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CSS Pseudo-class / Element

:target

UI State

Selects the element whose ID matches the current URL fragment.

Syntax

#section:target { }

Example

#section:target { background: #111; }

Common use cases

  • Highlighting a section when linked to via anchor
  • Pure CSS tabs and accordions
  • Animating a section into view on deep link

Practical developer insight

:target activates when the URL contains #element-id — you can build tab and accordion UIs entirely in CSS using :target combined with sibling selectors.

Related

:is():not():focus