# selector-max-compound-selectors Limit the number of compound selectors in a selector. ```css div .bar[data-val] > a.baz + .boom > #lorem {} /* ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ | | | | | Lv1 Lv2 Lv3 Lv4 Lv5 -- these are compound selectors */ ``` A [compound selector](https://www.w3.org/TR/selectors4/#compound) is a chain of one or more simple (tag, class, id, universal, attribute) selectors. If there is more than one compound selector in a complete selector, they will be separated by combinators (e.g. ` `, `+`, `>`). One reason why you might want to limit the number of compound selectors is described in the [SMACSS book](https://smacss.com/book/applicability). This rule resolves nested selectors before calculating the depth of a selector. `:not()` is considered one compound selector irrespective to the complexity of the selector inside it. The rule *does* process that inner selector, but does so separately, independent of the main selector. ## Options `int`: Maximum compound selectors allowed. For example, with `3`: The following patterns are considered warnings: ```css .foo .bar .baz .lorem {} ``` ```css .foo .baz { & > .bar .lorem {} } ``` The following patterns are *not* considered warnings: ```css div {} ``` ```css .foo div {} ``` ```css #foo #bar > #baz {} ``` ```css .foo + div :not (a b ~ c) {} /* `a b ~ c` is inside :not() and is processed separately */ ```