--- id: selectors title: "Element selectors" --- Selectors are strings that point to the elements in the page. They are used to perform actions on those elements by means of methods such as [`method: Page.click`], [`method: Page.fill`] and alike. All those methods accept [`param: selector`] as their first argument. ## Quick guide - Text selector ```js await page.click('text=Log in'); ``` ```python async await page.click("text=Log in") ``` ```python sync page.click("text=Log in") ``` Learn more about [text selector][text]. - CSS selector ```js await page.click('button'); await page.click('#nav-bar .contact-us-item'); ``` ```python async await page.click("button") await page.click("#nav-bar .contact-us-item") ``` ```python sync page.click("button") page.click("#nav-bar .contact-us-item") ``` Learn more about [css selector][css]. - Select by attribute, with css selector ```js await page.click('[data-test=login-button]'); await page.click('[aria-label="Sign in"]'); ``` ```python async await page.click("[data-test=login-button]") await page.click("[aria-label='Sign in']") ``` ```python sync page.click("[data-test=login-button]") page.click("[aria-label='Sign in']") ``` Learn more about [css selector][css]. - Combine css and text selectors ```js await page.click('article:has-text("Playwright")'); await page.click('#nav-bar :text("Contact us")'); ``` ```python async await page.click("article:has-text('Playwright')") await page.click("#nav-bar :text('Contact us')") ``` ```python sync page.click("article:has-text('Playwright')") page.click("#nav-bar :text('Contact us')") ``` Learn more about [`:has-text()` and `:text()` pseudo classes][text]. - Element that contains another, with css selector ```js await page.click('.item-description:has(.item-promo-banner)'); ``` ```python async await page.click(".item-description:has(.item-promo-banner)") ``` ```python sync page.click(".item-description:has(.item-promo-banner)") ``` Learn more about [`:has()` pseudo class](#selecting-elements-that-contain-other-elements). - Selecting based on layout, with css selector ```js await page.click('input:right-of(:text("Username"))'); ``` ```python async await page.click("input:right-of(:text('Username'))") ``` ```python sync page.click("input:right-of(:text('Username'))") ``` Learn more about [layout selectors](#selecting-elements-based-on-layout). - Only visible elements, with css selector ```js await page.click('.login-button:visible'); ``` ```python async await page.click(".login-button:visible") ``` ```python sync page.click(".login-button:visible") ``` Learn more about [`:visible` pseudo-class](#selecting-visible-elements). - Pick n-th match ```js await page.click(':nth-match(:text("Buy"), 3)'); ``` ```python async await page.click(":nth-match(:text('Buy'), 3)" ``` ```python sync page.click(":nth-match(:text('Buy'), 3)" ``` Learn more about [`:nth-match()` pseudo-class](#pick-n-th-match-from-the-query-result). - XPath selector ```js await page.click('xpath=//button'); ``` ```python async await page.click("xpath=//button") ``` ```python sync page.click("xpath=//button") ``` Learn more about [XPath selector][xpath]. ## Text selector Text selector locates elements that contain passed text. ```js await page.click('text=Log in'); ``` ```python async await page.click("text=Log in") ``` ```python sync page.click("text=Log in") ``` Text selector has a few variations: - `text=Log in` - default matching is case-insensitive and searches for a substring. For example `text=Log` matches ``. ```js await page.click('text=Log in'); ``` ```python async await page.click("text=Log in") ``` ```python sync page.click("text=Log in") ``` - `text="Log in"` - text body can be escaped with single or double quotes for case-sensitive match. For example `text="Log"` does not match `` but instead matches `Log in`. Quoted body follows the usual escaping rules, e.g. use `\"` to escape double quote in a double-quoted string: `text="foo\"bar"`. ```js await page.click('text="Log in"'); ``` ```python async await page.click("text='Log in'") ``` ```python sync page.click("text='Log in'") ``` - `"Log in"` - selector starting and ending with a quote (either `"` or `'`) is assumed to be a text selector. For example, `"Log in"` is converted to `text="Log in"` internally. ```js await page.click('"Log in"'); ``` ```python async await page.click("'Log in'") ``` ```python sync page.click("'Log in'") ``` - `/Log\s*in/i` - body can be a [JavaScript-like regex](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/RegExp) wrapped in `/` symbols. For example, `text=/Log\s*in/i` matches `` and ``. ```js await page.click('text=/Log\\s*in/i'); ``` ```python async await page.click("text=/Log\s*in/i") ``` ```python sync page.click("text=/Log\s*in/i") ``` - `article:has-text("Playwright")` - the `:has-text()` pseudo-class can be used inside a [css] selector. It matches any element containing specified text somewhere inside, possibly in a child or a descendant element. For example, `article:has-text("Playwright")` matches `
Playwright
`. Note that `:has-text()` should be used together with other `css` specifiers, otherwise it will match all the elements containing specified text, including the ``. ```js // Wrong, will match many elements including await page.click(':has-text("Playwright")'); // Correct, only matches the
element await page.click('article:has-text("Playwright")'); ``` ```python async # Wrong, will match many elements including await page.click(':has-text("Playwright")') # Correct, only matches the
element await page.click('article:has-text("Playwright")') ``` ```python sync # Wrong, will match many elements including page.click(':has-text("Playwright")') # Correct, only matches the
