HTML data-* Attribute

Definition and Usage

The data-* attribute is used to store custom data private to the page or application.

The data-* attribute gives us the ability to embed custom data attributes on all HTML elements.

The stored (custom) data can then be used in the page's JavaScript to create a more engaging user experience (without any Ajax calls or server-side database queries).

The data-* attribute consist of two parts:

The attribute name should not contain any uppercase letters, and must be at least one character long after the prefix "data-"
The attribute value can be any string

Note: Custom attributes prefixed with "data-" will be completely ignored by the user agent.

Applies to

The data-* attribute is a Global Attribute, and can be used on any HTML element.

Element	Attribute
All HTML elements	data-*

Example

Use the data-* attribute to embed custom data:

<ul>
<li data-animal-type="bird">Owl</li>
<li data-animal-type="fish">Salmon</li>
<li data-animal-type="spider">Tarantula</li>
</ul>

Try it Yourself »

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the attribute.

Attribute
data-*	4.0	5.5	2.0	3.1	9.6

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