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CSS Flexbox Generator

Build CSS flexbox layouts visually with live preview of justify, align, wrap, and gap properties.

Container Properties

3 items

Live Preview (click an item to edit its properties)

1
2
3
Generated CSS
.flex-container {
  display: flex;
  gap: 8px;
}
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is CSS Flexbox?
CSS Flexible Box Layout (Flexbox) is a one-dimensional layout module that distributes space among items in a container. It provides powerful alignment and distribution capabilities, making it easy to create responsive layouts that adapt to different screen sizes. Flexbox works along a main axis and cross axis, with properties to control alignment on both axes.
What is the difference between Flexbox and CSS Grid?
Flexbox is designed for one-dimensional layouts — either a row or a column. CSS Grid is designed for two-dimensional layouts — rows and columns simultaneously. Use Flexbox for components like navigation bars, card rows, and form layouts. Use Grid for page-level layouts and complex two-dimensional arrangements. They can be combined: Grid for the page layout and Flexbox within Grid items.
What does flex-direction control?
flex-direction sets the main axis of the flex container. The default value is "row" which lays items out horizontally left-to-right. "column" lays items out vertically top-to-bottom. "row-reverse" and "column-reverse" reverse the direction. The main axis determines the direction items flow and how justify-content works.
What is the difference between justify-content and align-items?
justify-content aligns items along the main axis (the direction set by flex-direction). align-items aligns items along the cross axis (perpendicular to the main axis). In a row layout, justify-content controls horizontal spacing and align-items controls vertical alignment. In a column layout, these roles are swapped.
What does flex-wrap do?
By default, flex items try to fit on one line (nowrap). flex-wrap: wrap allows items to wrap onto multiple lines when they cannot fit in a single line. This is essential for responsive layouts where items should stack on smaller screens. flex-wrap: wrap-reverse wraps items in reverse order.
How do flex-grow, flex-shrink, and flex-basis work?
flex-grow determines how much extra space an item takes relative to other items (0 means no growth, 1 means take equal share). flex-shrink determines how much an item shrinks when space is limited (0 means no shrinking). flex-basis sets the initial size before growing or shrinking. The shorthand "flex: 1" is equivalent to "flex-grow: 1; flex-shrink: 1; flex-basis: 0%".

How to Use the CSS Flexbox Generator

CSS Flexbox is one of the most powerful layout tools available to web developers, but its many properties can be confusing when you are first learning. Our visual Flexbox playground lets you experiment with every Flexbox property and see the results instantly, then copy the generated CSS code for your projects.

Step 1: Configure container properties. Set the flex-direction (row, column, row-reverse, column-reverse), justify-content (flex-start, center, flex-end, space-between, space-around, space-evenly), align-items (stretch, flex-start, center, flex-end, baseline), and flex-wrap (nowrap, wrap, wrap-reverse). Each change is reflected immediately in the live preview.

Step 2: Add or remove items. Use the controls to add flex items to the container. Each item can have its own flex-grow, flex-shrink, and flex-basis values. This lets you see exactly how flex properties distribute space among items of different sizes and growth factors.

Step 3: Adjust gap spacing. Set the gap property to add consistent spacing between flex items without using margins. The gap property is well-supported in modern browsers and is the recommended way to add spacing in Flexbox layouts.

Step 4: Copy the CSS. The generated CSS code updates in real-time as you make changes. Copy the complete CSS for both the container and items directly into your stylesheet. The code uses modern Flexbox syntax compatible with all current browsers.

Understanding Flexbox Layout

Flexbox operates on two axes: the main axis (defined by flex-direction) and the cross axis (perpendicular to the main axis). In a row layout, the main axis is horizontal and the cross axis is vertical. In a column layout, it is reversed. Understanding this distinction is key to mastering Flexbox, because justify-content controls alignment on the main axis and align-items controls alignment on the cross axis.

The flex shorthand property (flex: 1 1 0%) combines flex-grow, flex-shrink, and flex-basis into a single declaration. When you write flex: 1, each item takes an equal share of available space. When one item has flex: 2 and another has flex: 1, the first item takes twice as much of the available space. This proportional distribution makes Flexbox ideal for responsive layouts.

Common Flexbox Patterns

Centered content. The simplest way to center content both horizontally and vertically is to use display: flex with justify-content: center and align-items: center on the container. This two-line centering technique replaced complex margin and positioning hacks that were common before Flexbox.

Navigation bars. Flexbox is perfect for navigation layouts. Use justify-content: space-between to push a logo to the left and navigation links to the right. The gap property adds consistent spacing between nav items without extra margin rules.

Card grids. Combine flex-wrap: wrap with a fixed flex-basis on items to create responsive card layouts. For example, flex: 0 1 calc(33.333% - 16px) creates a three-column layout that wraps to fewer columns on smaller screens.

Sticky footer. Make the page wrapper display: flex with flex-direction: column and min-height: 100vh, then set flex: 1 on the main content area. The footer will always stick to the bottom of the viewport even when content is short.

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