A practical CSS picker for Chrome

Copy CSS from a website element, not the whole website

Spot a button, card or heading worth studying? Select that element, check its current computed CSS and copy a smaller snippet to adapt in your own code.

Free: 5 successful CSS copies per day

See the 4-step guide

Example of a filtered CSS snippetCSS

.copied-element {
  background-color: #2563eb;
  color: #ffffff;
  padding: 12px 18px;
  border-radius: 10px;
  font-weight: 600;
}

Illustrative output · actual values depend on the selected element

Find the useful CSS without digging through a stylesheet

When you only need the spacing on a card or the type settings on a heading, opening source files and following the cascade can be more investigation than the task needs. This extension gives you a readable starting point for one element. It is a shortcut for inspection, not a replacement for DevTools.

What goes into the CSS snippet

Typography you can work with

Inspect font family, size, weight, line height and other supported text properties.

Colour and surface details

Grab selected colour, background, border, radius, shadow and gradient values. URL-based images are left out.

Layout and spacing

See supported display, flex/grid, margin, padding, gap and sizing values when they are useful.

A preview before copying

The panel shows the code in a read-only field, so you can decide whether it is worth copying.

How to copy the CSS of an element

01
Open a normal webpage
Use a supported HTTP or HTTPS page. Browser settings and Chrome Web Store pages cannot be inspected.
02
Start the element picker
Click the extension icon and choose “Select an element”. A highlight follows the element under your pointer.
03
Review the computed styles
Click the button, card or other element you want. Read the generated .copied-element rule in the panel.
04
Copy and adjust
Choose “Copy CSS”, paste into your project, and edit the selector or values to suit your layout.

Useful for small, real front-end tasks

Rebuilding a button

Check the rounded corners, text styling and colours of a button before recreating your own version.

Studying a card

Use the margin, padding, border and shadow values as a reference for a prototype.

Checking typography

Get the current font-related values of a heading or label while learning how a page is styled.

Computed CSS versus original CSS

The extension reads computed styles from the selected DOM element using the browser. It does not recover the original selector, author-written CSS declarations, Sass source, media queries or the rules that won in the cascade. The .copied-element selector in the preview is a placeholder: replace it before using the code.

When to use this instead of DevTools

Use the extension when you want a quick, filtered snippet to paste somewhere else. Use Chrome DevTools when you need to trace a rule back to its file, debug specificity, inspect pseudo-elements, compare states or understand the parent layout. The two workflows fit together.

What it cannot copy

One element at a time means no full component tree or website export. The result will not bring over web fonts, external background images, design tokens or responsive breakpoints. Cross-origin iframes, closed shadow roots, canvas internals and browser-restricted pages are outside the normal picker flow.

Questions before you install

Can I copy the CSS of a button from a website?

Yes, on a supported page you can select one button and copy a filtered snapshot of its computed CSS. It may need adjustment in your project.

Does this extract the original CSS file?

No. It reads a selected set of current computed values, not the stylesheet source or the original CSS selectors.

Can I copy hover styles or responsive breakpoints?

It captures values for the element in its current page state and viewport. It does not reconstruct :hover rules or media queries.

Is my webpage data uploaded?

In the standard Free build, no page URLs, HTML or CSS snippets are sent to the publisher. Processing happens inside Chrome.

How many free CSS copies do I get?

Five successful copies per local calendar day. An unsuccessful clipboard write should not use one of them.

Why can’t I select an element on some tabs?

Chrome restricts extension scripts on internal pages and its Web Store. Cross-origin frames and some embedded content are not selectable in the normal way.

Does the copied snippet recreate the same design?

Not necessarily. The original parent layout, assets, fonts and responsive rules may be missing. Treat the snippet as a starting point.

A browser-side workflow

The standard Free extension uses temporary access to the active tab after you start the picker. The CSS and page content stay local. No signup is needed, and nothing is copied to your clipboard until you press “Copy CSS”.