cursor

The cursor CSS property specifies the mouse cursor displayed when the mouse pointer is over an element.

Initial value	auto
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	yes
Media	visual, interactive
Computed value	as specified, but with URIs made absolute
Animation type	discrete
Canonical order	the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

/* Keyword value only */
cursor: pointer;
cursor: auto;

/* Using URL and coordinates */
cursor:  url(cursor1.png) 4 12, auto;
cursor:  url(cursor2.png) 2 2, pointer;

/* Global values */
cursor: inherit;
cursor: initial;
cursor: unset;

Values

<uri>

A url(…) or a comma separated list url(…), url(…), …, pointing to an image file. More than one <uri> may be provided as fallback, in case some cursor image types are not supported. A non-URL fallback (one or more of the other values) must be at the end of the fallback list. See Using URL values for the cursor property for more details.

<x> <y>

Optional x- and y-coordinates. Two unit-less non-negative numbers less than 32.

Keyword values

Move mouse over value for testing:

Category	CSS value	Actual	Description
General	auto		The browser determines the cursor to display based on the current context. E.g. equivalent to text when hovering text.
	default		Default cursor, typically an arrow.
	none		No cursor is rendered.
Links & status	context-menu		A context menu is available under the cursor. Only IE 10 and up have implemented this on Windows: bug 258960.
	help		Indicating help is available.
	pointer		E.g. used when hovering over links, typically a hand.
	progress		The program is busy in the background but the user can still interact with the interface (unlike for wait).
	wait		The program is busy (sometimes an hourglass or a watch).
Selection	cell		Indicating that cells can be selected.
	crosshair		Cross cursor, often used to indicate selection in a bitmap.
	text		Indicating text can be selected, typically an I-beam.
	vertical-text		Indicating that vertical text can be selected, typically a sideways I-beam.
Drag and drop	alias		Indicating an alias or shortcut is to be created.
	copy		Indicating that something can be copied.
	move		The hovered object may be moved.
	no-drop		Cursor showing that a drop is not allowed at the current location. bug 275173 on Windows and Mac OS X, "no-drop is the same as not-allowed".
	not-allowed		Cursor showing that something cannot be done.
Resize & scrolling	all-scroll		Cursor showing that 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.
	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		Indicates a bidirectional resize cursor.
	ns-resize
	nesw-resize
	nwse-resize
Zoom	zoom-in		Indicates that something can be zoomed (magnified) in or out.
	zoom-out
Grab	grab		Indicates that something can be grabbed (dragged to be moved).
	grabbing

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 ] ]

Examples

.foo {
  cursor: crosshair;
}

/* use prefixed-value if "zoom-in" isn't supported */
.bar {
  cursor: -webkit-zoom-in;
  cursor: zoom-in;
} 

/* standard cursor value as fallback for url() must be provided (doesn't work without) */
.baz {
  cursor: url(hyper.cur), auto;
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Basic User Interface Module Level 3 The definition of 'cursor' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Addition of several keywords and the positioning syntax for url().
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'cursor' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

[1] In IE11, when cursor is applied to an element and this element is underneath an open <select> menu and the user hovers over a <select> menu item that's on top of said element, the cursor for said element will be displayed rather than the <select>'s normal cursor. See IE bug 963961.

[2] Support for this was added in Mac OS X.

[3] Only supported in Mac OS X and Linux.

[4] Support for this was added in Windows.

See also

• Using URL values for the cursor property
• pointer-events
• Cursor Property (MSDN)