elena-styles

name	elena-styles
description	Critical CSS rules for Elena components. @scope encapsulation, all:unset reset for Primitives only, SSR hydration pattern, theming, and browser bug workarounds.

Elena Styles — Critical Rules

Full reference: https://getelena.github.io/elena/llms-full.txt Page index: https://getelena.github.io/elena/llms.txt

@scope

Use @scope (tag-name) to prevent component styles from leaking out to the page. As an alternative, you can use CSS cascade layers (@layer) to control style precedence instead of all: unset.

Encapsulation reset

Primitive Components: include the reset. Composite Components: do NOT.

The reset prevents global styles from leaking into the component:

@scope (elena-button) {
  :scope,
  *:where(:not(img, svg):not(svg *)),
  *::before,
  *::after {
    all: unset;
    display: revert;
  }
}

• The :where(:not(img, svg):not(svg *)) exclusion is required — do not simplify to *. It preserves image and SVG rendering.
• display: revert restores browser default display values after all: unset removes them.
• Composite Components intentionally let global styles flow in — no reset.

SSR hydration pattern

Style both the host before hydration AND the rendered inner element with the same baseline styles to avoid layout shift:

:scope:not([hydrated]),
.elena-button {
  font-family: var(--_elena-button-font);
  background: var(--_elena-button-bg);
}

The :scope:not([hydrated]) rule applies before JavaScript runs; the inner element selector applies after Elena renders and adds the [hydrated] attribute. This pattern only applies to Primitive Components (those with render()).

Pre-hydration pseudo-elements

Use CSS pseudo-elements with attr() to surface additional content before hydration:

:scope:not([hydrated])::before {
  content: attr(label);
}

:scope:not([hydrated])::after {
  content: attr(placeholder);
}

Theming

Define CSS custom properties on :scope as the public theming API:

:scope {
  /* Public theming API (with default values set) */
  --_elena-button-bg: var(--elena-button-bg, blue);
  --_elena-button-text: var(--elena-button-text, white);

  /* Internal theming API references (usage) */
  background-color: var(--_elena-button-bg);
  color: var(--_elena-button-text);
}

Annotate with @cssprop [--prop-name] - description JSDoc on the class for CEM documentation.

Variant and state styling

Use attribute selectors on :scope — not descendant selectors:

:scope[variant="primary"] { color: red }
:scope[disabled] { opacity: 0.5 }

Styles without @scope

For older browsers that don’t support @scope, use namespaced selectors and the :is() pattern instead:

/* Reset makes sure styles don’t leak in */
elena-button,
elena-button *:where(:not(img, svg):not(svg *)),
elena-button *::before,
elena-button *::after {
  all: unset;
  display: revert;
}

elena-button {
  display: inline-block;
}

:is(elena-button:not([hydrated]), .elena-button) {
  /* shared styles */
}

elena-button[variant="primary"] {
  /* variant */
}

Composite Component CSS

Composite Components do NOT include the encapsulation reset. Style the host element and provide attribute-based customization:

@scope (elena-stack) {
  :scope {
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;
    gap: 0.5rem;
  }

  :scope[direction="row"] {
    flex-direction: row;
  }
}

Browser bugs

Firefox 148: @scope combined with attr[value] selectors can be buggy. Fixed in Firefox 149+. For broader Firefox support, use namespaced selectors instead of @scope.

Safari 26.3: @scope rules do not apply to <input> and <textarea>. Fixed in Safari 26.4 and newer. Workaround for older versions: style form controls outside @scope using namespaced selectors, e.g. elena-input input { ... }.

Shadow DOM

Opt in with static shadow = "open" and static styles. Elena renders into the shadow root. @scope is not needed inside Shadow DOM. CSS custom properties still pierce the shadow boundary for theming.

Warning: Without Declarative Shadow DOM, Shadow DOM breaks progressive enhancement: nothing is visible until JavaScript runs. See Declarative Shadow DOM (<template shadowrootmode="open">) for a standards-based alternative.