` forces a layout and may lead to querying being slow, especially
  when used with `page.waitForSelector(selector[, options])` method.

#### CSS extension: text

The `:text` pseudo-class matches elements that have a text node child with
specific text. It is similar to the [text engine](#text-and-textlight). There
are a few variations that support different arguments:
* `:text("substring")` - Matches when element's text contains "substring"
  somewhere. Matching is case-insensitive. Matching also normalizes
  whitespace, for example it turns multiple spaces into one, trusn line breaks
  into spaces and ignores leading and trailing whitespace.
* `:text-is("string")` - Matches when element's text equals the "string".
  Matching is case-insensitive and normalizes whitespace.
* `button:text("Sign in")` - Text selector may be combined with regular CSS.
* `:text-matches("[+-]?\\d+")` - Matches text against a regular expression.
  Note that special characters like back-slash `\`, quotes `"`, square
  brackets `[]` and more should be escaped. Learn more about
  [regular expressions](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/RegExp).
* `:text-matches("value", "i")` - Matches text against a regular expression
  with specified flags.

```js
// Click a button with text "Sign in".
await page.click('button:text("Sign in")');
```

#### CSS extension: light

`css` engine [pierces shadow](#shadow-piercing) by default. It is possible to
disable this behavior by wrapping a selector in `:light` pseudo-class:
`:light(section > button.class)` matches in light DOM only.

```js
await page.click(':light(.article > .header)');
```

<!--

#### CSS extension: proximity

Playwright provides a few proximity selectors based on the page layout. These
can be combined with regular CSS for better results, for example
`input:right-of(:text("Password"))` matches an input field that is to the right
of text "Password".

Note that Playwright uses some heuristics to determine whether one element
should be considered to the left/right/above/below/near/within another.
Therefore, using proximity selectors may produce unpredictable results. For
example, selector could stop matching when element moves by one pixel.
* `:right-of(css > selector)` - Matches elements that are to the right of any
  element matching the inner selector.
* `:left-of(css > selector)` - Matches elements that are to the left of any
  element matching the inner selector.
* `:above(css > selector)` - Matches elements that are above any of the
  elements matching the inner selector.
* `:below(css > selector)` - Matches elements that are below any of the
  elements matching the inner selector.
* `:near(css > selector)` - Matches elements that are near any of the elements
  matching the inner selector.
* `:within(css > selector)` - Matches elements that are within any of the
  elements matching the inner selector.

```js
// Fill an input to the right of "Username".
await page.fill('input:right-of(:text("Username"))');

// Click a button near the promo card.
await page.click('button:near(.promo-card)');
```

-->

### xpath

XPath engine is equivalent to
[`Document.evaluate`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/API/Document/evaluate).
Example: `xpath=//html/body`.

Malformed selector starting with `//` or `..` is assumed to be an xpath
selector. For example, Playwright converts `page.$('//html/body')` to
`page.$('xpath=//html/body')`.

Note that `xpath` does not pierce shadow roots.

### text and text:light

Text engine finds an element that contains a text node with the passed text. For
example, `page.click('text=Login')` clicks on a login button, and
`page.waitForSelector('"lazy loaded text")` waits for the `"lazy loaded text"`
to appear in the page.
- By default, the match is case-insensitive, ignores leading/trailing
  whitespace and searches for a substring. This means `text= Login` matches
  `<button>Button loGIN (click me)</button>`.
- Text body can be escaped with single or double quotes for precise matching,
  insisting on exact match, including specified whitespace and case. This
  means `text="Login "` will only match `<button>Login </button>` with exactly
  one space after "Login". Quoted text follows the usual escaping rules, e.g.
  use `\"` to escape double quote in a double-quoted string:
  `text="foo\"bar"`.
- Text body can also be a JavaScript-like regex wrapped in `/` symbols. This
  means `text=/^\\s*Login$/i` will match `<button> loGIN</button>` with any
  number of spaces before "Login" and no spaces after.
- Input elements of the type `button` and `submit` are rendered with their
  value as text, and text engine finds them. For example, `text=Login` matches
  `<input type=button value="Login">`.

