Web/HTML/Element/tt

ObsoleteThis feature is obsolete. Although it may still work in some browsers, its use is discouraged since it could be removed at any time. Try to avoid using it.

The obsolete HTML Teletype Text element (<tt>) creates inline text which is presented using the user agent's default monospace font face. This element was created for the purpose of rendering text as it would be displayed on a fixed-width display such as a teletype, text-only screen, or line printer.

The terms non-proportional, monotype, and monospace are used interchangeably and have the same general meaning: they describe a typeface whose characters are all the same number of pixels wide.

This element is obsolete, however. You should use the more semantically helpful <code>, <kbd>, <samp>, or <var> elements for inline text that needs to be presented in monospace type, or the <pre> tag for content that should be presented as a separate block.

If none of the semantic elements are appropriate for your use case (for example, if you simply need to show some content in a non-proportional font), you should consider using the <span> element, styling it as desired using CSS. The font-family property is a good place to start.

Content categories	Flow content, phrasing content, palpable content.
Permitted content	Phrasing content.
Tag omission	None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory.
Permitted parents	Any element that accepts phrasing content.
Permitted ARIA roles	Any
DOM interface	HTMLElement

Attributes

This element only includes the global attributes

Examples

Basic example

This example uses <tt> to show text entered into, and output by, a terminal application.

<p>Enter the following at the telnet command prompt: <code>set localecho</code><br />

The telnet client should display: <tt>Local Echo is on</tt></p>

Overriding the default font

You can override the browser's default font—if the browser permits you to do so, which it isn't required to do—using CSS:

CSS

tt {
  font-family: "Lucida Console", "Menlo", "Monaco", "Courier",
               monospace;
}

HTML

<p>Enter the following at the telnet command prompt: <code>set localecho</code><br />

The telnet client should display: <tt>Local Echo is on</tt></p>

Usage notes

The <tt> element is, by default, rendered using the browser's default non-proportional font. You can override this using CSS by creating a rule using the tt selector, as seen in the example Overriding the default font above.

User-configured changes to the default monospace font setting may take precedence over your CSS.

Although this element wasn't officially deprecated in HTML 4.01, its use was discouraged in favor of the semantic elements and/or CSS. The <tt> element is obsolete in HTML 5.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML5The definition of '<tt>' in that specification.	Recommendation
HTML 4.01 SpecificationThe definition of '<tt>' in that specification.	Recommendation

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

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
tt Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 4, this element implemented the HTMLSpanElement interface instead of the standard HTMLElement interface.	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes Notes' Full support Yes Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 4, this element implemented the HTMLSpanElement interface instead of the standard HTMLElement interface.	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support  

Full support

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.'

Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.

See implementation notes.'

See implementation notes.

See also

• The semantic <code>, <var>, <kbd>, and <samp> elements
• The <pre> element for displaying preformatted text blocks

<tt>: The Teletype Text element (obsolete) by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.