Web/CSS/-webkit-line-clamp

The -webkit-line-clamp CSS property allows limiting of the contents of a block container to the specified number of lines.

It only works in combination with the display property set to -webkit-box or -webkit-inline-box and the -webkit-box-orient property set to vertical.

In most cases you will also want to set overflow to hidden, otherwise the contents won't be clipped but an ellipsis will still be shown after the specified number of lines.

When applied to anchor elements, the truncating can happen in the middle of the text, not necessarily at the end.

Note: This property was originally implemented in WebKit and has some issues. It got standardized for legacy support. The CSS Overflow Module Level 3 specification also defines a line-clamp property, which is meant to replace this property and avoid its issues.

Syntax

/* Keyword value */
-webkit-line-clamp: none;

/* <integer> values */
-webkit-line-clamp: 3;
-webkit-line-clamp: 10;

/* Global values */
-webkit-line-clamp: inherit;
-webkit-line-clamp: initial;
-webkit-line-clamp: unset;

none: This value specifies that the content wonʼt be clamped.
<integer>: This value specifies the number of lines after which the content will be clamped. It must be greater than 0.

Formal definition

Initial value	`none`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	by computed value type

Formal syntax

none | <integer>

Examples

Truncating a paragraph

HTML

<p>
  In this example the <code>-webkit-line-clamp</code> property is set to <code>3</code>, which means the text is clamped after three lines.
  An ellipsis will be shown at the point where the text is clamped.
</p>

CSS

p {
  width: 300px;
  display: -webkit-box;
  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
  -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
  overflow: hidden;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Overflow Module Level 3The definition of '-webkit-line-clamp' in that specification.	Working Draft	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`-webkit-line-clamp`	Chrome Full support 6	Edge Full support 17	Firefox Full support 68	IE No support No	Opera Full support 15	Safari Full support 5	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 68	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 4.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support