Web/CSS/Layout cookbook/Center an element

In this recipe you will see how to center one box inside another. Centering both horizontally and vertically was difficult before flexbox, with the Box Alignment properties it is now straightforward.

[[File:../../../../../../media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2018/09/23/16182/5e004ea5b85bdc0a0aa6b612809154ee/cookbook-center.png|an element centered inside a larger box]]

Requirements

To place an item into the center of another box horizontally and vertically.

Recipe

Download this example

Choices made

To center one box inside another we make the containing box a flex container. Then set align-items to center to perform centering on the block axis, and justify-content to center to perform centering on the inline axis.

In the future we may be able to center elements without needing to turn the parent into a flex container, as the Box Alignment properties used here are specified to apply to block layout too. However, support is currently limited for box alignment properties on block layout, so currently centering using Flexbox is the most robust way to achieve this.

Browser compatibility

The various layout methods have different browser support. See the charts below for details on basic support for the properties used.

align-items

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
Supported in Flex Layout	Chrome Full support 52 Full support 52 Partial support 29 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Chrome 52. Full support 21 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Edge Full support 12 Full support 12 Full support 12 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Full support 20 Notes' Full support 20 Notes' Notes' Multi-line flexbox has been supported since Firefox 28. Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- No support 18 — 20 Disabled' Disabled' From version 18 until version 20 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.flexbox.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config. Full support 48 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 48: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE Full support 11 Notes' Full support 11 Notes' Notes' In Internet Explorer 10 and 11, if column flex items have `align-items: center;` set on them and their content is too large, then they will overflow the bounds of their container. See Flexbug #2.	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 7 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	WebView Android Full support 52 Full support 52 Partial support 4.4 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Chrome 52. Full support ≤37 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Chrome Android Full support 52 Full support 52 Partial support 29 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Chrome 52. Full support 25 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Android Full support 20 Notes' Full support 20 Notes' Notes' Multi-line flexbox has been supported since Firefox 28. Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- No support 18 — 20 Disabled' Disabled' From version 18 until version 20 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.flexbox.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config. Full support 48 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 48: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 12.1	Safari iOS Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 7 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.0 Full support 6.0 Partial support 2.0 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Samsung Internet 6.0. Full support 1.5 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-
Supported in Grid Layout	Chrome Full support 57	Edge Full support 16	Firefox Full support 52	IE No support No	Opera Full support 44	Safari Full support 10.1	WebView Android Full support 57	Chrome Android Full support 52	Firefox Android Full support 52	Opera Android Full support 43	Safari iOS Full support 10.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.2

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.

justify-content

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
Supported in Flex Layout	Chrome Full support 52 Full support 52 Partial support 29 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Chrome 52. Full support 21 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Edge Full support 12 Full support 12 Full support 12 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Full support 20 Notes' Full support 20 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 27, Firefox supported only single-line flexbox. No support 18 — 20 Disabled' Disabled' From version 18 until version 20 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.flexbox.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config. Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Full support 48 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 48: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE Full support 11	Opera Full support 12.1	Safari Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 6.1 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	WebView Android Full support 52 Full support 52 Partial support 4.4 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Chrome 52. Full support ≤37 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Chrome Android Full support 52 Full support 52 Partial support 29 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Chrome 52. Full support 25 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Android Full support 20 Notes' Full support 20 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 27, Firefox supported only single-line flexbox. No support 18 — 20 Disabled' Disabled' From version 18 until version 20 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.flexbox.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config. Full support 49 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Full support 48 Prefixed' Disabled' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled' From version 48: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 12.1	Safari iOS Full support 9 Full support 9 Full support 6.1 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.0 Full support 6.0 Partial support 2.0 Notes' Notes' Older versions of the specification treat absolute positioned children as though they are a 0 by 0 flex item. Later specification versions take the children out of the flow and set their positions based on align and justify properties. Chrome implements the new behavior beginning with Chrome 52. Full support 1.5 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-
Supported in Grid Layout	Chrome Full support 57	Edge Full support 16	Firefox Full support 52	IE No support No	Opera Full support 44	Safari Full support 10.1	WebView Android Full support 57	Chrome Android Full support 52	Firefox Android Full support 52	Opera Android Full support 43	Safari iOS Full support 10.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.2

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.

Resources on MDN

Center an element by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.