Cheerio API Reference

Cheerio is a fast, flexible, and elegant server-side implementation of core jQuery functionality. It provides a familiar jQuery-like API for parsing and manipulating HTML and XML documents in Node.js environments.

Core Loading Functions

`cheerio.load(content, options?)`

Loads HTML/XML content and returns a CheerioAPI instance for querying and manipulation.

Signature:

function load(
  content: string | AnyNode | AnyNode[] | Buffer,
  options?: CheerioOptions,
  isDocument?: boolean
): CheerioAPI

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`content`	`string \| AnyNode \| AnyNode[] \| Buffer`	-	HTML/XML content to parse
`options`	`CheerioOptions`	`{}`	Parser and behavior options
`isDocument`	`boolean`	`true`	Whether to treat content as a complete document

Returns: CheerioAPI - A Cheerio instance with jQuery-like methods

Examples:

import * as cheerio from 'cheerio';

// Basic HTML loading
const $ = cheerio.load('<ul><li>Apple</li><li>Orange</li></ul>');

// With options
const $ = cheerio.load('<xml><item>data</item></xml>', {
  xmlMode: true,
  decodeEntities: false
});

// Loading from buffer
const buffer = Buffer.from('<div>Hello</div>');
const $ = cheerio.load(buffer);

Common gotchas:

XML mode must be explicitly enabled for XML documents
By default, HTML5 parser rules apply (self-closing tags, etc.)
Buffer encoding is automatically detected but may need explicit specification

Element Selection

`$(selector, context?, root?)`

Selects elements from the loaded document using CSS selectors, similar to jQuery's $() function.

Signature:

function $(
  selector: string | AnyNode | AnyNode[] | Cheerio<AnyNode>,
  context?: string | AnyNode | Cheerio<AnyNode>,
  root?: string | Document
): Cheerio<Element>

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`selector`	`string \| AnyNode \| AnyNode[] \| Cheerio<AnyNode>`	-	CSS selector or elements to select
`context`	`string \| AnyNode \| Cheerio<AnyNode>`	`document`	Context to search within
`root`	`string \| Document`	-	Root document for context

Returns: Cheerio<Element> - Collection of matched elements

Examples:

// Basic selection
$('li').length; // Number of <li> elements
$('.apple').text(); // Text content of first element with class 'apple'

// With context
$('li', '#fruits').addClass('fruit'); // Find <li> within #fruits

// Complex selectors
$('li:nth-child(2n)').css('color', 'red'); // Every other <li>
$('a[href^="https://"]').attr('target', '_blank'); // External links

Attribute Manipulation

`.attr(name, value?)`

Gets or sets attributes on the matched elements.

Signature:

// Get attribute
function attr(name: string): string | undefined;
// Set attribute
function attr(name: string, value: string | null | ((i: number, attr: string) => string | null)): Cheerio<T>;
// Set multiple attributes
function attr(attributes: Record<string, string | null>): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`name`	`string \| Record<string, string \| null>`	-	Attribute name or object map
`value`	`string \| null \| function`	-	Value to set, null to remove, or function

Returns: string \| undefined \| Cheerio<T> - Attribute value (getter) or Cheerio instance (setter)

Examples:

// Get attribute
const href = $('a').attr('href'); // Gets href of first <a>

// Set attribute
$('img').attr('alt', 'Description'); // Sets alt text
$('a').attr('href', null); // Removes href attribute

// Multiple attributes
$('input').attr({
  type: 'text',
  placeholder: 'Enter name',
  required: 'required'
});

// Function-based setting
$('img').attr('src', (i, src) => src.replace('http://', 'https://'));

Common gotchas:

Setting attribute to null removes it entirely
Boolean attributes return their name when present ('checked'), not true
Functions receive index and current value as parameters

`.prop(name, value?)`

Gets or sets properties on DOM elements, handling special properties like checked, selected, etc.

Signature:

// Get property
function prop(name: string): any;
// Set property
function prop(name: string, value: any): Cheerio<T>;
// Set multiple properties
function prop(properties: Record<string, any>): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`name`	`string \| Record<string, any>`	-	Property name or object map
`value`	`any`	-	Value to set

Returns: any \| Cheerio<T> - Property value (getter) or Cheerio instance (setter)

Examples:

// Get property
const isChecked = $('input[type="checkbox"]').prop('checked'); // true/false

// Set property
$('input[type="checkbox"]').prop('checked', true);
$('option').prop('selected', false);

// Special properties
$('a').prop('href'); // Resolved absolute URL
$('div').prop('outerHTML'); // Full HTML including the element
$('div').prop('innerHTML'); // Inner HTML content

`.data(key, value?)`

Gets or sets data attributes with automatic type conversion for HTML5 data-* attributes.

