Flexbox Cheat Sheet

Container

• display: flex or display: inline-flex: creates a flex context (or an inline flex context) for direct children of this element
• flex-direction determines the main and cross axis for the container, valid values are:
  • row (default): horizontal, in the direction of writing (left to right for English)
  • row-reverse: horizontal, in the opposite direction of writing (right to left for English)
  • column: vertical, top to bottom
  • column-reverse: vertical, bottom to top
• flex-wrap determines if flex items will try to fit in one line, valid values are:
  • nowrap (default): all flex items will be on one line
  • wrap: flex items will wrap onto multiple lines, top to bottom
  • wrap-reverse: flex items will wrap onto multiple lines, bottom to top
• flex-flow: shorthand combining flex-direction and flex-wrap
  • Formal syntax: flex-flow: <'flex-direction'> || <'flex-wrap'>
• justify-content defines the alignment along the main axis, valid values are:
  • flex-start (default): pack flex items from the start
  • flex-end: pack flex items from the end
  • start: pack items from the start
  • end: pack items from the end
  • left: pack items from the left
  • right: pack items from the right
  • center: pack items around the center
  • space-around: distribute items evenly with equal space around them
  • space-between: distribute items evenly with equal space between them
  • space-evenly: distribute items evenly, ensuring equal space between any two items
  • stretch: distribute items evenly, stretching auto-sized items to fit the container
• align-items defines the alignment along the cross axis, valid values are:
  • flex-start (default): pack flex items from the start
  • flex-end: pack flex items from the end
  • start: pack items from the start
  • end: pack items from the end
  • center: pack items around the center
  • baseline: align items based on their baselines
  • stretch: stretch items to fill the container
• align-content defines the alignment of extra space along the cross axis, valid values are:
  • flex-start (default): pack flex items from the start
  • flex-end: pack flex items from the end
  • start: pack items from the start
  • end: pack items from the end
  • center: pack items around the center
  • space-around: distribute items evenly with equal space around them
  • space-between: distribute items evenly with equal space between them
  • space-evenly: distribute items evenly, ensuring equal space between any two items
  • stretch: distribute items evenly, stretching auto-sized items to fit the container

Items

• flex-grow determines how much the item can grow if necessary
  • Accepts a single positive number (unitless), default value is 0
  • Specifies how much of the remaining space in the flex container should be assigned to the item
  • The remaining space is the size of the flex container minus the size of all flex items’ sizes together
  • If all items have the same flex-grow, all items will receive an equal share of the remaining space
  • If not all items have the same flex-grow, the remaining space is distributed according to the ratio defined by these values
• flex-shrink determines how much the items can shrink if necessary
  • Accepts a single positive number (unitless), default value is 1
  • If the size of all flex items is larger than the flex container, items shrink to fit according to flex-shrink
• flex-basis determines the initial size of a flex item before the remaining space is distributed
  • Can use any valid width value, intrinsic size values, auto (default) or content
  • auto means “look at my width or height property”, whereas content is used for automatic sizing
• flex: shorthand combining flex-grow, flex-shrink and flex-basis
  • Formal syntax: flex: none | [ <'flex-grow'> <'flex-shrink'>? || <'flex-basis'> ]
• align-self allows the item to override the default align-items specified by the container
  • Valid values are the same as those of the align-items property in the container
• order determines the ordering of the item
  • Accepts an integer value
  • Items in a container are sorted by ascending order value and then by their source code order
  • Might cause accessibility issues if used incorrectly