jQuery .removeAttr() Method

What Is .removeAttr()?

.removeAttr() (since 1.0) removes an HTML attribute from every matched element. Since 1.7, you can pass a space-separated list of attribute names.

// Remove one
$("input").removeAttr("title");

// Remove several (jQuery 1.7+)
$("#card").removeAttr("title data-role");

// Equivalent via .attr()
$("input").attr("title", null);

How to Use .removeAttr()

Select elements, pass the attribute name(s), and chain if needed.

1. Select the element(s) that have the attribute.
2. Call .removeAttr("name") — or several names separated by spaces (1.7+).
3. Confirm with .attr("name") — expect undefined when gone.
4. Prefer .prop("onclick", null) to clear inline handlers in legacy IE.
5. Use .removeClass() for class names, not .removeAttr("class"), in most apps.

Pseudocode

call .removeAttr(attributeName)

names = split attributeName on spaces

for each matched element:
    for each name in names:
        removeAttribute(name)

return the jQuery collection

Cheat Sheet

Keep these facts handy when stripping attributes from markup.

Live Preview

Toggle or strip attributes on the sample input — same APIs as the examples below.

Ready — pick an action and click Run.

jQuery Examples

Short, copy-ready snippets. Prefer .removeAttr() when removal is the goal.

var inputTitle = $("input").attr("title");

$("button").on("click", function () {
  var input = $(this).next();
  if (input.attr("title") === inputTitle) {
    input.removeAttr("title");
  } else {
    input.attr("title", inputTitle);
  }
  $("#log").text("input title is now " + input.attr("title"));
});

First click → input title is now undefined
Second click → input title is now Hover tip

$("#hint").removeAttr("title");
$("#out").text("title → " + $("#hint").attr("title"));

title → undefined

$("#card").removeAttr("title data-role");

$("#out").text(
  "title=" + $("#card").attr("title") +
  ", data-role=" + $("#card").attr("data-role")
);

title=undefined, data-role=undefined

$("#a").removeAttr("title");
$("#b").attr("title", null);

$("#out").text(
  "a=" + $("#a").attr("title") +
  ", b=" + $("#b").attr("title")
);

a=undefined, b=undefined

var $btn = $("#go");

$btn.prop("onclick", null);
$("#out").text(
  "onclick property: " + $btn[0].onclick
);

onclick property: null
(button no longer runs the inline handler)

Performance Notes

Removal is inexpensive. Prefer one selection and a multi-name call over repeated queries inside tight loops.

Key Takeaways