symbols()

Limited availability

This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.

The symbols() CSS function enables defining counter styles inline, directly as a value of properties such as list-style, providing a less powerful but simpler alternative to the @counter-style method of defining a counter style.

Unlike @counter-style, which defines a reusable counter style, symbols() is anonymous (i.e., it can only be used once). This function accepts strings and images as values. In comparison, the @counter-style's symbols descriptor also accepts identifiers.

Syntax

css

symbols() = symbols( <symbols-type>? [ <string> | <image> ]+ );

<symbols-type> can be one of the following:

cyclic: The system cycles through the given values in the order of their definition, and returns to the start when it reaches the end.
numeric: The system interprets the given values as the successive units of a place-value numbering system.
alphabetic: The system interprets the given values as the digits of an alphabetic numbering system, like a place-value numbering system but without 0.
symbolic: The system cycles through the values, printing them an additional time at each cycle (one time for the first cycle, two times for the second, etc.).
fixed: The system cycles through the given values once, then falls back to Arabic numerals.

Formal syntax

<symbols()> = 
  symbols( <symbols-type>? [ <string> | <image> ]+ )  

<symbols-type> = 
  cyclic      |
  numeric     |
  alphabetic  |
  symbolic    |
  fixed       

<image> = 
  <url>       |
  <gradient>  

<url> = 
  <url()>  |
  <src()>  

<url()> = 
  url( <string> <url-modifier>* )  |
  <url-token>                      

<src()> = 
  src( <string> <url-modifier>* )

Examples

HTML

html

<ol>
  <li>One</li>
  <li>Two</li>
  <li>Three</li>
  <li>Four</li>
  <li>Five</li>
</ol>

CSS

css

ol {
  list-style: symbols(cyclic "*" "†" "‡");
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Counter Styles Level 3 # symbols-function

Browser compatibility

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This page was last modified on ⁨Jul 24, 2025⁩ by MDN contributors.

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