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css pseudo class

`:first-child` CSS pseudo-class

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The :first-child CSS pseudo-class represents the first element among a group of sibling elements.

Interactive exampleOpen the canonical MDN source to run this embedded demo.
p {
  font-weight: bold;
}

li:first-child {
  border: 2px solid orange;
}

<p>Track &amp; field champions:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Adhemar da Silva</li>
  <li>Wang Junxia</li>
  <li>Wilma Rudolph</li>
  <li>Babe Didrikson-Zaharias</li>
  <li>Betty Cuthbert</li>
  <li>Fanny Blankers-Koen</li>
  <li>Florence Griffith-Joyner</li>
  <li>Irena Szewinska</li>
  <li>Jackie Joyner-Kersee</li>
  <li>Shirley Strickland</li>
  <li>Carl Lewis</li>
  <li>Emil Zatopek</li>
  <li>Haile Gebrselassie</li>
  <li>Jesse Owens</li>
  <li>Jim Thorpe</li>
  <li>Paavo Nurmi</li>
  <li>Sergei Bubka</li>
  <li>Usain Bolt</li>
</ul>

Syntax

:first-child {
  /* ... */
}

Examples

Basic example

HTML

<div>
  <p>This text is selected!</p>
  <p>This text isn't selected.</p>
</div>

<div>
  <h2>This text isn't selected: it's not a `p`.</h2>
  <p>This text isn't selected.</p>
</div>

CSS

p:first-child {
  color: lime;
  background-color: black;
  padding: 5px;
}

Result

Interactive exampleOpen the canonical MDN source to run this embedded demo.

Styling a list

HTML

<ul>
  <li>Item 1</li>
  <li>Item 2</li>
  <li>
    Item 3
    <ul>
      <li>Item 3.1</li>
      <li>Item 3.2</li>
      <li>Item 3.3</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>

CSS

ul li {
  color: blue;
}

ul li:first-child {
  color: red;
  font-weight: bold;
}

Result

Interactive exampleOpen the canonical MDN source to run this embedded demo.

Specifications

SpecificationsStandards references are available on the canonical MDN page.

Browser compatibility

Browser compatibilityCompatibility data is available on the canonical MDN page.

See also