# hx-history-elt
The `hx-history-elt` attribute marks the element that htmx should swap when restoring a page from
history (back/forward navigation). Only this element is replaced — the rest of the page is left
untouched.
When a history restore request is made, htmx sends a `GET` request with the
[`HX-History-Restore-Request`](https://four.htmx.org/reference/headers/HX-History-Restore-Request) header. The server
should return a full page response; htmx selects the `hx-history-elt` element from it and swaps it
into the matching element in the current page.
## Syntax
```html
```
## Example
```html
Page 1
```
The server should detect `HX-History-Restore-Request` and return a full page containing a matching
`hx-history-elt` element:
```
if request.headers["HX-History-Restore-Request"]:
return render_full_page() # includes ...
else:
return render_fragment() # just the inner content
```
## Notes
* Only one `hx-history-elt` element should exist in the page at a time
* If no `hx-history-elt` is present, htmx falls back to swapping ``
* The server response must include a `hx-history-elt` element for the select to work; if it is
missing, htmx falls back to a full body swap
* In htmx 2, history was cached in localStorage. In htmx 4, caching has moved to the
[`hx-history-cache`](https://four.htmx.org/docs/extensions/history-cache) extension — `hx-history-elt` works with
both the core re-fetch behavior and the extension's cache restore