CSS place-items

The CSS place-items property is a shorthand property for the align-items and justify-items properties.

The first value sets align-items and the second value sets justify-items. If only one value is provided, it sets both properties.

Syntax

These values are explained below.

Possible Values

auto
Uses the value provided by the justify-items property on the parent container. If the element has no parent, then this value computes to normal.
normal
Represents the "default" alignment for the layout mode.
stretch

If the combined size of the alignment subjects is less than the size of the alignment container, any auto-sized alignment subjects have their size increased equally (not proportionally), while still respecting the constraints imposed by the max-height/max-width properties (or equivalent functionality), so that the combined size exactly fills the alignment container.

The default fallback alignment for this value is flex-start.

baseline-position

The first and last values give a box a baseline alignment preference. The default value is first.

Values:

baseline
Computes to first baseline.
first baseline
Aligns the alignment baseline of the box's first baseline set with the corresponding baseline of its alignment context. The fallback alignment for first baseline is start.
last baseline
Aligns the alignment baseline of the box's last baseline set with the corresponding baseline of its alignment context. The fallback alignment for last baseline is end.

self-position

Possible values:

center
Centers the alignment subject within its alignment container.
start
Aligns the alignment subject to be flush with the alignment container's start edge in the appropriate axis.
end
Aligns the alignment subject to be flush with the alignment container's end edge in the appropriate axis.
self-start
Aligns the alignment subject to be flush with the edge of the alignment container corresponding to the alignment subject's start side in the appropriate axis.
self-end
Aligns the alignment subject to be flush with the edge of the alignment container corresponding to the alignment subject's end side in the appropriate axis.
left
Aligns the alignment subject to be flush with the alignment container's line-left edge. If the property's axis is not parallel with the inline axis, this value behaves as start.
right
Aligns the alignment subject to be flush with the alignment container's line-right edge. If the property's axis is not parallel with the inline axis, this value behaves as start.
flex-start
Only used in flex layout. The cross-start margin edge of the flex item is placed flush with the cross-start edge of the line.
flex-end
Only used in flex layout. The cross-end margin edge of the flex item is placed flush with the cross-end edge of the line.

In addition, all CSS properties also accept the following CSS-wide keyword values as the sole component of their property value:

initial
Represents the value specified as the property's initial value.
inherit
Represents the computed value of the property on the element's parent.
unset
This value acts as either inherit or initial, depending on whether the property is inherited or not. In other words, it sets all properties to their parent value if they are inheritable or to their initial value if not inheritable.

Basic Property Information

Initial Value
normal auto (based on the individual properties)
Applies To
All elements
Inherited?
No
Media
Visual
Animatable
No

Example Code

Basic CSS

Working Example within an HTML Document

This example uses CSS grid. It aligns grid items within a grid container.

Try it

CSS Specifications

The place-items property is defined in CSS Box Alignment Module Level 3 (W3C Working Draft).

Vendor Prefixes

For maximum browser compatibility many web developers add browser-specific properties by using extensions such as -webkit- for Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera (newer versions), -ms- for Internet Explorer, -moz- for Firefox, -o- for older versions of Opera etc. As with any CSS property, if a browser doesn't support a proprietary extension, it will simply ignore it.

This practice is not recommended by the W3C, however in many cases, the only way you can test a property is to include the CSS extension that is compatible with your browser.

The major browser manufacturers generally strive to adhere to the W3C specifications, and when they support a non-prefixed property, they typically remove the prefixed version. Also, W3C advises vendors to remove their prefixes for properties that reach Candidate Recommendation status.

Many developers use Autoprefixer, which is a postprocessor for CSS. Autoprefixer automatically adds vendor prefixes to your CSS so that you don't need to. It also removes old, unnecessary prefixes from your CSS.

You can also use Autoprefixer with preprocessors such as Less and Sass.