:indeterminate CSS pseudo-class

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 :indeterminate CSS pseudo-class represents any form element whose state is indeterminate, such as checkboxes that have been set to an indeterminate state with JavaScript, radio buttons which are members of a group in which all radio buttons are unchecked, and <progress> elements with no value attribute.

css
/* Selects any <input> whose state is indeterminate */
input:indeterminate {
  background: lime;
}

Elements targeted by this selector are:

Syntax

css
:indeterminate {
  /* ... */
}

Examples

Checkbox & radio button

This example applies special styles to the labels associated with indeterminate form fields.

HTML

html
<fieldset>
  <legend>Checkbox</legend>
  <div>
    <input type="checkbox" id="checkbox" />
    <label for="checkbox">This checkbox label starts out lime.</label>
  </div>
</fieldset>

<fieldset>
  <legend>Radio</legend>
  <div>
    <input type="radio" id="radio1" name="radioButton" value="val1" />
    <label for="radio1">First radio label starts out lime.</label>
  </div>
  <div>
    <input type="radio" id="radio2" name="radioButton" value="val2" />
    <label for="radio2">Second radio label also starts out lime.</label>
  </div>
</fieldset>

CSS

css
input:indeterminate + label {
  background: lime;
}

JavaScript

js
const inputs = document.getElementsByTagName("input");

for (const input of inputs) {
  input.indeterminate = true;
}

Result

Progress bar

HTML

html
<progress></progress>

CSS

css
progress {
  margin: 4px;
}

progress:indeterminate {
  width: 80vw;
  height: 20px;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
HTML
# selector-indeterminate
Selectors Level 4
# indeterminate-pseudo

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
:indeterminate
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 2 (Release date: 2006-10-24)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 9 (Release date: 2006-06-20)
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 10.1 (Release date: 2010-11-09)
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
Applies to <input type="checkbox"> elements
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 3.6 (Release date: 2010-01-21)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 10.6 (Release date: 2010-07-01)
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 11 (Release date: 2011-03-22)
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
Applies to <progress> elements
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 6 (Release date: 2010-09-02)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 6 (Release date: 2011-08-16)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 15 (Release date: 2013-07-02)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 5.1 (Release date: 2011-07-20)
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 6 (Release date: 2011-08-16)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 14 (Release date: 2013-05-21)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 5 (Release date: 2011-10-12)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 1 (Release date: 2013-04-27)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 37 (Release date: 2014-09-03)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 5 (Release date: 2011-10-12)
footnote Full support
Applies to <input type="radio"> elements
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 39 (Release date: 2014-11-18)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 51 (Release date: 2017-01-24)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 26 (Release date: 2014-12-03)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 39 (Release date: 2014-11-12)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 51 (Release date: 2017-01-24)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 26 (Release date: 2014-12-02)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 4 (Release date: 2016-03-11)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 39 (Release date: 2014-11-12)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support

Legend

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

Full support
Full support

See also