CSS Custom Properties for Cascading Variables Module Level 1

1. Introduction

This section is not normative.

Large documents or applications (and even small ones) can contain quite a bit of CSS. Many of the values in the CSS file will be duplicate data; for example, a site may establish a color scheme and reuse three or four colors throughout the site. Altering this data can be difficult and error-prone, since it’s scattered throughout the CSS file (and possibly across multiple files), and may not be amenable to Find-and-Replace.

This module introduces a family of custom author-defined properties known collectively as custom properties, which allow an author to assign arbitrary values to a property with an author-chosen name, and the var() function, which allow an author to then use those values in other properties elsewhere in the document. This makes it easier to read large files, as seemingly-arbitrary values now have informative names, and makes editing such files much easier and less error-prone, as one only has to change the value once, in the custom property, and the change will propagate to all uses of that variable automatically.

2. Defining Custom Properties: the --* family of properties

This specification defines an open-ended set of properties called custom properties, which, among other things, are used to define the substitution value of var() functions.

A custom property is any property whose name starts with two dashes (U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS), like --foo. The <custom-property-name> production corresponds to this: it’s defined as any valid identifier that starts with two dashes. Custom properties are solely for use by authors and users; CSS will never give them a meaning beyond what is presented here.

:root {
  --main-color: #06c;
  --accent-color: #006;
}
/* The rest of the CSS file */
#foo h1 {
  color: var(--main-color);
}

Unlike other CSS properties, custom property names are case-sensitive.

Custom properties are not reset by the all property. We may define a property in the future that resets all variables.

The CSS-wide keywords can be used in custom properties, with the same meaning as in any another property.

Note: That is, they’re interpreted at cascaded-value time as normal, and are not preserved as the custom property’s value, and thus are not substituted in by the corresponding variable.

Note: While this module focuses on the use of custom properties with the var() function to create “variables”, they can also be used as actual custom properties, parsed by and acted on by script. It’s expected that the CSS Extensions spec [CSS-EXTENSIONS] will expand on these use-cases and make them easier to do.

2.1. Custom Property Value Syntax

The allowed syntax for custom properties is extremely permissive. The <declaration-value> production matches any sequence of one or more tokens, so long as the sequence does not contain <bad-string-token>, <bad-url-token>, unmatched <)-token>, <]-token>, or <}-token>, or top-level <semicolon-token> tokens or <delim-token> tokens with a value of "!".

In addition, if the value of a custom property contains a var() reference, the var() reference must be valid according to the specified var() grammar. If not, the custom property is invalid and must be ignored.

Note: This definition, along with the general CSS syntax rules, implies that a custom property value never includes an unmatched quote or bracket, and so cannot have any effect on larger syntax constructs, like the enclosing style rule, when reserialized.

Note: Custom properties can contain a trailing !important, but this is automatically removed from the property’s value by the CSS parser, and makes the custom property "important" in the CSS cascade. In other words, the prohibition on top-level "!" characters does not prevent !important from being used, as the !important is removed before syntax checking happens.

Note: While <declaration-value> must represent at least one token, that one token may be whitespace. This implies that --foo: ; is valid, and the corresponding var(--foo) call would have a single space as its substitution value, but --foo:; is invalid.

--foo: if(x > 5) this.width = 10;

The values of custom properties, and the values of var() functions substituted into custom properties, are case-sensitive, and must be preserved in their original author-given casing. (Many CSS values are ASCII case-insensitive, which user agents can take advantage of by "canonicalizing" them into a single casing, but that isn’t allowed for custom properties.)

The initial value of a custom property is an empty value; that is, nothing at all. This initial value has a special interaction with the var() notation, which is explained in the section defining var().

Custom properties are ordinary properties, so they can be declared on any element, are resolved with the normal inheritance and cascade rules, can be made conditional with @media and other conditional rules, can be used in HTML’s style attribute, can be read or set using the CSSOM, etc.

Notably, they can even be transitioned or animated, but since the UA has no way to interpret their contents, they always use the "flips at 50%" behavior that is used for any other pair of values that can’t be intelligently interpolated. However, any custom property used in a @keyframes rule becomes animation-tainted, which affects how it is treated when referred to via the var() function in an animation property.

:root {
  --header-color: #06c;
}

h1 { background-color: var(--header-color); }

:root { --color: blue; }
div { --color: green; }
#alert { --color: red; }
* { color: var(--color); }

<p>I inherited blue from the root element!</p>
<div>I got green set directly on me!</div>
<div id='alert'>
  While I got red set directly on me!
  <p>I’m red too, because of inheritance!</p>
</div>

:root,
:root:lang(en) {--external-link: "external link";}
:root:lang(de) {--external-link: "externer Link";}

a[href^="http"]::after {content: " (" var(--external-link) ")"}

2.2. Resolving Dependency Cycles

Custom properties are left almost entirely unevaluated, except that they allow and evaluate the var() function in their value. This can create cyclic dependencies where a custom property uses a var() referring to itself, or two or more custom properties each attempt to refer to each other.

For each element, create a directed dependency graph, containing nodes for each custom property. If the value of a custom property prop contains a var() function referring to the property var (including in the fallback argument of var()), add an edge between prop and the var. Edges are possible from a custom property to itself. If there is a cycle in the dependency graph, all the custom properties in the cycle must compute to their initial value (which is a guaranteed-invalid value).

:root {
  --main-color: #c06;
  --accent-background: linear-gradient(to top, var(--main-color), white);
}

:root {
  --one: calc(var(--two) + 20px);
  --two: calc(var(--one) - 20px);
}

It is important to note that custom properties resolve any var() functions in their values at computed-value time, which occurs before the value is inherited. In general, cyclic dependencies occur only when multiple custom properties on the same element refer to each other; custom properties defined on elements higher in the element tree can never cause a cyclic reference with properties defined on elements lower in the element tree.

