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CSS element()

Proposed

I propose an investigation of CSS element() which lets a page use the appearance of one element as an image elsewhere on the same page. The first target would be backgrounds that follow changes to their source, such as a small page preview or a canvas used in several places.

The investigation would establish a useful, clearly specified subset and build tests that browser teams can share. It would cover simple sources, live updates, image size, missing references, and reference loops.

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Discussion on GitHub (1)

thebabydino

The below is an example of something that's not possible without it. This is almost pure CSS with the except of the alpha fade grain effect, which uses a super simple SVG filter.

<img width="520" height="520" alt="Animated GIF. Shows a 5 point star with a grainy fade inner glow that's a checkered pattern. On hover, the glow intensifies, both in terms of alpha and in terms of how far it extends inwards. The checkered pattern also animates." src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1bfc08e8-e48a-4a94-ba4f-eedc1fd356fd" />

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Strict feedback template: Please be as concrete as possible. Specific examples from your production apps or projects provide the highest-value signal to standards editors and browser engineers.
Add your specific real-world use cases, even if they seem obvious to you.
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Are you having to use another feature instead, a polyfill, or is it blocking you completely? Why are the alternatives worse?
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