document.rootElement returns the document’s root Element when that root is an SVG <svg> element; otherwise it returns null (MDN). Learn it for legacy SVG code — new work should use document.documentElement.
Read the notes below before you get or set this property. Prefer feature detection when support is limited.
Use document.rootElement. Start with this line.
document.rootElement| Call | What it does |
|---|---|
document.rootElement | Primary signature. |
Built into the browser. Read or assign document.rootElement — no import required.
document.rootElement| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Writable? | Optional. Read-only |
| Replacement | Required. document.documentElement |
| Return Value | Description |
|---|---|
| * | SVG root Element, or null |
rootElementOn an HTML page, MDN-style behavior is null.
console.log(document.rootElement);
// null on HTML; SVGSVGElement on SVG documentsnull.null.<svg> element.rootElement vs documentElementSee why HTML pages need documentElement.
console.log(document.rootElement); // null (HTML)
console.log(document.documentElement); // <html>…
console.log(document.documentElement.tagName); // "HTML"rootElement — SVG-only root; HTML → null (MDN).documentElement — always the document root Element.tagName — on HTML pages, "HTML".rootElement for HTML.documentElementMDN migration pattern for new code.
// Prefer this everywhere (HTML + SVG)
const root = document.documentElement;
console.log(root.tagName);
// Avoid in new projects:
// document.rootElementrootElement in new projects (deprecated).documentElement — one API for every document type (MDN).tagName (or other Element APIs) on the root.Document.rootElement is a legacy SVG Document extension. MDN marks it Deprecated. Engines may still expose it; new code should use document.documentElement.
SVG root Element or null. Prefer documentElement for all documents.
Bottom line: Still present in many browsers for compatibility, but deprecated. See the MDN rootElement reference.
Continue with the Document scripts property.
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