Web/API/ParentNode/querySelector

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The ParentNode mixin defines the querySelector() method as returning an Element representing the first element matching the specified group of selectors which are descendants of the object on which the method was called.

If you need all the elements matching the selector list, use querySelectorAll() instead.

Note: This method is implemented as Document.querySelector(), DocumentFragment.querySelector() and Element.querySelector().

Syntax

element = parentNode.querySelector(selectors);

Parameters

selectors: A DOMString containing one or more selectors to match against. This string must be a valid compound selector list supported by the browser; if it's not, a SyntaxError exception is thrown. See Locating DOM elements using selectors for more information about using selectors to identify elements. Multiple selectors may be specified by separating them using commas.

Note: Characters which are not part of standard CSS syntax must be escaped using a backslash character. Since JavaScript also uses backspace escaping, special care must be taken when writing string literals using these characters. See Escaping special characters for more information.

Return value

The first Element that matches at least one of the specified selectors or null if no such element is found.

Note: If the specified selectors include a CSS pseudo-element, the returned value is always null.

Exceptions

SyntaxError: The syntax of the specified selectors string is not valid.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
DOMThe definition of 'ParentNode.querySelector()' in that specification.	Living Standard	Living standard
Selectors API Level 2The definition of 'ParentNode.querySelector()' in that specification.	Obsolete	No change
DOM4The definition of 'ParentNode.querySelector()' in that specification.	Obsolete	Initial definition
Selectors API Level 1The definition of 'document.querySelector()' in that specification.	Obsolete	Original 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
`querySelector`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3.5	IE Full support 9 Notes' Full support 9 Notes' Notes' Internet Explorer 8 only supported CSS2 selectors.	Opera Full support 10	Safari Full support 4	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 3.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.