XPath 1.0 functions

XPath Functions Reference (with Examples)

Every XPath function you need, in one place. Browse string, numeric, boolean, and node helpers with Selenium-friendly examples. Works great with the XPath playground for quick validation.

Test in playground Cheat sheet Axes guide Scraping recipes

String functions

contains(haystack, needle)

contains(@class, 'btn')

Partial match for attributes or text nodes.

starts-with(haystack, prefix)

starts-with(@id, 'user-')

Great for dynamic IDs.

substring(string, start, length)

substring(text(), 1, 5)

Positions start at 1 in XPath.

substring-before(string, delimiter)

substring-before(@href, '?')

Use for URL base extraction.

substring-after(string, delimiter)

substring-after(@href, '=')

Capture query parameter values.

string-length(string)

string-length(text()) > 10

Guard against empty nodes.

concat(str1, str2, ...)

concat(@first, '-', @last)

Combine attributes for unique keys.

normalize-space(string)

normalize-space(text())

Trim and collapse whitespace.

translate(string, from, to)

translate(@class,'ABC','abc')

Normalize casing.

Numeric functions

count(node-set)

count(//div)

Returns number of nodes.

sum(node-set)

sum(//price/@amount)

Sum numeric attributes.

number(value)

number(@value)

Cast strings to numbers.

floor(number)

floor(3.9)

Round down.

ceiling(number)

ceiling(3.1)

Round up.

round(number)

round(3.5)

Banker’s rounding in XPath 1.0.

Boolean functions

boolean(object)

boolean(@checked)

Convert to boolean.

not(boolean)

not(@disabled)

Negate conditions.

true()

Return true literal.

false()

Return false literal.

Node functions

name(node)

name() = 'div'

Full QName.

local-name(node)

local-name() = 'svg'

Without namespace prefix.

namespace-uri(node)

namespace-uri()

Useful in SVG/XML docs.

position()

position() = 1

Index within the current context.

last()

//li[last()]

Last node in the context set.

Function usage tips

String comparison is case-sensitive; normalize with translate() if needed.
Use number() before math comparisons on numeric-looking attributes.
Combine count() with predicates to enforce structure, e.g., //form[count(input)>=2].
position() is relative to the current node set—scope it with a leading dot when chaining.

Browser compatibility

document.evaluate (XPath 1.0) is supported in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge.
XPath 2.0 functions (e.g., matches()) are not available in native browsers—use a library such as fontoxpath.
SVG and XML namespaces require namespace-uri() or explicit prefixes.
Playwright supports both CSS and XPath; prefer role selectors first, then XPath for text/ancestor logic.

Practice quickly

Pick a function, craft a predicate, then run it in the XPath playground. Not sure where to start? The examples library and Selenium guide show function-heavy selectors you can copy.