KeyframeEffect: pseudoElement property

Baseline 2022

Newly available

Since September 2022, this feature works across the latest devices and browser versions. This feature might not work in older devices or browsers.

The pseudoElement property of a KeyframeEffect interface is a string representing the pseudo-element being animated. It may be null for animations that do not target a pseudo-element. It performs as both a getter and a setter, except with animations and transitions generated by CSS.

Note: If set to the legacy single-colon syntax of :before, :after, :first-letter, or :first-line, the string is transformed into its double-colon modern version (::before, ::after, ::first-letter, and ::first-line, respectively).

Value

A string or null.

Exceptions

SyntaxError DOMException

Thrown when trying to set this property to an element, an invalid pseudo-element (either non-existent or misspelled). The property is then left unchanged.

Examples

html
<div id="text">Some text</div>
<pre id="log"></pre>
css
#text::after {
  content: "⭐";
  display: inline-block; /* Needed as the `transform` property does not apply to inline elements */
}
#text::before {
  content: "😊";
  display: inline-block;
}
js
const log = document.getElementById("log");
const text = document.getElementById("text");

// Create the keyframe and launch the animation
const animation = text.animate(
  [
    { transform: "rotate(0)" },
    { transform: "rotate(180deg)" },
    { transform: "rotate(360deg)" },
  ],
  { duration: 3000, iterations: Infinity, pseudoElement: "::after" },
);

// Get the value of KeyframeEffect.pseudoElement
function logPseudoElement() {
  const keyframeEffect = animation.effect;
  log.textContent = `Value of pseudoElement animated: ${keyframeEffect.pseudoElement}`;
  requestAnimationFrame(logPseudoElement);
}

// Every 6 seconds, switch the pseudo-element animated
function switchPseudoElement() {
  const keyframeEffect = animation.effect;
  keyframeEffect.pseudoElement =
    keyframeEffect.pseudoElement === "::after" ? "::before" : "::after";
  setTimeout(switchPseudoElement, 6000);
}

switchPseudoElement();
logPseudoElement();

Specifications

Specification
Web Animations
# dom-keyframeeffect-pseudoelement

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also