Css Selectors

CSS Selectors

> Target elements for set_content and set_style updates using CSS selectors or component IDs.

Targeting by Component ID (Preferred)

The most reliable way to target elements is by component_id:

# When creating content, always use component_id
content = Div(
    content="Hello",
    component_id="main-content",  # This becomes the element's id
)

# Target by id in set_content/set_style
set_content(widget_id, component_id="main-content", text="Updated!")
set_style(widget_id, component_id="main-content", styles={"color": "red"})

Why component_id is Preferred

| Aspect | component_id | CSS Selector | |--------|-------------|--------------| | Reliability | Always unique | May match multiple elements | | Refactoring | Survives DOM changes | May break on restructure | | Performance | Direct lookup | May scan document | | Clarity | Self-documenting | Requires knowledge of DOM |

Targeting by CSS Selector

When you don't have a component_id, use CSS selectors:

# By element type
set_style(widget_id, selector="h1", styles={"fontSize": "24px"})

# By class
set_style(widget_id, selector=".status-indicator", styles={"display": "block"})

# By attribute
set_content(widget_id, selector="[data-ticker='AAPL']", text="$185.00")

# Combined selectors
set_style(widget_id, selector=".toolbar button.primary", styles={"opacity": "0.5"})

# First/last/nth-child
set_style(widget_id, selector="ul li:first-child", styles={"fontWeight": "bold"})

Common Selector Patterns

Basic Selectors

| Selector | Matches | Example | |----------|---------|---------| | #myid | Element with id="myid" | #header | | .myclass | Elements with class="myclass" | .card | | div | All div elements | span | | * | All elements | * |

Combinators

| Selector | Matches | Example | |----------|---------|---------| | div.myclass | Divs with class="myclass" | button.primary | | div > p | Direct child p of div | .card > .title | | div p | Any descendant p of div | .sidebar a | | div + p | p immediately after div | h1 + p | | div ~ p | All p siblings after div | h1 ~ p |

Attribute Selectors

| Selector | Matches | Example | |----------|---------|---------| | [data-x] | Elements with data-x attribute | [data-ticker] | | [data-x="val"] | Elements where data-x="val" | [data-ticker="AAPL"] | | [data-x^="pre"] | data-x starts with "pre" | [data-id^="user-"] | | [data-x$="suf"] | data-x ends with "suf" | [href$=".pdf"] | | [data-x*="sub"] | data-x contains "sub" | [class*="btn"] |

Pseudo-Selectors

| Selector | Matches | Example | |----------|---------|---------| | :first-child | First child of parent | li:first-child | | :last-child | Last child of parent | li:last-child | | :nth-child(n) | Nth child of parent | tr:nth-child(2) | | :nth-child(odd) | Odd children | tr:nth-child(odd) | | :nth-child(even) | Even children | tr:nth-child(even) | | :not(selector) | Elements not matching | div:not(.hidden) | | :empty | Elements with no children | p:empty |

Practical Examples

Updating Multiple Elements

# Update all prices
set_style(widget_id, selector=".price", styles={"color": "green"})

# Update all elements with data-status="stale"
set_style(widget_id, selector="[data-status='stale']", styles={"opacity": "0.5"})

Targeting by Data Attribute (Dynamic Content)

# Create content with data attributes
html = """

    AAPL
    $185.00

    GOOGL
    $142.00

"""

# Update specific ticker
set_content(widget_id, selector="[data-ticker='AAPL'] .price", text="$186.50")

Table Row Styling

# Highlight header row
set_style(widget_id, selector="table tr:first-child", styles={
    "backgroundColor": "var(--bg-secondary)",
    "fontWeight": "bold",
})

# Zebra striping
set_style(widget_id, selector="table tr:nth-child(even)", styles={
    "backgroundColor": "var(--bg-tertiary)",
})

Best Practices

1. Prefer component_id Over Selectors

# ✓ Preferred - explicit and stable
set_content(widget_id, component_id="price-display", text="$100")

# ✓ OK for bulk updates
set_style(widget_id, selector=".price", styles={"color": "green"})

# ✗ Fragile - depends on DOM structure
set_style(widget_id, selector="div > div > span:nth-child(2)", styles=...)

2. Use Data Attributes for Dynamic Content

# Create with data attributes
content = Div(
    content='Unknown',
    component_id="card",
)

# Update by data attribute
set_content(widget_id, selector="[data-field='status']", text="Active")

3. Avoid Overly Specific Selectors

# ✗ Bad - breaks if DOM changes
selector = "div.container > div.row:nth-child(2) > div.col > span.value"

# ✓ Good - targeted but flexible
selector = ".row .value"  # or use component_id

4. Test Selectors First

Use browser DevTools to test selectors:

1. Open DevTools (F12)
2. Go to Console
3. Type: document.querySelectorAll(".your-selector")
4. Verify it matches expected elements

Performance Considerations

• component_id → Direct getElementById (fastest)
• ID selector (#myid) → Very fast
• Class selector (.myclass) → Fast
• Complex selectors → Slower, may need traversal
• Universal selector (*) → Slowest

For frequent updates (animations, live data), prefer component_id or simple selectors.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: deeleeramone
• Source: deeleeramone/PyWry
• License: Apache-2.0
• Homepage: https://deeleeramone.github.io/PyWry/

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.