element page.click('article:has-text("All products")') ``` - `#nav-bar :text("Home")` - the `:text()` pseudo-class can be used inside a [css] selector. It matches the smallest element containing specified text. This example is equivalent to `text=Home`, but inside the `#nav-bar` element. ```js await page.click('#nav-bar :text("Home")'); ``` ```python async await page.click("#nav-bar :text('Home')") ``` ```python sync page.click("#nav-bar :text('Home')") ``` - `#nav-bar :text-is("Home")` - the `:text-is()` pseudo-class can be used inside a [css] selector, for case-sensitive match. This example is equivalent to `text="Home"` (note quotes), but inside the `#nav-bar` element. * `#nav-bar :text-matches("reg?ex", "i")` - the `:text-matches()` pseudo-class can be used inside a [css] selector, for regex-based match. This example is equivalent to `text=/reg?ex/i`, but inside the `#nav-bar` element. :::note Matching always normalizes whitespace, for example it turns multiple spaces into one, turns line breaks into spaces and ignores leading and trailing whitespace. ::: :::note Input elements of the type `button` and `submit` are matched by their `value` instead of text content. For example, `text=Log in` matches ``. ::: ## CSS selector Playwright augments standard CSS selectors in two ways: * `css` engine pierces open shadow DOM by default. * Playwright adds custom pseudo-classes like `:visible`, `:text` and more. ```js await page.click('button'); ``` ```python async await page.click("button") ``` ```python sync page.click("button") ``` ## Selecting visible elements The `:visible` pseudo-class in CSS selectors matches the elements that are [visible](./actionability.md#visible). 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. :::note It's usually better to follow the [best practices](#best-practices) and find a more reliable way to uniquely identify the element. ::: Consider a page with two buttons, first invisible and second visible. ```html ``` * This will find the first button, because it is the first one in DOM order. Then it will wait for the button to become visible before clicking, or timeout while waiting: ```js await page.click('button'); ``` ```python async await page.click("button") ``` ```python sync page.click("button") ``` * This will find a second button, because it is visible, and then click it. ```js await page.click('button:visible'); ``` ```python async await page.click("button:visible") ``` ```python sync page.click("button:visible") ``` Use `:visible` with caution, because it has two major drawbacks: * When elements change their visibility dynamically, `:visible` will give unpredictable 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. ## Selecting elements that contain other elements The `:has()` pseudo-class is an [experimental CSS pseudo-class](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:has). It returns an element if any of the selectors passed as parameters relative to the :scope of the given element match at least one element. Following snippet returns text content of an `
` element that has a `
` inside. ```js await page.textContent('article:has(div.promo)'); ``` ```python async await page.textContent("article:has(div.promo)") ``` ```python sync page.textContent("article:has(div.promo)") ``` ## Selecting elements matching one of the conditions The `:is()` pseudo-class is an [experimental CSS pseudo-class](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:is). It is a function that takes a selector list as its argument, and selects any element that can be selected by one of the selectors in that list. This is useful for writing large selectors in a more compact form. ```js // Clicks a
``` In this case, `:nth-match(:text("Buy"), 3)` will select the third button from the snippet above. Note that index is one-based. ```js // Click the third "Buy" button await page.click(':nth-match(:text("Buy"), 3)'); ``` ```python async # Click the third "Buy" button await page.click(":nth-match(:text('Buy'), 3)" ``` ```python sync # Click the third "Buy" button page.click(":nth-match(:text('Buy'), 3)" ``` `:nth-match()` is also useful to wait until a specified number of elements appear, using [`method: Page.waitForSelector`]. ```js // Wait until all three buttons are visible await page.waitForSelector(':nth-match(:text("Buy"), 3)'); ``` ```python async # Wait until all three buttons are visible await page.wait_for_selector(":nth-match(:text('Buy'), 3)") ``` ```python sync # Wait until all three buttons are visible page.wait_for_selector(":nth-match(:text('Buy'), 3)") ``` :::note Unlike [`:nth-child()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/:nth-child), elements do not have to be siblings, they could be anywhere on the page. In the snippet above, all three buttons match `:text("Buy")` selector, and `:nth-match()` selects the third button. ::: :::note It is usually possible to distinguish elements by some attribute or text content. In this case, prefer using [text] or [css] selectors over the `:nth-match()`. ::: ## 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] ``` is equivalent to ```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'); ``` ```python async # 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') ``` ```python sync # queries "Login" text selector page.click('text="Login"') page.click('"Login"') # short-form # queries "Search GitHub" placeholder attribute page.fill('css=[placeholder="Search GitHub"]') page.fill('[placeholder="Search GitHub"]') # short-form # queries "Close" accessibility label page.click('css=[aria-label="Close"]') page.click('[aria-label="Close"]') # short-form # combine role and text queries 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 ``` ```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'); ``` ```python async # 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') ``` ```python sync # queries data-test-id attribute with css page.click('css=[data-test-id=directions]') page.click('[data-test-id=directions]') # short-form # queries data-test-id with id 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'); ``` ```python async # 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') ``` ```python sync # avoid long css or xpath chains page.click('#tsf > div:nth-child(2) > div.A8SBwf > div.RNNXgb > div > div.a4bIc > input') page.click('//*[@id="tsf"]/div[2]/div[1]/div[1]/div/div[2]/input') ``` [text]: #text-selector [css]: #css-selector [xpath]: #xpath-selectors [id]: #id-data-testid-data-test-id-data-test-selectors