Node.cloneNode()

The Node.cloneNode() method returns a duplicate of the node on which this method was called.

Syntax

let newClone = node.cloneNode([deep])
node

The node to be cloned.

newClone

The new node, cloned from node.

The newClone has no parent and is not part of the document, until it is added to another node that is part of the document (using Node.appendChild() or a similar method).

deep Optional

If true, then node and its whole subtree—including text that may be in child Text nodes—is also copied.

If false, only node will be cloned. Any text that node contains is not cloned, either (since text is contained by one or more child Text nodes).

deep has no effect on empty elements (such as the <img> and <input> elements).

Example

let p = document.getElementById("para1")
let p_prime = p.cloneNode(true)

Notes

Cloning a node copies all of its attributes and their values, including intrinsic (inline) listeners. It does not copy event listeners added using addEventListener() or those assigned to element properties (e.g., node.onclick = someFunction). Additionally, for a <canvas> element, the painted image is not copied.

Warning: cloneNode() may lead to duplicate element IDs in a document!

If the original node has an id attribute, and the clone will be placed in the same document, then you should modify the clone's ID to be unique.

Also, name attributes may need to be modified also, depending on whether duplicate names are expected.

To clone a node to insert into a different document, use Document.importNode() instead.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
cloneNode
1
12
1
6
7
1.1
1
18
4
10.1
1
1.0

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https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Node/cloneNode