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:read-write

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since ⁨July 2020⁩.

The :read-write CSS pseudo-class represents an element (such as input or textarea) that is editable by the user.

Try it

label,
input[type="submit"] {
  display: block;
  margin-top: 1em;
}

*:read-write {
  background-color: ivory;
  border: 2px solid darkorange;
  border-radius: 5px;
}

<p>Please fill in your details:</p>

<form>
  <label for="email">Email Address:</label>
  <input id="email" name="email" type="email" value="[email protected]" />

  <label for="note">Short note about yourself:</label>
  <textarea id="note" name="note">Don't be shy</textarea>

  <label for="pic">Your picture:</label>
  <input id="pic" name="pic" type="file" />

  <input type="submit" value="Submit form" />
</form>

Syntax

:read-write {
  /* ... */
}

Examples

Confirming form details using read-only controls

You can use readonly form controls when you want a user to verify information they entered earlier, which you want to submit with new data in read-write controls. In the example below, the :read-only pseudo-class is used to make the <textarea> (a user's address) look like a regular paragraph. The :read-write pseudo-class provides a way to highlight the editable <textarea> (the delivery instructions):

textarea:read-only {
  border: 0;
}

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

<form>
  <fieldset>
    <legend>Confirm details</legend>
    <div>
      <label for="address">Address:</label>
      <textarea id="address" name="address" readonly>
123 Choco Mountain,
Awesome Ridge,
CA</textarea
      >
    </div>
    <div>
      <label for="instructions">Delivery instructions</label>
      <textarea id="instructions" name="instructions"></textarea>
    </div>
  </fieldset>
  <button type="submit">Confirm</button>
</form>

Styling read-write non-form controls

This selector doesn't just select <input>/<textarea> elements — it will select any element that can be edited by the user, such as a <p> element with contenteditable set on it.

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

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

body {
  font-family: sans-serif;
}

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

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

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

Specifications

Specification
HTML> # selector-read-write>
Selectors Level 4> # read-write-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
`:read-write`	1	13	781.5	9	4	18	794	10.1	3.2	1.0	4.4	3.2