Malformed selector starting and ending with a quote (either `"` or `'`) is
assumed to be a text selector. For example, Playwright converts
`page.click('"Login"')` to `page.click('text="Login"')`.

`text` engine open pierces shadow roots similarly to `css`, while `text:light`
does not. Text engine first searches for elements in the light dom in the
iteration order, and then recursively inside open shadow roots in the iteration
order. It does not search inside closed shadow roots or iframes.

### id, data-testid, data-test-id, data-test and their :light counterparts

Attribute engines are selecting based on the corresponding attribute value. For
example: `data-test-id=foo` is equivalent to `css=[data-test-id="foo"]`, and
`id:light=foo` is equivalent to `css:light=[id="foo"]`.

[css]: #css-and-csslight
[text]: #text-and-textlight
[xpath]: #xpath
[id]: #id-data-testid-data-test-id-data-test-and-their-light-counterparts
[Playwright]: api.md#class-playwright "Playwright"
[Browser]: api.md#class-browser "Browser"
[BrowserContext]: api.md#class-browsercontext "BrowserContext"
[Page]: api.md#class-page "Page"
[Frame]: api.md#class-frame "Frame"
[ElementHandle]: api.md#class-elementhandle "ElementHandle"
[JSHandle]: api.md#class-jshandle "JSHandle"
[ConsoleMessage]: api.md#class-consolemessage "ConsoleMessage"
[Dialog]: api.md#class-dialog "Dialog"
[Download]: api.md#class-download "Download"
[Video]: api.md#class-video "Video"
[FileChooser]: api.md#class-filechooser "FileChooser"
[Keyboard]: api.md#class-keyboard "Keyboard"
[Mouse]: api.md#class-mouse "Mouse"
[Touchscreen]: api.md#class-touchscreen "Touchscreen"
[Request]: api.md#class-request "Request"
[Response]: api.md#class-response "Response"
[Selectors]: api.md#class-selectors "Selectors"
[Route]: api.md#class-route "Route"
[WebSocket]: api.md#class-websocket "WebSocket"
[TimeoutError]: api.md#class-timeouterror "TimeoutError"
[Accessibility]: api.md#class-accessibility "Accessibility"
[Worker]: api.md#class-worker "Worker"
[BrowserServer]: api.md#class-browserserver "BrowserServer"
[BrowserType]: api.md#class-browsertype "BrowserType"
[Logger]: api.md#class-logger "Logger"
[ChromiumBrowser]: api.md#class-chromiumbrowser "ChromiumBrowser"
[ChromiumBrowserContext]: api.md#class-chromiumbrowsercontext "ChromiumBrowserContext"
[ChromiumCoverage]: api.md#class-chromiumcoverage "ChromiumCoverage"
[CDPSession]: api.md#class-cdpsession "CDPSession"
[FirefoxBrowser]: api.md#class-firefoxbrowser "FirefoxBrowser"
[WebKitBrowser]: api.md#class-webkitbrowser "WebKitBrowser"
[Array]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array "Array"
[Buffer]: https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_class_buffer "Buffer"
[ChildProcess]: https://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html "ChildProcess"
[Element]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/element "Element"
[Error]: https://nodejs.org/api/errors.html#errors_class_error "Error"
[EvaluationArgument]: #evaluationargument "Evaluation Argument"
[Map]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Map "Map"
[Object]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object "Object"
[Promise]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise "Promise"
[RegExp]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/RegExp "RegExp"
[Serializable]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/stringify#Description "Serializable"
[UIEvent.detail]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/UIEvent/detail "UIEvent.detail"
[URL]: https://nodejs.org/api/url.html "URL"
[USKeyboardLayout]: ../src/usKeyboardLayout.ts "USKeyboardLayout"
[UnixTime]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time "Unix Time"
[boolean]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Boolean_type "Boolean"
[function]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function "Function"
[iterator]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Iteration_protocols "Iterator"
[null]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/null "null"
[number]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#Number_type "Number"
[origin]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Origin "Origin"
[selector]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_Selectors "selector"
[Readable]: https://nodejs.org/api/stream.html#stream_class_stream_readable "Readable"
[string]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Data_structures#String_type "string"
[xpath]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/XPath "xpath"