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Universal selectors

The CSS universal selector (*) matches elements of any type.

/* Selects all elements */
* {
  color: green;
}

Beginning with CSS3, the asterisk may be used in combination with namespaces:

  • ns|* - matches all elements in namespace ns
  • *|* - matches all elements
  • |* - matches all elements without any declared namespace

Syntax

* { style properties }

The asterisk is optional with simple selectors. For instance, *.warning and .warning are equivalent.

Examples

CSS

* [lang^=en] {
  color: green;
}

*.warning {
  color: red;
}

*#maincontent {
  border: 1px solid blue;
}

.floating {
  float: left
}

/* automatically clear the next sibling after a floating element */
.floating + * {
  clear: left;
}

HTML

<p class="warning">
  <span lang="en-us">A green span</span> in a red paragraph.</span>
</p>
<p id="maincontent" lang="en-gb">
  <span class="warning">A red span</span> in a green paragraph.</span>
</p>

Result

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Selectors Level 4
The definition of 'universal selector' in that specification.
Working Draft No changes
Selectors Level 3
The definition of 'universal selector' in that specification.
Recommendation Defines behavior regarding namespaces and adds hint that omitting the selector is allowed within pseudo-elements
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)
The definition of 'universal selector' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 1 12 1 7 Yes Yes
Nampespaces (*|*) Yes Yes 1 9 8 1.3
Feature Android webview Chrome for Android Edge mobile Firefox for Android IE mobile Opera Android iOS Safari
Basic support Yes Yes Yes 4 Yes Yes Yes
Nampespaces (*|*) Yes Yes Yes 4 Yes Yes Yes

© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Universal_selectors