The Future of CSS: Target Multiple Classes with the Class Prefix Selector

The CSS Working Group has proposed a new 'Class Prefix Selector' feature that allows developers to target multiple CSS classes sharing the same prefix using a wildcard syntax. This upcoming feature aims to simplify stylesheet management by eliminating the need for brittle attribute selectors or redundant base classes.
Why it matters
This update represents a significant improvement in web development efficiency and code maintainability, potentially reducing the complexity of large-scale CSS architectures.
August 20, 2026 August 20, 2026 https://brm.us/class-prefix-selector Leave a comment on The Future of CSS: Target Multiple Classes with the Class Prefix Selector
To target multiple classes that share the same prefix, you’d typically have to resort to brittle attribute selectors or add extra base classes to your markup. To make things easier, CSS is getting a new selector: The Class Prefix Selector ( .prefix-* ).
⚠️ This post is about an upcoming CSS feature. You can’t use it … yet.
This feature is hot off the press — it was resolved on only two weeks ago — and currently only exists in spec text . The spec will most likely see some changes before this is ready for a browser to implement.
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