Browser default global $ function

Question

I\'ve noticed that there appears to be a global function called $ in some browsers which is NOT jQuery, but I can\'t seem to find any documentation on it. What is it?

Fi

Answer 1

Chrome and Firefox dev tools include some useful shortcuts/helpers to manipulate the DOM within the console.

These shortcuts are pretty similar for both: $ for DOM selection, $0-$4 for "last X selections" and more.

For full reference see:

• Chrome Dev Tools Command Line API - https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools/console/command-line-reference
• Firefox Web Console Helpers - https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Web_Console/Helpers

Answer 2

There is no global $ in browsers.

Some browsers provide a $ in the scope of the Console (if there isn't a global one already).

For example Chrome's documentation says:

$(selector) returns the reference to the first DOM element with the specified CSS selector. This function is an alias for the document.querySelector() function.