jQuery 3.6.2 Released with Adjustments for Chrome’s New :has() Selector

Four months after the 3.6.1 release, jQuery 3.6.2 has been published, driven by Chrome’s introduction of new selectors.

Chrome recently added several new selectors, the most impactful being :has(). This popular addition is welcomed by the jQuery team, but the specification change means :has() now uses “forgiving parsing”; even if its argument is invalid, the browser returns no results instead of throwing an error.

Problems arise when :has() contains another jQuery selector extension, such as :has(:contains("Item")), or nests itself like :has(div:has(a)). Sizzle relies on such failures to decide when to trust the native querySelectorAll and when to run selectors through Sizzle.

The Chrome team implemented a workaround that fixes most cases for earlier jQuery versions. jQuery has also taken measures to ensure that forgiving parsing will not break future jQuery releases, although older versions may still be affected.

For other changes and fixes, see the official release announcement.

jQuery is a fast, small, and feature‑rich JavaScript library that simplifies HTML document traversal and manipulation, event handling, animation, and Ajax through an easy‑to‑use API that works across many browsers, combining versatility and extensibility to change how millions write JavaScript.