sass-site/source/documentation/style-rules/parent-selector.liquid

---
title: Parent Selector
introduction: >
  The parent selector, `&`, is a special selector invented by Sass that’s used
  in [nested selectors](/documentation/style-rules#nesting) to refer to the outer selector.
  It makes it possible to re-use the outer selector in more complex ways, like
  adding a
  [pseudo-class](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Pseudo-classes)
  or adding a selector *before* the parent.
---

When a parent selector is used in an inner selector, it's replaced with the corresponding outer selector. This happens instead of the normal nesting behavior.

{% codeExample 'parent-selector' %}
.alert {
  // The parent selector can be used to add pseudo-classes to the outer
  // selector.
  &:hover {
    font-weight: bold;
  }

  // It can also be used to style the outer selector in a certain context, such
  // as a body set to use a right-to-left language.
  [dir=rtl] & {
    margin-left: 0;
    margin-right: 10px;
  }

  // You can even use it as an argument to pseudo-class selectors.
  :not(&) {
    opacity: 0.8;
  }
}
===
.alert
  // The parent selector can be used to add pseudo-classes to the outer
  // selector.
  &:hover
    font-weight: bold


  // It can also be used to style the outer selector in a certain context, such
  // as a body set to use a right-to-left language.
  [dir=rtl] &
    margin-left: 0
    margin-right: 10px


  // You can even use it as an argument to pseudo-class selectors.
  :not(&)
    opacity: 0.8
{% endcodeExample %}

{% headsUp %}
Because the parent selector could be replaced by a type selector like `h1`, it's
only allowed at the beginning of compound selectors where a type selector would
also be allowed. For example, `span&` is not allowed.

We're looking into loosening this restriction, though. If you'd like to help
make that happen, check out [this GitHub issue][].

[this GitHub issue]: https://github.com/sass/sass/issues/1425
{% endheadsUp %}

{% markdown %}
## Adding Suffixes

You can also use the parent selector to add extra suffixes to the outer
selector. This is particularly useful when using a methodology like [BEM][] that
uses highly structured class names. As long as the outer selector ends with an
alphanumeric name (like class, ID, and element selectors), you can use the
parent selector to append additional text.

[BEM]: http://getbem.com/
{% endmarkdown %}

{% codeExample 'parent-selector-suffixes' %}
.accordion {
  max-width: 600px;
  margin: 4rem auto;
  width: 90%;
  font-family: "Raleway", sans-serif;
  background: #f4f4f4;

  &__copy {
    display: none;
    padding: 1rem 1.5rem 2rem 1.5rem;
    color: gray;
    line-height: 1.6;
    font-size: 14px;
    font-weight: 500;

    &--open {
      display: block;
    }
  }
}
===
.accordion
  max-width: 600px
  margin: 4rem auto
  width: 90%
  font-family: "Raleway", sans-serif
  background: #f4f4f4

  &__copy
    display: none
    padding: 1rem 1.5rem 2rem 1.5rem
    color: gray
    line-height: 1.6
    font-size: 14px
    font-weight: 500

    &--open
      display: block
{% endcodeExample %}

{% markdown %}
## In SassScript

The parent selector can also be used within SassScript. It's a special
expression that returns the current parent selector in the same format used by [selector functions][]: a comma-separated list (the selector list) that contains space-separated lists (the complex selectors) that contain unquoted strings (the compound selectors).

[selector functions]: /documentation/modules/selector#selector-values
{% endmarkdown %}

{% codeExample 'parent-selector-sassscript' %}
.main aside:hover,
.sidebar p {
  parent-selector: &;
  // => ((unquote(".main") unquote("aside:hover")),
  //     (unquote(".sidebar") unquote("p")))
}
===
.main aside:hover,
.sidebar p
  parent-selector: &
  // => ((unquote(".main") unquote("aside:hover")),
  //     (unquote(".sidebar") unquote("p")))
{% endcodeExample %}

{% markdown %}
If the `&` expression is used outside any style rules, it returns `null`. Since `null` is [falsey][], this means you can easily use it to determine whether a mixin is being called in a style rule or not.

[falsey]: /documentation/at-rules/control/if#truthiness-and-falsiness
{% endmarkdown %}

{% render 'code-snippets/example-if-parent-selector' %}

{% markdown %}
### Advanced Nesting

You can use `&` as a normal SassScript expression, which means you can pass it to functions or include it in interpolation—even in other selectors! Using it in combination with [selector functions][] and the [`@at-root` rule][] allows you to nest selectors in very powerful ways.

[selector functions]: /documentation/modules/selector#selector-values
[`@at-root` rule]: /documentation/at-rules/at-root
{% endmarkdown %}

{% render 'code-snippets/example-advanced-nesting' %}

{% headsUp %}
When Sass is nesting selectors, it doesn't know what interpolation was used to
generate them. This means it will automatically add the outer selector to the
inner selector *even if* you used `&` as a SassScript expression. That's why you
need to explicitly use the [`@at-root` rule][] to tell Sass not to include the
outer selector.

[`@at-root` rule]: /documentation/at-rules/at-root
{% endheadsUp %}