The cursor CSS property sets the mouse cursor, if any, to show when the mouse pointer is over an element.

/* Keyword value */ cursor: auto; cursor: pointer; ... cursor: zoom-out;  /* URL with mandatory keyword fallback */ cursor: url(hand.cur), pointer;  /* URL and coordinates, with mandatory keyword fallback */ cursor: url(cursor_1.png) 4 12, auto; cursor: url(cursor_2.png) 2 2, pointer;  /* URLs and fallback URLs (some with coordinates), with mandatory keyword fallback */ cursor: url(cursor_1.svg) 4 5, url(cursor_2.svg), ... , url(cursor_n.cur) 5 5, progress;  /* Global values */ cursor: inherit; cursor: initial; cursor: revert; cursor: unset; 

cursor

The cursor CSS property sets the mouse cursor, if any, to show when the mouse pointer is over an element.

The cursor setting should inform users of the mouse operations that can be performed at the current location, including: text selection, activating help or context menus, copying content, resizing tables, and so on. You can specify either the type of cursor using a keyword, or load a specific icon to use (with optional fallback images and mandatory keyword as a final fallback).

Syntax

/* Keyword value */ cursor: auto; cursor: pointer; ... cursor: zoom-out;  /* URL with mandatory keyword fallback */ cursor: url(hand.cur), pointer;  /* URL and coordinates, with mandatory keyword fallback */ cursor: url(cursor_1.png) 4 12, auto; cursor: url(cursor_2.png) 2 2, pointer;  /* URLs and fallback URLs (some with coordinates), with mandatory keyword fallback */ cursor: url(cursor_1.svg) 4 5, url(cursor_2.svg), ... , url(cursor_n.cur) 5 5, progress;  /* Global values */ cursor: inherit; cursor: initial; cursor: revert; cursor: unset; 

The cursor property is specified as zero or more <url> values, separated by commas, followed by a single mandatory keyword value. Each <url> should point to an image file. The browser will try to load the first image specified, falling back to the next if it can't, and falling back to the keyword value if no images could be loaded (or if none were specified).

Each <url> may be optionally followed by a pair of space-separated numbers, which set the <x> <y> coordinates of the cursor's hotspot relative to the top-left corner of the image.

Values

<url> Optional

A url(…) or a comma separated list url(…), url(…), …, pointing to an image file. More than one url() may be provided as fallbacks, in case some cursor image types are not supported. A non-URL fallback (one or more of the keyword values) must be at the end of the fallback list.

<x> <y> Optional

Optional x- and y-coordinates indicating the cursor hotspot; the precise position within the cursor that is being pointed to.

The numbers are in units of image pixels. They are relative to the top left corner of the image, which corresponds to "0 0", and are clamped within the boundaries of the cursor image. If these values are not specified, they may be read from the file itself, and will otherwise default to the top-left corner of the image.

keyword

A keyword value must be specified, indicating either the type of cursor to use, or the fallback cursor to use if all specified icons fail to load.

The available keywords are listed in the table below. You can hover your mouse over the table rows to see the effect of the different cursor keyword values on your browser.

Category	Keyword	Example	Description
General	auto		The UA will determine the cursor to display based on the current context. E.g., equivalent to text when hovering text.
	default		The platform-dependent default cursor. Typically an arrow.
	none		No cursor is rendered.
Links & status	context-menu		A context menu is available.
	help		Help information is available.
	pointer		The cursor is a pointer that indicates a link. Typically an image of a pointing hand.
	progress		The program is busy in the background, but the user can still interact with the interface (in contrast to wait).
	wait		The program is busy, and the user can't interact with the interface (in contrast to progress). Sometimes an image of an hourglass or a watch.
Selection	cell		The table cell or set of cells can be selected.
	crosshair		Cross cursor, often used to indicate selection in a bitmap.
	text		The text can be selected. Typically the shape of an I-beam.
	vertical-text		The vertical text can be selected. Typically the shape of a sideways I-beam.
Drag & drop	alias		An alias or shortcut is to be created.
	copy		Something is to be copied.
	move		Something is to be moved.
	no-drop		An item may not be dropped at the current location.bug 275173: On Windows and Mac OS X, no-drop is the same as not-allowed.
	not-allowed		The requested action will not be carried out.
	grab		Something can be grabbed (dragged to be moved).
	grabbing		Something is being grabbed (dragged to be moved).
Resizing & scrolling	all-scroll		Something can be scrolled in any direction (panned).bug 275174: On Windows, all-scroll is the same as move.
	col-resize		The item/column can be resized horizontally. Often rendered as arrows pointing left and right with a vertical bar separating them.
	row-resize		The item/row can be resized vertically. Often rendered as arrows pointing up and down with a horizontal bar separating them.
	n-resize		Some edge is to be moved. For example, the se-resize cursor is used when the movement starts from the south-east corner of the box.In some environments, an equivalent bidirectional resize cursor is shown. For example, n-resize and s-resize are the same as ns-resize.
	e-resize
	s-resize
	w-resize
	ne-resize
	nw-resize
	se-resize
	sw-resize
	ew-resize		Bidirectional resize cursor.
	ns-resize
	nesw-resize
	nwse-resize
Zooming	zoom-in		Something can be zoomed (magnified) in or out.
	zoom-out

Formal syntax

[ [ <url> [ <x> <y> ]? , ]* [ auto | default | none | context-menu | help | pointer | progress | wait | cell | crosshair | text | vertical-text | alias | copy | move | no-drop | not-allowed | e-resize | n-resize | ne-resize | nw-resize | s-resize | se-resize | sw-resize | w-resize | ew-resize | ns-resize | nesw-resize | nwse-resize | col-resize | row-resize | all-scroll | zoom-in | zoom-out | grab | grabbing ] ]

Formal definition

Initial value	auto
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	yes
Computed value	as specified, but with url() values made absolute
Animation type	discrete

Usage notes

Icon size limits

While the specification does not limit the cursor image size, user agents commonly restrict them to avoid potential misuse. For example, on Firefox and Chromium cursor images are restricted to 32x32 pixels by default, and cursor changes using larger images will generally just be ignored.

Check the Browser compatibility table for any notes on cursor size limits.

Supported image file formats

User agents are required by the specification to support PNG files, SVG v1.1 files in secure static mode that contain a natural size, and any other non-animated image file formats that they support for images in other properties. Desktop browsers also broadly support the .cur file format.

The specification further indicates that user agents should also support SVG v1.1 files in secure animated mode that contain a natural size, along with any other animated images file formats they support for images in other properties. User agents may support both static and animated SVG images that do not contain a natural size.

Other notes

Cursor changes that intersect toolbar areas are commonly blocked to avoid spoofing.

Examples

Setting cursor types

.foo {   cursor: crosshair; }  .bar {   cursor: zoom-in; }  /* A fallback keyword value is required when using a URL */ .baz {   cursor: url("hyper.cur"), auto; } 

Specifications

Specification
CSS Basic User Interface Module Level 4 # cursor

See also

pointer-events url() function

Last modified: Jan 24, 2022, by MDN contributors

Select your preferred language English (US)DeutschEspañolFrançais日本語한국어PolskiPortuguês (do Brasil)Русский中文 (简体)正體中文 (繁體) Change language