CSS scrollbar-color

The CSS scrollbar-color property sets the color of the scrollbar thumb and the scrollbar track for an element with a scrollbar.

Before scrollbar-color, customizing scrollbar appearance required non-standard webkit pseudo-elements (::-webkit-scrollbar, ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb, etc.) that were not part of any CSS specification. The scrollbar-color property provides a standardized, two-value shorthand for the most common customization — coloring the thumb and the track.

The property only affects scrollbars generated by the browser for overflow content. It has no effect if the element does not have a scrollbar.

Syntax

Possible Values

auto: The default value. The browser renders the scrollbar using its platform default colors.
<thumb-color> <track-color>: Two color values separated by a space. The first value sets the color of the scrollbar thumb (the draggable handle), and the second value sets the color of the scrollbar track (the area the thumb slides along). Any valid CSS color value can be used for either color.

In addition, all CSS properties also accept the following CSS-wide keyword values as the sole component of their property value:

initial: Represents the value specified as the property's initial value.
inherit: Represents the computed value of the property on the element's parent.
unset: This value acts as either inherit or initial, depending on whether the property is inherited or not. In other words, it sets all properties to their parent value if they are inheritable or to their initial value if not inheritable.

Basic Property Information

Initial Value: auto
Applies To: Scrolling boxes (elements with overflow other than visible)
Inherited?: No
Media: Visual
Animation Type: By color (both values)

Example Code

Working Example

<!DOCTYPE html>
<title>Example</title>
<style>
body {
  font-family: sans-serif;
  padding: 10px;
}
.scroll-demo {
  display: flex;
  gap: 20px;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
  margin-top: 10px;
}
.scroll-box {
  width: 220px;
  height: 120px;
  overflow-y: scroll;
  border: 1px solid #ccc;
  border-radius: 6px;
  padding: 8px;
  font-size: 14px;
  line-height: 1.6;
}
.box-purple {
  scrollbar-color: #7c3aed #ede9fe;
}
.box-teal {
  scrollbar-color: #0d9488 #ccfbf1;
}
.box-default {
  /* no scrollbar-color â€” uses the browser default */
}
.box-label {
  font-size: 12px;
  color: #555;
  margin-top: 4px;
  text-align: center;
  width: 220px;
}
</style>

<div class="scroll-demo">
  <div>
    <div class="scroll-box box-purple">
      <p>This box has a purple thumb on a light purple track. Scroll down to see more content. More content here. Even more content. Keep scrolling...</p>
    </div>
    <div class="box-label">scrollbar-color: #7c3aed #ede9fe</div>
  </div>
  <div>
    <div class="scroll-box box-teal">
      <p>This box has a teal thumb on a light teal track. Scroll down to see more content. More content here. Even more content. Keep scrolling...</p>
    </div>
    <div class="box-label">scrollbar-color: #0d9488 #ccfbf1</div>
  </div>
  <div>
    <div class="scroll-box box-default">
      <p>This box uses the browser's default scrollbar styling. Scroll down to see more content. More content here. Even more content. Keep scrolling...</p>
    </div>
    <div class="box-label">No scrollbar-color (browser default)</div>
  </div>
</div>

View Output Full Screen Preview

Accessibility Considerations

When customizing scrollbar colors, ensure sufficient contrast between the thumb color and the track color so that users can easily identify and interact with the scrollbar. This is particularly important for users with low vision.

Contrast: The WCAG 2.1 guidelines recommend a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 for UI components, including scrollbar thumbs against their track.
Dark mode: Consider using the color-scheme property alongside scrollbar-color within a prefers-color-scheme media query to ensure your custom colors remain readable in both light and dark modes.

CSS Specifications

The scrollbar-color property is defined in CSS Scrollbars Styling Module Level 1 (W3C Working Draft).

Browser Support

Browser support for CSS properties can vary, particularly for newer or experimental features. Check current browser compatibility before using a property in production, especially when supporting older browsers.

Initial Value

CSS properties have an initial value that applies when the property has not been explicitly set. The initial value is different from the value inherited from a parent element and may vary between properties.

Inheritance

Some CSS properties inherit their computed value from their parent element by default, while others do not. The inherit, initial, unset, and revert keywords can also be used to control how a property gets its value.

Vendor Prefixes

Most modern CSS properties use the standard, unprefixed syntax. Vendor-prefixed properties such as -webkit- are mainly relevant to older browser versions or specific features and should only be used when required by your browser support targets.