sibling-index()

Limited availability

This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.

The sibling-index() CSS function returns an integer representing the position of the current element in the DOM tree relative to all its sibling elements. The returned value is the index number of the contextual child's position among all the sibling elements within a parent element, with the first child returning 1 and the last child, returning Element.children.length.

Try it

--width: calc(sibling-index() * 30px);

--width: calc(sibling-index() * 20px);

--width: calc(sibling-index() * 10px);

--width: 100px;

<ul id="example-element">
  <li>1</li>
  <li>2</li>
  <li>3</li>
  <li>4</li>
  <li>5</li>
  <li>6</li>
  <li>7</li>
  <li>8</li>
  <li>9</li>
  <li>10</li>
</ul>

#example-element {
  list-style-type: none;
  padding: 0;
  margin: 0 auto;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 4px;
}

#example-element > li {
  text-align: center;
  padding: 2px;
  border-radius: 8px;
  width: var(--width, calc(sibling-index() * 30px));
  color: #fff;
  background-color: hsl(
    calc(360deg / sibling-count() * sibling-index()) 50% 50%
  );
}

Note: Like the :nth-child() pseudo-class, sibling-index() starts from 1, not 0.

Syntax

css
li {
  width: calc(sibling-index() * 100px);
}

Parameters

The sibling-index() function doesn't accept parameters.

Return value

An integer; the position of the current element in the DOM tree's sibling order.

Examples

Dynamic list width

This example demonstrates how to dynamically increase the width of each <li> item in the <ul> by 50px.

HTML

html
<ul>
  <li>One</li>
  <li>Two</li>
  <li>Three</li>
  <li>Four</li>
</ul>

CSS

css
li {
  width: calc(sibling-index() * 50px);
  background-color: #faa;
}

Results

Ordered list

This example demonstrates how to create an ordered list using sibling-index(), without using the <ol> element. Always use the most semantic element for the context; this example is included to demonstrate what can be done with CSS when you don't have the ability to change the HTML.

HTML

We include a <nav> container and several children <div> elements.

html
<nav arial-label="Ordered list">
  <div>One</div>
  <div>Two</div>
  <div>Three</div>
  <div>Four</div>
</nav>

CSS

We make it visually appear as a numbered list by displaying the sibling-index before each <div> element using the ::before pseudo-element, setting the content to be the integer returned by the sibling-index() function.

css
div {
  --list-index: sibling-index();
  display: flex;
  gap: 1ch;
}

div::before {
  content: var(--list-index);
}

Results

Sequential animations

Combining sibling-index() with CSS animations opens new possibilities. In this example, the opacity of elements in sequential order by setting an animation-delay based on their order in the DOM.

HTML

We include a container element with four children:

html
<ul>
  <li>One</li>
  <li>Two</li>
  <li>Three</li>
  <li>Four</li>
</ul>

CSS

We apply the fade-in animation to each element. We use the sibling-index() function within a calc() function to set the duration of the animation-delay based on the source element's position in the source order. The animation-fill-mode applies the animation's 0% keyframe until the animation-duration expires.

css
ul {
  list-style-type: none;
  padding: 0;
  margin: 0;
}

li {
  animation-name: fade-in;
  animation-duration: 1s;
  animation-iteration-count: 1;
  animation-timing-function: linear;
  animation-fill-mode: backwards;
  animation-delay: calc(1s * sibling-index());
}

@keyframes fade-in {
  from {
    opacity: 0;
  }
  to {
    opacity: 1;
  }
}

Results

Specifications

Specification
CSS Values and Units Module Level 5
# funcdef-sibling-index

Browser compatibility

See also