:default 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 January 2020.

The :default CSS pseudo-class selects form elements that are the default in a group of related elements.

Try it

label {
  display: block;
  margin-top: 0.5em;
}

fieldset {
  margin-top: 0.5em;
}

input:default {
  border: none;
  outline: 2px solid deeppink;
}
<label for="name">Name (required):</label>
<input id="name" name="name" type="text" required />

<label for="birth">Date of birth:</label>
<input id="birth" name="birth" type="date" />

<label for="origin">How did you find out about us? (required)</label>
<select id="origin" name="origin" required>
  <option value="">Choose an option</option>
  <option value="google">Google</option>
  <option value="facebook">Facebook</option>
  <option value="advertisement">Advertisement</option>
</select>

<fieldset>
  <legend>Preferred contact method:</legend>
  <label>
    <input name="contact" type="radio" value="email" checked /> Email
  </label>
  <label><input name="contact" type="radio" value="phone" /> Phone</label>
</fieldset>

<label>
  <input name="newsletter" type="checkbox" checked /> I want to subscribe to a
  personalized newsletter.
</label>
<label>
  <input name="privacy" type="checkbox" required /> I have read and I agree to
  the Privacy Policy (required).
</label>

What this selector matches is defined in HTML Standard §4.16.3 Pseudo-classes — it may match the <button>, <input type="checkbox">, <input type="radio">, and <option> elements:

  • A default option element is the first one with the selected attribute, or the first enabled option in DOM order. multiple <select>s can have more than one selected option, so all will match :default.
  • <input type="checkbox"> and <input type="radio"> match if they have the checked attribute.
  • <button> matches if it is a <form>'s default submission button: the first <button> in DOM order that belongs to the form. This also applies to <input> types that submit forms, like image or submit.

Syntax

css
:default {
  /* ... */
}

Examples

HTML

html
<fieldset>
  <legend>Favorite season</legend>

  <input type="radio" name="season" id="spring" value="spring" />
  <label for="spring">Spring</label>

  <input type="radio" name="season" id="summer" value="summer" checked />
  <label for="summer">Summer</label>

  <input type="radio" name="season" id="fall" value="fall" />
  <label for="fall">Fall</label>

  <input type="radio" name="season" id="winter" value="winter" />
  <label for="winter">Winter</label>
</fieldset>

CSS

css
input:default {
  box-shadow: 0 0 2px 1px coral;
}

input:default + label {
  color: coral;
}

Result

Specifications

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

Browser compatibility

See also