jQuery Attribute Not Equal [name!="value"]

What Is [name!="value"]?

The attribute not-equal selector matches elements that do not have the attribute, or have it with a value other than the given string. Available since jQuery 1.0 (jQuery extension). Equivalent to :not([attr='value']).

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

$("input[name!='newsletter']")
  ✓ no name attribute
  ✓ name="accept"
  ✗ name="newsletter"

!=  ≈  :not([attr='value'])
faster: $("input").not("[name='newsletter']")

How to Use [name!="value"]

Exclude one exact attribute value — remembering that missing attributes also match.

1. Choose the attribute and the value to exclude.
2. For demos: $("input[name!='newsletter']").
3. For production: $("input").not("[name='newsletter']") (official performance tip).
4. Expect matches for other values and elements without the attribute.

Pseudocode

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

for each element:
    if element does not have attrName:
        add element                   // missing attr matches
    else if element.getAttribute(attrName) != excluded:
        add element                   // different value matches

return jQuery(matches)

Cheat Sheet

Keep these facts handy while excluding attribute values.

Live Preview

Compare !=, =, and .not() against sample inputs and see which names match.

$("input[name!='newsletter']")
matched: 3
names: (none), accept, (none)

/* missing name OR name ≠ newsletter */

jQuery Examples

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

var names = $("input[name!='newsletter']").map(function () {
  return this.name || "(none)";
}).get().join(", ");

console.log(names);
console.log("count:", $("input[name!='newsletter']").length);

(none), accept
count: 2
(name="newsletter" is skipped)

console.log("=  :", $("input[name='newsletter']").length);
console.log("!= :", $("input[name!='newsletter']").length);

// = keeps only newsletter
// != keeps everything else (including no name)

=  : 1
!= : 2

Together they cover all three sample inputs

var $a = $("input[name!='newsletter']");
var $b = $("input").not("[name='newsletter']");

console.log($a.length === $b.length);
console.log("count:", $b.length);

true
count: 2

Same result set; .not() is the recommended form

var labels = $("input[name!='newsletter']").map(function () {
  return (this.name ? this.name : "MISSING") + ":" + this.type;
}).get().join(", ");

console.log(labels);

MISSING:checkbox, accept:radio
(newsletter radios/text are skipped)

var types = $("input[type!='text']").map(function () {
  return this.type;
}).get().join(", ");

console.log(types);
console.log("count:", $("input[type!='text']").length);

checkbox, radio, radio, submit
count: 4
(text input is skipped)

Performance Notes

Official docs: because != is not CSS, it cannot use querySelectorAll. Narrow with a pure CSS selector first, then .not().

Key Takeaways