:read-only

The :read-only CSS pseudo-class represents an element (such as input or textarea) that is not editable by the user.

input:read-only, textarea:read-only {
  background-color: #ccc;
}

p:read-only {
  background-color: #ccc;
}

Syntax

:read-only

Examples

Confirming form information in read-only/read-write controls

One use of readonly form controls is to allow the user to check and verify information that they may have entered in an earlier form (for example, shipping details), while still being able to submit the information along with the rest of the form. We do just this in the example below.

The :read-only pseudo-class is used to remove all the styling that makes the inputs look like clickable fields, making them look more like read-only paragraphs.The :read-write pseudo-class on the other hand is used to provide some nicer styling to the editable <textarea>.

input:-moz-read-only, textarea:-moz-read-only,
input:read-only, textarea:read-only {
  border: 0;
  box-shadow: none;
  background-color: white;
}

textarea:-moz-read-write,
textarea:read-write {
  box-shadow: inset 1px 1px 3px #ccc;
  border-radius: 5px;
}

You can find the full source code at readonly-confirmation.html; this renders like so:

Styling read-only non-form controls

This selector doesn't just select <input>/<textarea> elements — it will select any element that cannot be edited by the user.

<p contenteditable>This paragraph is editable; it is read-write.</p>

<p>This paragraph is not editable; it is read-only.</p>

p {
  font-size: 150%;
  padding: 5px;
  border-radius: 5px;
}

p:read-only {
  background-color: red;
  color: white;
}

p:read-write {
  background-color: lime;
}

Specifications

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

See also

• :read-write
• HTML contenteditable attribute