A Quick Guide to Check Which Latest CSS Features Your Browser Engine Supports

You’ve worked hard to write the latest CSS features, hoping to show off some cool animations or modern layouts—only to find that they don’t work at all in certain browsers?

The key reason actually lies in the differences in browser engine support for CSS features. So how can we scientifically determine whether a browser supports the latest CSS features?

Today, we’ll talk about browser engine detection, browser fingerprint detection, and how to use the ToDetect fingerprint query tool to easily solve compatibility issues from a front-end development and testing perspective.

1. What Is a Browser Engine?

A browser engine, also known as a rendering engine, determines how a browser parses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and ultimately renders pages on the screen.

The main browser engines include:

• Blink engine: Chrome, Edge, Opera

• WebKit engine: Safari

• Gecko engine: Firefox

• Trident / EdgeHTML engine: Legacy IE / Edge

Different engines support new CSS features to varying degrees. For example, backdrop-filter or the :has() selector work well in Blink-based browsers, but may not be fully supported in WebKit or Gecko engines.

Therefore, if you want to know whether a CSS feature works in a user’s browser, the first step is to identify the browser engine.

2. How to PerformBrowser Engine Detection

1. Browser Engine Detection

The most straightforward approach is to use front-end JavaScript to detect the user’s browser engine. For example, you can use navigator.userAgent to retrieve browser information:

const ua = navigator.userAgent; if (/Chrome/.test(ua) && /Edg/.test(ua) === false) { console.log("This is a Chrome browser with the Blink engine"); } else if (/Safari/.test(ua) && !/Chrome/.test(ua)) { console.log("This is a Safari browser with the WebKit engine"); } else if (/Firefox/.test(ua)) { console.log("This is a Firefox browser with the Gecko engine"); } 

This method is simple and direct, but it has a drawback: users can modify the UserAgent, and some browsers may run in compatibility mode, leading to inaccurate detection.

2. Browser Fingerprint Detection

For greater accuracy, you can use the ToDetect browser fingerprint detection tool, which helps you:

• Accurately obtain browser engine information

• Query CSS feature support

• Analyze rendering performance and compatibility issues

In front-end projects, combining browser fingerprint detection allows you to load different CSS or apply polyfills based on different engines, ensuring that pages render correctly across all browsers.

3. How to Determine Browser Engine Support for CSS Features

Once you know the browser engine, you still need to determine whether a specific CSS feature is supported. Here are several common methods:

1. CSS Support Detection API

Modern browsers provide the CSS.supports() API, which can dynamically detect whether a feature is available. For example:

if (CSS.supports("backdrop-filter", "blur(5px)")) { console.log("The browser supports backdrop-filter"); } else { console.log("The browser does not support backdrop-filter and requires a fallback"); } 

This approach works even better when combined with browser engine detection. For example, you can first confirm the user is on a Blink-based browser, then use CSS.supports() to verify feature support—accurate and reliable.

2. Feature Queries (@supports)

If you prefer writing CSS, you can use @supports:

@supports (display: grid) { .container { display: grid; } } 

This approach conditionally applies styles based on feature support, preventing layout breakage.

4. Browser Engine Detection: Practical Tips

• Combine with the ToDetect fingerprint query tool

During the testing phase, use ToDetect to analyze browser fingerprints of your target audience, understand the distribution of mainstream engines, and optimize CSS accordingly.

• Prioritize progressive enhancement

There’s no need for every user to see the latest features. Use @supports or CSS.supports() to handle compatibility gracefully.

• Build a browser engine mapping table

Front-end teams can maintain a mapping table of engine support for CSS features—for example, Blink supports the latest Flexbox features, while legacy Trident requires fallback solutions.

• Dynamically load polyfills

For unsupported CSS features, use JavaScript to dynamically load polyfills, such as css-polyfills or custom fallback styles.

5. How to Determine Whether a Browser Engine Supports the Latest CSS Features

This cannot be solved by simply checking the UserAgent. A complete workflow generally includes:

1. Use browser engine detection to identify the user’s browser type

2. If higher accuracy is required, obtain more precise engine information through browser fingerprint detection

3. Use CSS.supports() or @supports to determine CSS feature support

4. For unsupported engines, dynamically load fallback solutions or polyfills

5. Regularly use the ToDetect fingerprint query tool to analyze user groups and optimize compatibility strategies

In Summary

If you want the latest CSS features to run smoothly across different browsers, relying on guesswork or simply checking the UserAgent is not enough.

By using browser engine detection to identify browser types, combining it with ToDetect browser fingerprint detection for precise information, and leveraging CSS.supports() or @supports to test feature support, you can handle compatibility issues in a scientific and reliable way.

Front-end development is not just about writing code—it’s an art of observation and adaptation. Master these techniques, and your CSS will work beautifully in most browsers, making development smoother and more enjoyable.