Signature:

// Get all data
function data(): Record<string, unknown>;
// Get specific data
function data(key: string): unknown;
// Set data
function data(key: string, value: unknown): Cheerio<T>;
// Set multiple data
function data(values: Record<string, unknown>): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`key`	`string \| Record<string, unknown>`	-	Data key or object map
`value`	`unknown`	-	Value to set

Returns: unknown \| Record<string, unknown> \| Cheerio<T> - Data value or Cheerio instance

Examples:

// HTML: <div data-user-id="123" data-active="true">
const userId = $('.user').data('userId'); // 123 (number)
const isActive = $('.user').data('active'); // true (boolean)

// Set data
$('.user').data('lastSeen', new Date());
$('.user').data({
  role: 'admin',
  permissions: ['read', 'write']
});

// Camel case conversion
$('<div data-foo-bar="test">').data('fooBar'); // "test"

Common gotchas:

Data attributes are automatically parsed (JSON, numbers, booleans)
Camel case keys map to hyphenated data attributes
Data set via .data() doesn't update the actual HTML attribute

Content Manipulation

`.text(value?)`

Gets or sets the text content of elements, stripping all HTML tags.

Signature:

// Get text
function text(): string;
// Set text
function text(value: string | number | ((i: number, text: string) => string | number)): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`value`	`string \| number \| function`	-	Text content to set or function

Returns: string \| Cheerio<T> - Text content (getter) or Cheerio instance (setter)

Examples:

// Get text content
const title = $('h1').text(); // "Welcome to My Site"

// Set text (HTML-safe)
$('h1').text('New <Title>'); // Displays: "New <Title>" (not rendered as HTML)

// Function-based setting
$('li').text((i, currentText) => `${i + 1}. ${currentText}`);

`.html(value?)`

Gets or sets the inner HTML content of elements.

Signature:

// Get HTML
function html(): string | null;
// Set HTML
function html(value: string | ((i: number, html: string) => string)): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`value`	`string \| function`	-	HTML content to set or function

Returns: string \| null \| Cheerio<T> - HTML content (getter) or Cheerio instance (setter)

Examples:

// Get HTML
const content = $('.container').html(); // "<p>Hello <strong>world</strong></p>"

// Set HTML
$('.container').html('<p>New content</p>');

// Function-based setting
$('div').html((i, oldHtml) => `<span>Item ${i}</span>${oldHtml}`);

Common gotchas:

.html() returns inner HTML, use .prop('outerHTML') for the complete element
Setting HTML overwrites all existing content
HTML is not sanitized - be careful with user input

`.val(value?)`

Gets or sets the value of form elements (input, select, textarea).

Signature:

// Get value
function val(): string | string[] | undefined;
// Set value
function val(value: string | string[]): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`value`	`string \| string[]`	-	Value to set (array for multi-select)

Returns: string \| string[] \| undefined \| Cheerio<T> - Form value or Cheerio instance

Examples:

// Get values
const inputValue = $('input[name="email"]').val(); // "user@example.com"
const selectedOptions = $('select[multiple]').val(); // ["option1", "option2"]

// Set values
$('input[type="text"]').val('New value');
$('select[multiple]').val(['option1', 'option3']); // Selects multiple options
$('textarea').val('Long text content...');

DOM Manipulation

`.append(content)`

Inserts content as the last child of each matched element.

Signature:

function append(
  ...contents: (
    | string
    | AnyNode
    | AnyNode[]
    | Cheerio<AnyNode>
    | ((i: number, html: string) => string | AnyNode | Cheerio<AnyNode>)
  )[]
): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`contents`	`string \| AnyNode \| Cheerio \| function`	-	Content to append

Returns: Cheerio<T> - The original Cheerio instance

Examples:

// Append HTML string
$('ul').append('<li>New item</li>');

// Append multiple items
$('ul').append('<li>Item 1</li>', '<li>Item 2</li>');

// Append Cheerio object
const $newLi = $('<li>').text('Dynamic item');
$('ul').append($newLi);

// Function-based appending
$('div').append((i, html) => `<p>Section ${i + 1}</p>`);

`.remove(selector?)`

Removes matched elements from the DOM.

Signature:

function remove(selector?: string): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`selector`	`string`	-	Optional selector to filter removal

Returns: Cheerio<T> - The removed elements

Examples:

// Remove all matched elements
$('.obsolete').remove();

// Remove with filtering
$('li').remove(':contains("delete")'); // Remove <li> containing "delete"

// Chain after removal
$('p').remove().appendTo('.archive'); // Move to archive

CSS and Styling

`.css(property, value?)`

Gets or sets CSS styles on elements.

