Proposal: new cursor: info value #13295

This issue proposes a new CSS cursor value to represent informational UI elements.

Problem

CSS currently lacks a semantic cursor for elements that provide passive informational content. The closest existing value, cursor: help, typically implies assistance, guidance, or user support, which is semantically different from indicating that an element simply provides information.

In modern user interfaces, informational elements are commonly represented by an information icon (ⓘ), such as inline explanations, tooltips, or read-only contextual descriptions. There is no dedicated cursor value that aligns with this widely understood affordance.

Proposal

Introduce a new cursor keyword:

cursor: info;

Description

The info cursor would indicate that the element provides informational content. The visual representation should be platform-native, typically resembling an information symbol (ⓘ), such as a circular outline with a centered “i”, adapted to the operating system’s cursor design conventions.

Use cases

• Hovering over information icons next to form labels

• Read-only fields with contextual explanations

• Informational tooltips that do not imply user action

• Dashboards and data-dense interfaces with inline documentation

Accessibility considerations

A dedicated informational cursor helps distinguish passive information from actionable help or interactive controls. This can reduce cognitive load and improve affordance clarity, particularly for users who rely on cursor feedback to understand interface behavior.

Prior art

Information icons (ⓘ) are widely used across design systems such as Material, Fluent, and Carbon, but CSS currently lacks a corresponding semantic cursor value.