jQuery Attribute Equals [name="value"]

What Is [name="value"]?

The attribute equals selector matches elements whose attribute value is exactly equal to a given string — character for character. Available since jQuery 1.0 (standard CSS).

$("[attribute='value']")

$("input[value='Hot Fuzz']")
  ✓ value="Hot Fuzz"
  ✗ value="Hot Fuzz 2"
  ✗ value="hot fuzz"     (case differs)

=  ≠  *=   // *= is substring anywhere
=  ≠  !=   // != excludes that exact value

How to Use [name="value"]

Name the attribute, set the exact value, then query — quote values that contain spaces.

1. Choose the attribute (value, type, name, …).
2. Write $("[attr='exact']") — or with a tag: $("input[value='Hot Fuzz']").
3. Quote values with spaces or special characters.
4. Remember: the whole value must match — not a prefix, suffix, or substring.

Pseudocode

attrName = given attribute
target   = given value
matches  = empty list

for each element with attrName:
    v = element.getAttribute(attrName)
    if v == target:                   // exact, case-sensitive
        add element

return jQuery(matches)

Cheat Sheet

Keep these facts handy while matching exact attribute values.

Live Preview

Run equals / contains / type selectors against sample inputs and see which values match.

$("input[value='Hot Fuzz']")
matched: 1
values: Hot Fuzz

/* exact value only */

jQuery Examples

Short, copy-ready snippets. Open a browser with jQuery loaded, or use Try It Yourself for a live editor.

$("input[value='Hot Fuzz']").next().text("Hot Fuzz");

console.log($("input[value='Hot Fuzz']").length);
// 1

1
Next sibling span text becomes "Hot Fuzz"
("Hot Fuzz 2" is skipped)

console.log("=  :", $("input[value='Hot Fuzz']").length);
console.log("*= :", $("input[value*='Hot']").length);

// = matches only the exact value
// *= also matches "Hot Fuzz 2"

=  : 1
*= : 2

*= also matches value="Hot Fuzz 2"

var label = $("input[type='submit']").val();
console.log(label);
console.log("count:", $("input[type='submit']").length);

Send
count: 1
(text inputs are skipped)

var v = $("input[name='email']").val();
console.log(v);
console.log("matched:", $("input[name='email']").length);

[email protected]
matched: 1

console.log("Hot Fuzz:", $("input[value='Hot Fuzz']").length);
console.log("hot fuzz:", $("input[value='hot fuzz']").length);

// lowercase does not match value="Hot Fuzz"

Hot Fuzz: 1
hot fuzz: 1

Each query matches only its own casing

Performance Notes

Exact attribute selectors are standard CSS, so jQuery can often use the browser engine. Narrow with a tag or a container on large pages.

Key Takeaways