Web/CSS/background-repeat

The background-repeat CSS property sets how background images are repeated. A background image can be repeated along the horizontal and vertical axes, or not repeated at all.

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

By default, the repeated images are clipped to the size of the element, but they can be scaled to fit (using round) or evenly distributed from end to end (using space).

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
background-repeat: repeat-x;
background-repeat: repeat-y;
background-repeat: repeat;
background-repeat: space;
background-repeat: round;
background-repeat: no-repeat;

/* Two-value syntax: horizontal | vertical */
background-repeat: repeat space;
background-repeat: repeat repeat;
background-repeat: round space;
background-repeat: no-repeat round;

/* Global values */
background-repeat: inherit;
background-repeat: initial;
background-repeat: unset;

Values

<repeat-style>: The one-value syntax is a shorthand for the full two-value syntax:; {| | Single value | Two-value equivalent |- | repeat-x | repeat no-repeat |- | repeat-y | no-repeat repeat |- | repeat | repeat repeat |- | space | space space |- | round | round round |- | no-repeat | no-repeat no-repeat |} In the two-value syntax, the first value represents the horizontal repetition behavior and the second value represents the vertical behavior. Here is an explanation of how each option works for either direction:; {| | repeat | The image is repeated as much as needed to cover the whole background image painting area. The last image will be clipped if it doesn't fit. |- | space | The image is repeated as much as possible without clipping. The first and last images are pinned to either side of the element, and whitespace is distributed evenly between the images. The background-position property is ignored unless only one image can be displayed without clipping. The only case where clipping happens using space is when there isn't enough room to display one image. |- | round | As the allowed space increases in size, the repeated images will stretch (leaving no gaps) until there is room (space left >= half of the image width) for another one to be added. When the next image is added, all of the current ones compress to allow room. Example: An image with an original width of 260px, repeated three times, might stretch until each repetition is 300px wide, and then another image will be added. They will then compress to 225px. |- | no-repeat | The image is not repeated (and hence the background image painting area will not necessarily be entirely covered). The position of the non-repeated background image is defined by the background-position CSS property. |}

Formal definition

Initial value	`repeat`
Applies to	all elements. It also applies to `::first-letter` and `::first-line`.
Inherited	no
Computed value	a list, each item consisting of two keywords, one per dimension
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

<repeat-style>#where <repeat-style> = repeat-x | repeat-y | [ repeat | space | round | no-repeat ]{1,2}

Examples

Setting background-repeat

HTML

<ol>
  <li>no-repeat
    <div class="one"></div>
  </li>
  <li>repeat
    <div class="two"></div>
  </li>
  <li>repeat-x
    <div class="three"></div>
  </li>
  <li>repeat-y
    <div class="four"></div>
  </li>
  <li>space
    <div class="five"></div>
  </li>
  <li>round
    <div class="six"></div>
  </li>
  <li>repeat-x, repeat-y (multiple images)
    <div class="seven"></div>
  </li>
</ol>

CSS

/* Shared for all DIVS in example */
ol,
li {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}
li {
  margin-bottom: 12px;
}
div {
    background-image: url(https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12005/starsolid.gif);
    width: 160px;
    height: 70px;
}

/* Background repeats */
.one {
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
}
.two {
  background-repeat: repeat;
}
.three {
  background-repeat: repeat-x;
}
.four {
  background-repeat: repeat-y;
}
.five {
  background-repeat: space;
}
.six {
  background-repeat: round;
}

/* Multiple images */
.seven {
  background-image:  url(https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12005/starsolid.gif),
                     url(https://developer.cdn.mozilla.net/media/redesign/img/favicon32.png);
  background-repeat: repeat-x,
                     repeat-y;
  height: 144px;
}

Result

In this example, each list item is matched with a different value of background-repeat.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3The definition of 'background-repeat' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Adds support for multiple background images, the two-value syntax allowing distinct repetition behavior for the horizontal and vertical directions, the `space` and `round` keywords, and for backgrounds on inline-level elements by precisely defining the background painting area.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)The definition of 'background-repeat' in that specification.	Recommendation	No significant changes.
CSS Level 1The definition of 'background-repeat' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.

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
`background-repeat`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 4	Opera Full support 3.5	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
Multiple backgrounds	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3.6	IE Full support 9	Opera Full support 10.5	Safari Full support 1.3	WebView Android Full support 37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 11	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`round` and `space` keywords	Chrome Full support 30	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 49	IE Full support 9	Opera Full support 17 Full support 17 No support 10.5 — 15	Safari Full support 7	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 30	Firefox Android Full support 49	Opera Android Full support 18	Safari iOS Full support 8	Samsung Internet Android Full support 2.0
Two-value syntax (different values for x & y directions)	Chrome Full support 3	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 13	IE Full support 9	Opera Full support 10.5	Safari Full support 5	WebView Android Full support ≤37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 14	Opera Android Full support 11	Safari iOS Full support 4	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support