---
id: css-interactive-pseudo-classes
title: "CSS Interactive Pseudo-classes"
category: "Frontend"
status: "draft"
verification_status: "conceptual"
canonical_id: ""
aliases: ["interactive pseudo-classes", "link pseudo-classes", "hover focus active", "anchor states", "hover tooltip"]
duplicate_of: ""
source_trust_level: "B"
confidence_score: 0.88
created_at: 2026-06-23
updated_at: 2026-06-23
review_reason: ""
merge_history: []
tags: ["css", "web", "frontend", "w3schools", "pseudo-classes", "links"]
raw_sources: ["https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_pseudo_classes_interactive.asp"]
applied_in: []
github_commit: ""
---

# [[CSS Interactive Pseudo-classes]]

## 🎯 한 줄 통찰 (One-line insight)
Interactive pseudo-classes style elements in response to user actions — the four link states (`:link`, `:visited`, `:hover`, `:active`) must be declared in a specific order, and `:hover`/`:focus` also power effects like tooltips and highlighted inputs. [S1]

## 🧠 핵심 개념 (Core concepts)
- **Four link states** — `:link` (unvisited), `:visited` (visited), `:hover` (mouseover), `:active` (when clicked/activated). [S1]
- **Order matters** — `a:hover` MUST come after `a:link` and `a:visited` to be effective; `a:active` MUST come after `a:hover` to be effective. [S1]
- **`:hover` is not just for links** — it can apply to any element, e.g. a `<div>`. [S1]
- **`:focus`** — styles a form input while it has focus. [S1]
- **Hover-driven reveal** — `div:hover p` can show a hidden paragraph, producing a simple tooltip effect. [S1]
- **Combine with classes** — pseudo-classes can be combined with HTML classes, e.g. `a.highlight:hover`. [S1]

## 🧩 추출된 패턴 (Extracted patterns)
- **LVHA ordering** — declare link, visited, hover, active in that cascade order so each rule takes effect. [S1]
- **Hover-to-reveal** — hide a child (`display: none`) and show it (`display: block`) on parent hover for a tooltip. [S1]
- **Scoped hover** — pair a class with `:hover` (`a.highlight:hover`) to limit the effect to selected elements. [S1]

## 📖 세부 내용 (Details)
**Link pseudo-classes (the four states)**
Style links through different states using `:link`, `:visited`, `:hover`, and `:active`: [S1]
```css
/* unvisited link */
a:link {
  color: #FF0000;
}

/* visited link */
a:visited {
  color: #00FF00;
}

/* mouse over link */
a:hover {
  color: #FF00FF;
}

/* selected link */
a:active {
  color: #0000FF;
}
```

**Ordering note**
`a:hover` MUST come after `a:link` and `a:visited` in the CSS definition in order to be effective! `a:active` MUST come after `a:hover` in the CSS definition in order to be effective! [S1]

**`:hover` on a `div` element** [S1]
```css
div:hover {
  background-color: blue;
}
```

**Simple tooltip hover effect**
Hovering over a `<div>` reveals a hidden paragraph: [S1]
```css
p {
  display: none;
  background-color: yellow;
  padding: 20px;
}

div:hover p {
  display: block;
}
```

**`:focus` on an `input` element** [S1]
```css
input:focus {
  background-color: yellow;
}
```

**Combining pseudo-classes with HTML classes** [S1]
```css
a.highlight:hover {
  color: #ff0000;
}
```

## 🛠️ 적용 사례 (Applied in summary)
The page's own applied examples are: coloring the four anchor link states, changing a `div` background on hover, a hover-reveal tooltip (`div:hover p`), highlighting a focused input, and a class-scoped hover (`a.highlight:hover`). No external project/commit applications found in the source.

## 💻 코드 패턴 (Code patterns)
Hover-to-reveal tooltip (language: CSS):
```css
p {
  display: none;
}

div:hover p {
  display: block;
}
```
Class-scoped hover:
```css
a.highlight:hover {
  color: #ff0000;
}
```

## ⚖️ 비교 및 선택 기준 (Comparison & decision criteria)
- **`:hover` vs `:active` vs `:focus`** — `:hover` reacts to the mouse being over an element, `:active` to the element being activated (e.g. clicked), and `:focus` to an element (typically a form field) holding focus. For links, all four states must follow the LVHA order to apply correctly. [S1]

## ⚖️ 모순 및 업데이트 (Contradictions & updates)
No contradictions found in the source.

## ✅ 검증 상태 및 신뢰도
- **상태:** draft
- **검증 단계:** conceptual (실제 적용 사례 발견 시 applied/validated로 승격 가능)
- **출처 신뢰도:** B (W3Schools — widely used educational reference, not a primary standards body)
- **신뢰 점수:** 0.88
- **중복 검사 결과:** 신규 생성 (New discovery)

## 🔗 지식 그래프 (Knowledge Graph)
- **상위/루트:** [[CSS Tutorial]]
- **관련 개념:** [[CSS Pseudo-classes]], [[CSS Combinators]], [[CSS Links]], [[CSS Selectors]]
- **참조 맥락:** Referenced when styling link states, hover/focus interactions, and hover-driven UI such as tooltips.

## 📚 출처 (Sources)
- [S1] W3Schools — CSS Interactive Pseudo-classes — https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_pseudo_classes_interactive.asp

## 📝 변경 이력 (Change history)
- 2026-06-23: Initial draft synthesized from the W3Schools "CSS Interactive Pseudo-classes" page (Astra wiki-curation, P-Reinforce v3.1 format).