Signature:

// Get style
function css(property: string): string | undefined;
// Set style
function css(property: string, value: string | ((i: number, style: string) => string)): Cheerio<T>;
// Set multiple styles
function css(properties: Record<string, string>): Cheerio<T>;
// Get multiple styles
function css(properties: string[]): Record<string, string>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`property`	`string \| string[] \| Record<string, string>`	-	CSS property name, array, or object
`value`	`string \| function`	-	CSS value to set or function

Returns: string \| Record<string, string> \| Cheerio<T> - CSS value(s) or Cheerio instance

Examples:

// Get computed style
const color = $('.highlight').css('color'); // "red"

// Set single style
$('.box').css('background-color', 'blue');

// Set multiple styles
$('.card').css({
  'border-radius': '8px',
  'box-shadow': '0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)',
  padding: '16px'
});

// Function-based setting
$('div').css('width', (i, width) => `${parseInt(width) + 10}px`);

`.addClass(className)`

Adds CSS class(es) to matched elements.

Signature:

function addClass(
  className: string | ((i: number, currentClass: string) => string)
): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`className`	`string \| function`	-	Space-separated class names or function

Returns: Cheerio<T> - The Cheerio instance for chaining

Examples:

// Add single class
$('.item').addClass('active');

// Add multiple classes
$('.card').addClass('highlighted featured');

// Function-based adding
$('li').addClass((i, currentClass) => {
  return i % 2 === 0 ? 'even' : 'odd';
});

`.removeClass(className?)`

Removes CSS class(es) from matched elements.

Signature:

function removeClass(
  className?: string | ((i: number, currentClass: string) => string)
): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`className`	`string \| function`	-	Classes to remove, or function (omit to remove all)

Returns: Cheerio<T> - The Cheerio instance for chaining

Examples:

// Remove specific class
$('.item').removeClass('active');

// Remove multiple classes
$('.card').removeClass('highlighted featured');

// Remove all classes
$('.temp').removeClass();

// Function-based removal
$('div').removeClass((i, currentClass) => {
  return currentClass.includes('temp-') ? currentClass : '';
});

`.hasClass(className)`

Checks if any matched element has the specified CSS class.

Signature:

function hasClass(className: string): boolean;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`className`	`string`	-	Class name to check

Returns: boolean - True if any element has the class

Examples:

// Check for class
if ($('.nav-item').hasClass('active')) {
  console.log('Found active navigation item');
}

// Conditional logic
$('.button').each(function() {
  if ($(this).hasClass('primary')) {
    $(this).css('font-weight', 'bold');
  }
});

Traversal and Filtering

`.find(selector)`

Searches for descendant elements matching the selector.

Signature:

function find<T extends AnyNode>(selector: string): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`selector`	`string`	-	CSS selector to search for

Returns: Cheerio<T> - Collection of found descendant elements

Examples:

// Find descendants
const links = $('.nav').find('a'); // All <a> tags inside .nav

// Complex selectors
const activeLinks = $('.menu').find('li.active a[href]');

// Chain with other methods
$('.article').find('img').attr('loading', 'lazy');

`.each(callback)`

Iterates over matched elements, executing a callback for each.

Signature:

function each(
  callback: (this: T, i: number, el: T) => void | false
): Cheerio<T>;

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
`callback`	`function`	-	Function to execute for each element

Returns: Cheerio<T> - The original Cheerio instance

Examples:

// Basic iteration
$('li').each(function(i, el) {
  console.log(`Item ${i}: ${$(el).text()}`);
});

// Early termination
$('.item').each(function(i) {
  if ($(this).hasClass('stop')) return false; // Break loop
  $(this).addClass(`item-${i}`);
});

// Arrow function (note: `this` context differs)
$('img').each((i, img) => {
  $(img).attr('alt', `Image ${i + 1}`);
});

Common gotchas:

Return false from callback to break the loop early
Arrow functions don't bind this to the current element
Index parameter is zero-based

Form Handling

`.serialize()`

Serializes form elements into a URL-encoded query string.

Signature:

function serialize(): string;

Returns: string - URL-encoded form data

Examples:

// Serialize entire form
const formData = $('form').serialize();
// "name=John&email=john%40example.com&subscribe=on"

// Serialize specific inputs
const inputData = $('input[type="text"], select').serialize();

`.serializeArray()`

Serializes form elements into an array of name-value objects.

Signature:

function serializeArray(): Array<{ name: string; value: string }>;

Returns: Array<{ name: string; value: string }> - Array of form data objects

Examples:

// Get structured form data
const formArray = $('form').serializeArray();
// [{ name: 'email', value: 'user@example.com' }, { name: 'subscribe', value: 'on' }]

// Convert to object
const formObject = {};
$('form').serializeArray().forEach(item => {
  formObject[item.name] = item.value;
});

Common gotchas:

Only successful form controls are serialized
Disabled elements are ignored
Checkboxes/radios must be checked to be included
File inputs return filename, not file content

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