<one><two><three /></two></one>
one   { --foo: 10px; }
two   { --bar: calc(var(--foo) + 10px); }
three { --foo: calc(var(--bar) + 10px); }

3. Using Cascading Variables: the var() notation

The value of a custom property can be substituted into the value of another property with the var() function. The syntax of var() is:

var() = var( <custom-property-name> [, <declaration-value> ]? )

The var() function can be used in place of any part of a value in any property on an element. The var() function can not be used as property names, selectors, or anything else besides property values. (Doing so usually produces invalid syntax, or else a value whose meaning has no connection to the variable.)

The first argument to the function is the name of the custom property to be substituted. The second argument to the function, if provided, is a fallback value, which is used as the substitution value when the referenced custom property is invalid.

Note: The syntax of the fallback, like that of custom properties, allows commas. For example, var(--foo, red, blue) defines a fallback of red, blue; that is, anything between the first comma and the end of the function is considered a fallback value.

If a property contains one or more var() functions, and those functions are syntactically valid, the entire property’s grammar must be assumed to be valid at parse time. It is only syntax-checked at computed-value time, after var() functions have been substituted.

To substitute a var() in a property’s value:

1. If the custom property named by the first argument to the var() function is animation-tainted, and the var() function is being used in the animation property or one of its longhands, treat the custom property as having its initial value for the rest of this algorithm.
2. If the value of the custom property named by the first argument to the var() function is anything but the initial value, replace the var() function by the value of the corresponding custom property.
3. Otherwise, if the var() function has a fallback value as its second argument, replace the var() function by the fallback value. If there are any var() references in the fallback, substitute them as well.
4. Otherwise, the property containing the var() function is invalid at computed-value time.

   Note: Other things can also make a property invalid at computed-value time.

/* In the component’s style: */
.component .header {
  color: var(--header-color, blue);
}
.component .text {
  color: var(--text-color, black);
}

/* In the larger application’s style: */
.component {
  --text-color: #080;
  /* header-color isn’t set,
     and so remains blue,
     the fallback value */
}

.foo {
  --side: margin-top;
  var(--side): 20px;
}

.foo {
  --gap: 20;
  margin-top: var(--gap)px;
}

.foo {
  --gap: 20;
  margin-top: calc(var(--gap) * 1px);
}

var() functions are substituted at computed-value time. If a declaration, once all var() functions are substituted in, is invalid, the declaration is invalid at computed-value time.

:root { --looks-valid: 20px; }
p { background-color: var(--looks-valid); }

3.1. Invalid Variables

When a custom property has its initial value, var() functions cannot use it for substitution. Attempting to do so makes the declaration invalid at computed-value time, unless a valid fallback is specified.

A declaration can be invalid at computed-value time if it contains a var() that references a custom property with its initial value, as explained above, or if it uses a valid custom property, but the property value, after substituting its var() functions, is invalid. When this happens, the computed value of the property is either the property’s inherited value or its initial value depending on whether the property is inherited or not, respectively, as if the property’s value had been specified as the unset keyword.

:root { --not-a-color: 20px; }
p { background-color: red; }
p { background-color: var(--not-a-color); }

Note: The invalid at computed-value time concept exists because variables can’t "fail early" like other syntax errors can, so by the time the user agent realizes a property value is invalid, it’s already thrown away the other cascaded values.

3.2. Variables in Shorthand Properties

The use of var() functions in shorthand properties presents some unique difficulties.

Ordinarily, the value of a shorthand property is separated out into its component longhand properties at parse time, and then the longhands themselves participate in the cascade, with the shorthand more-or-less discarded. If a var() functions is used in a shorthand, however, one can’t tell what values are meant to go where; it may in fact be impossible to separate it out at parse time, as a single var() function may substitute in the value of several longhands at once.

To get around this, implementations must fill in longhands with a special, unobservable-to-authors pending-substitution value that indicates the shorthand contains a variable, and thus the longhand’s value is pending variable substitution. This value must then be cascaded as normal, and at computed-value time, after var() functions are finally substituted in, the shorthand must be parsed and the longhands must be given their appropriate values at that point.

Pending-substitution values must be serialized as the empty string, if an API allows them to be observed.

Similarly, while [CSSOM] defines that shorthand properties are serialized by appropriately concatenating the values of their corresponding longhands, shorthands that are specified with explicit var() functions must serialize to the original, var()-containing value. For other shorthands, if any of the longhand subproperties for that shorthand have pending-substitution values then the serialized value of the shorthand must be the empty string.

4. APIs

All custom property declarations have the case-insensitive flag set.

Note: Custom properties do not appear on a CSSStyleDeclaration object in camel-cased form, because their names may have both upper and lower case letters which indicate distinct custom properties. The sort of text transformation that automatic camel-casing performs is incompatible with this. They can still be accessed by their proper name via getPropertyValue()/etc.

4.1. Serializing Custom Properties

Custom property names must be serialized with the casing as provided by the author.

Ordinarily, property names are restricted to the ASCII range and are ASCII case-insensitive, so implementations typically serialize the name lowercased.

5. Changes since the May 6 2014 Last Call Working Draft

• Serialization of longhands when shorthand uses a variable was defined.

• Link to DOM’s definition of "case-sensitive".

• Added example of using variables with :lang() to do simple i18n.

• Clarified that usage of var() in a custom property must be valid per the var() grammar.

6. Acknowledgments

Many thanks to several people in the CSS Working Group for keeping the dream of variables alive over the years, particularly Daniel Glazman and David Hyatt. Thanks to multiple people on the mailing list for helping contribute to the development of this incarnation of variables, particularly Brian Kardell, David Baron, François Remy, Roland Steiner, and Shane Stephens.