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Display Flex CSS

Reading time 1 min
Published Aug 8, 2017
Updated Jan 21, 2020

Using the CSS flex shorthand

The CSS flex property allows you to define how the size of a flex item changes to fit the container space. It is actually a shorthand for three subproperties:

Example
#main div {
    -ms-flex: 1; /* Internet Explorer 10 */
    -webkit-flex: 1; /* Safari 6.1 and higher */
    flex: 1;
}

CSS flex syntax

First, you will need to use the display property to define a flex container in CSS:

display: flex;

Now, the syntax for the CSS flex property is as follows:

flex: grow shrink flex;

You can find the property values listed and explained in the table below:

Value Description Default value
grow Specifies how much of the available flex container space should the element take up.
Defined in unitless numbers (a proportion).
0
shrink Specifies how much should the element shrink when there is not enough flex container space available.
Defined in unitless numbers (a proportion).
1
basis Specifies the starting size of the flex element. Defined in CSS length units. auto
auto Same as 1 1 auto
none Same as 0 0 auto

Browser support

Chrome
29+
Edge
12+
Firefox
20+
IE
11+
Opera
12.1+
Safari
9+

Mobile browser support

Chrome
29+
Firefox
20+
Opera
12.1+
Safari
9+
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