Web/API/ParentNode/prepend

The ParentNode.prepend() method inserts a set of Node objects or DOMString objects before the first child of the ParentNode. DOMString objects are inserted as equivalent Text nodes.

Syntax

ParentNode.prepend(...nodesOrDOMStrings);

Parameters

nodesOrDOMStrings: A set of Node or DOMString objects to insert.

Return value

undefined.

Exceptions

HierarchyRequestError: Node cannot be inserted at the specified point in the hierarchy.

Examples

Prepending an element

var parent = document.createElement("div");
var p = document.createElement("p");
var span = document.createElement("span");
parent.append(p);
parent.prepend(span);

console.log(parent.childNodes); // NodeList [ <span>, <p> ]

Prepending text

var parent = document.createElement("div");
parent.append("Some text");
parent.prepend("Headline: ");

console.log(parent.textContent); // "Headline: Some text"

Appending an element and text

var parent = document.createElement("div");
var p = document.createElement("p");
parent.prepend("Some text", p);

console.log(parent.childNodes); // NodeList [ #text "Some text", <p> ]

ParentNode.prepend() is unscopable

The prepend() method is not scoped into the with statement. See Symbol.unscopables for more information.

var parent = document.createElement("div");

with(parent) { 
  prepend("foo");
}
// ReferenceError: prepend is not defined

Polyfill

You can polyfill the prepend() method if it's not available:

// Source: https://github.com/jserz/js_piece/blob/master/DOM/ParentNode/prepend()/prepend().md
(function (arr) {
  arr.forEach(function (item) {
    if (item.hasOwnProperty('prepend')) {
      return;
    }
    Object.defineProperty(item, 'prepend', {
      configurable: true,
      enumerable: true,
      writable: true,
      value: function prepend() {
        var argArr = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments),
          docFrag = document.createDocumentFragment();
        
        argArr.forEach(function (argItem) {
          var isNode = argItem instanceof Node;
          docFrag.appendChild(isNode ? argItem : document.createTextNode(String(argItem)));
        });
        
        this.insertBefore(docFrag, this.firstChild);
      }
    });
  });
})([Element.prototype, Document.prototype, DocumentFragment.prototype]);

Specification

Specification	Status	Comment
DOMThe definition of 'ParentNode.prepend()' in that specification.	Living Standard	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`prepend` Experimental'	Chrome Full support 54	Edge Full support 17	Firefox Full support 49	IE No support No	Opera Full support 39	Safari Full support 10	WebView Android Full support 54	Chrome Android Full support 54	Firefox Android Full support 49	Opera Android Full support 41	Safari iOS Full support 10	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.': Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.