// Tutorial //

The CSS :matches() Pseudo-Class

Published on June 2, 2016
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By Alligator.io

The CSS :matches() Pseudo-Class

While we believe that this content benefits our community, we have not yet thoroughly reviewed it. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please let us know by clicking the “report an issue“ button at the bottom of the tutorial.

:matches() is a new CSS pseudo-class that allows to save time by grouping selectors together:

:matches(article, div.section, section) h2 {
  font-size: 3em;
}

/* Is this equivalent of this: */
article h2, div.section h2, section h2 {
  font-size: 3em;
}

Here’s another example to bring home the point:

:matches(.main, p, div.my-stuff) :matches(h1, h2, h3, h4) {
  border: 2px dotted rgba(255,134,34,0.5);
}

/* Is this equivalent of this: */
.main h1,
.main h2,
.main h3,
.main h4,
p h1,
p h2,
p h3,
p h4,
div.my-stuff h1,
div.my-stuff h2,
div.my-stuff h3,
div.my-stuff h4 {
  border: 2px dotted rgba(255,134,34,0.5);
}

Lots of time saved typing all of this in this second example! This can really help make your CSS files smaller too.

Browser Support

👉 Myth is a good option to start using :matches() today.

Can I Use css-matches-pseudo? Data on support for the css-matches-pseudo feature across the major browsers from caniuse.com.

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About the authors
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Alligator.io

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