HTMLTableSectionElement: insertRow() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

The insertRow() method of the HTMLTableSectionElement interface inserts a new row (<tr>) in the given table sectioning element (<thead>, <tfoot>, or <tbody>), then returns a reference to this new row.

Note: insertRow() inserts the row directly into the section. The row does not need to be appended separately as would be the case if Document.createElement() had been used to create the new <tr> element.

Syntax

js
insertRow()
insertRow(index)

Parameters

index Optional

The row index of the new row. If index is -1 or equal to the number of rows, the row is appended as the last row. If index is omitted it defaults to -1.

Return value

An HTMLTableRowElement that references the new row.

Exceptions

IndexSizeError DOMException

Thrown if index is greater than the number of rows, or smaller than -1.

Examples

In this example, two buttons allow you to add and remove rows from the table body section; it also updates an <output> element with the number of rows currently in the table.

HTML

html
<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Col 1</th>
      <th>Col 2</th>
      <th>Col 3</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>X</td>
      <td>Y</td>
      <td>Z</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>
<button id="add">Add a row</button>
<button id="remove">Remove last row</button>
<div>This table's body has <output>1</output> row(s).</div>

JavaScript

js
// Obtain relevant interface elements
const bodySection = document.querySelectorAll("tbody")[0];
const rows = bodySection.rows; // The collection is live, therefore always up-to-date
const rowNumberDisplay = document.querySelectorAll("output")[0];

const addButton = document.getElementById("add");
const removeButton = document.getElementById("remove");

function updateRowNumber() {
  rowNumberDisplay.textContent = rows.length;
}

addButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
  // Add a new row at the end of the body
  const newRow = bodySection.insertRow();

  // Add cells inside the new row
  ["A", "B", "C"].forEach(
    (elt) => (newRow.insertCell().textContent = `${elt}${rows.length}`),
  );

  // Update the row counter
  updateRowNumber();
});

removeButton.addEventListener("click", () => {
  // Delete the row from the body
  bodySection.deleteRow(-1);

  // Update the row counter
  updateRowNumber();
});

Result

Specifications

Specification
HTML
# dom-tbody-insertrow

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
insertRow
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 1 (Release date: 2008-12-11)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 1 (Release date: 2004-11-09)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 12.1 (Release date: 2012-11-20)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 3 (Release date: 2007-10-26)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 18 (Release date: 2012-06-27)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 4 (Release date: 2011-03-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 12.1 (Release date: 2012-10-09)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 1 (Release date: 2007-06-29)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 1 (Release date: 2013-04-27)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 4.4 (Release date: 2013-12-09)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 1 (Release date: 2007-06-29)
footnote Full support

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support

See also