element-closest

What is element-closest?

The element-closest npm package is a polyfill for the Element.closest() method, which allows you to find the closest ancestor of an element that matches a given CSS selector. This is particularly useful for ensuring compatibility with older browsers that do not support the native Element.closest() method.

What are element-closest's main functionalities?

Find closest ancestor

This feature allows you to find the closest ancestor of an element that matches a specified CSS selector. In this example, the closest ancestor of the element with the ID 'childElement' that has the class 'ancestorClass' is returned.

document.querySelector('#childElement').closest('.ancestorClass');

Other packages similar to element-closest

matches-selector

The matches-selector package provides a polyfill for the Element.matches() method, which checks if an element matches a given CSS selector. While it does not provide the same functionality as element-closest, it is often used in conjunction with it to ensure broader compatibility with older browsers.

dom-closest

The dom-closest package is another polyfill for the Element.closest() method. It offers similar functionality to element-closest, allowing you to find the closest ancestor of an element that matches a given CSS selector. It is a direct alternative to element-closest.

README

closest

Return the closest element matching a selector up the DOM tree

closest is a polyfill for #Element.closest.

The #Element.closest method returns the closest ancestor of the current element (or the current element itself) which matches the selectors given in parameter. If there isn't such an ancestor, it returns null.

element.closest(selectorString) //=> element

This is especially useful for delegating events.

document.addEventListener('click', function (event) {
	// find nearest element up the tree that is an <a>
	var link = event.target.closest('a');

	if (link) {
		// do something with the <a>
		event.preventDefault();
	}
});

matches

The also polyfills #Element.matches, which is widely supported but often vendor-prefixed.

element.matches(selectorString) //=> boolean

matches is especially useful for short-handing hasAttribute or classList.contains with selectors.

var widget = document.querySelector('.custom-widget');

if (widget.matches('[data-active]') || widget.matches('.widget--active')) {
	// do something with the active widget
}

Browser compatibility

Browser	Native Support	Polyfill Support
Android	✘	2.2+
Blackberry	✘	7+
Chrome	41+	4 - 40
Edge	✘	12+
Firefox	35+	3.5 - 34
Internet Explorer	✘	8+
Opera	28+	10 - 27
Opera Mini	✘	5+
Safari (iOS)	9	3.2 - 8.4
Safari (MacOS)	9.2+	3.1 - 8

Internet Explorer 8

closest is especially useful for delegating events, but remember that Internet Explorer 8 does not support #Element.addEventListener.

Changelog

2.0.0 (April 7, 2016)

• Added linting tests
• Updated plugin to combine legacy version
• Updated documentation