:root

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
Selectors Level 4 (Selectors 4) # root-pseudo

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
`:root`	1	12	1	9	9.5	1	37	18	4	14	1	1.0