::scroll-marker-group CSS Pseudo Element

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Description

The ::scroll-marker-group pseudo-element in CSS is used to represent a collection of scroll markers within a scroll container. Scroll markers are indicators placed along a scrollable area, often used in contexts like paged media, printing previews, or accessibility interfaces to denote significant positions in the content. This pseudo-element groups multiple markers together, allowing authors to style them collectively rather than individually.

This pseudo-element is particularly relevant when combined with scroll snapping behaviors. By targeting the group of markers instead of each marker individually, developers can apply styles such as color, background-color, or transform to create visual cues along the scroll axis. For example, a developer might highlight all markers that represent section boundaries in a long document.

The ::scroll-marker-group pseudo-element is often used in combination with the ::scrollbar or ::scrollbar-thumb pseudo-elements to create enhanced custom scrolling experiences. It allows for fine-grained visual control without interfering with the default scrolling behavior of the container.

Here’s a practical example demonstrating basic styling of a scroll marker group:

<div class="scroll-container">
  <div class="content">
    <section>Section 1</section>
    <section>Section 2</section>
    <section>Section 3</section>
  </div>
</div>

.scroll-container {
  scroll-snap-type: y mandatory;
  overflow-y: scroll;
  height: 300px;
}

.scroll-container::scroll-marker-group {
  background-color: rgba(0, 128, 255, 0.2);
  height: 6px;
  border-radius: 3px;
}

In this example, the ::scroll-marker-group pseudo-element provides a subtle visual track showing where scrollable content sections align, enhancing both usability and accessibility. Unlike targeting individual section elements, the pseudo-element allows styling to be applied consistently to the entire set of scroll markers at once, without additional markup or scripting.

The ::scroll-marker-group pseudo-element is still considered experimental in many browsers, so it is important to test its behavior across different platforms and provide fallback styling when necessary.

Syntax

::scroll-marker-group {
  /* ... */
}

Example

HTML

<ul class="carousel">

  <li class="item" id="slide-1">1</li>

  <li class="item" id="slide-2">2</li>

  <li class="item" id="slide-3">3</li>

  <li class="item" id="slide-4">4</li>

</ul>

CSS

/* 1. Setup the Scroll Container */

.carousel {

  display: flex;

  overflow-x: auto;

  scroll-snap-type: x mandatory;

  list-style: none;

  padding: 0;

  margin: 0;

  width: 300px;

  height: 170px;

  border: 2px solid #333;



  /* This property is REQUIRED to generate the ::scroll-marker-group */

  /* 'after' places the group after the content in the tab order */

  scroll-marker-group: after;

}



/* 2. Style the Items */

.item {

  flex: 0 0 100%;

  height: 100%;

  display: flex;

  align-items: center;

  justify-content: center;

  font-size: 3rem;

  background: #eee;

  scroll-snap-align: start;

}



/* 3. Generate individual markers for each item */

.item::scroll-marker {

  content: ""; /* Can be text, a counter, or empty */

  width: 12px;

  height: 12px;

  border-radius: 50%;

  background-color: #ccc;

  cursor: pointer;

  border: none;

}



/* 4. Style the Container of the markers */

.carousel::scroll-marker-group {

  display: flex;

  justify-content: flex-start;

  gap: 10px;

  padding: 10px;

  background: #f9f9f9;

}



/* 5. Style the 'Active' marker */

/* :target-current selects the marker associated with the visible item */

.item::scroll-marker:target-current {

  background-color: #007bff;

  transform: scale(1.2);

}

Result

Editor

Browser Support

The following information will show you the current browser support for the CSS ::scroll-marker-group pseudo element. Hover over a browser icon to see the version that first introduced support for this CSS psuedo element.