HTML autofocus global attribute

Baseline2023

Since March 2023, this feature works across the latest devices and browser versions. This feature might not work in older devices or browsers.

Theautofocusglobal attribute is a Boolean attribute indicating that an element should be focused on page load, or when the<dialog> that it is part of is displayed.

html

<input name="q" autofocus />

No more than one element in the document or dialog may have the autofocus attribute. If applied to multiple elements the first one will receive focus.

Note:Theautofocus attribute applies to all elements, not just form controls. For example, it might be used on acontenteditable area.

Accessibility concerns

Automatically focusing a form control can confuse visually-impaired people using screen-reading technology and people with cognitive impairments. Whenautofocus is assigned, screen-readers "teleport" their user to the form control without warning them beforehand.

Use careful consideration for accessibility when applying theautofocus attribute. Automatically focusing on a control can cause the page to scroll on load. The focus can also cause dynamic keyboards to display on some touch devices. While a screen reader will announce the label of the form control receiving focus, the screen reader will not announce anything before the label, and the sighted user on a small device will equally miss the context created by the preceding content.