Web/CSS/grid-auto-flow

The grid-auto-flow CSS property controls how the auto-placement algorithm works, specifying exactly how auto-placed items get flowed into the grid.

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.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
grid-auto-flow: row;
grid-auto-flow: column;
grid-auto-flow: dense;
grid-auto-flow: row dense;
grid-auto-flow: column dense;

/* Global values */
grid-auto-flow: inherit;
grid-auto-flow: initial;
grid-auto-flow: unset;

This property may take one of two forms:

a single keyword: one of row, column, or dense.
two keywords: row dense or column dense.

Values

row: Items are placed by filling each row in turn, adding new rows as necessary. If neither row nor column is provided, row is assumed.
column: Items are placed by filling each column in turn, adding new columns as necessary.
dense: "dense" packing algorithm attempts to fill in holes earlier in the grid, if smaller items come up later. This may cause items to appear out-of-order, when doing so would fill in holes left by larger items.; If it is omitted, a "sparse" algorithm is used, where the placement algorithm only ever moves "forward" in the grid when placing items, never backtracking to fill holes. This ensures that all of the auto-placed items appear "in order", even if this leaves holes that could have been filled by later items.

Formal definition

Initial value	`row`
Applies to	grid containers
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

[ row | column ] || dense

Examples

Setting grid auto-placement

HTML

<div id="grid">
  <div id="item1"></div>
  <div id="item2"></div>
  <div id="item3"></div>
  <div id="item4"></div>
  <div id="item5"></div>
</div>
<select id="direction">
  <option value="column">column</option>
  <option value="row">row</option>
</select>
<input id="dense" type="checkbox">
<label for="dense">dense</label>

CSS

#grid {
  height: 200px;
  width: 200px;
  display: grid;
  gap: 10px;
  grid-template: repeat(4, 1fr) / repeat(2, 1fr);
  grid-auto-flow: column;  /* or 'row', 'row dense', 'column dense' */
}

#item1 {
  background-color: lime;
  grid-row-start: 3;
}

#item2 {
  background-color: yellow;
}

#item3 {
  background-color: blue;
}

#item4 {
  grid-column-start: 2;
  background-color: red;
}

#item5 {
  background-color: aqua;
}

function changeGridAutoFlow() {
  var grid = document.getElementById("grid");
  var direction = document.getElementById("direction");
  var dense = document.getElementById("dense");
  var gridAutoFlow = direction.value === "row" ? "row" : "column";

  if (dense.checked) {
    gridAutoFlow += " dense";
  }

  grid.style.gridAutoFlow = gridAutoFlow;
}

const selectElem = document.querySelector('select');
const inputElem = document.querySelector('input');
selectElem.addEventListener('change', changeGridAutoFlow);
inputElem.addEventListener('change', changeGridAutoFlow);

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Grid LayoutThe definition of 'grid-auto-flow' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	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
`grid-auto-flow`	Chrome Full support 57 Full support 57 Full support 29 Disabled' Disabled' From version 29: this feature is behind the `Enable experimental Web Platform features` preference. To change preferences in Chrome, visit chrome://flags.	Edge Full support 16	Firefox Full support 52 Full support 52 No support 40 — 59 Disabled' Disabled' From version 40 until version 59 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.grid.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 44 Full support 44 Full support 28 Disabled' Disabled' From version 28: this feature is behind the `Enable experimental Web Platform features` preference.	Safari Full support 10.1	WebView Android Full support 57	Chrome Android Full support 57 Full support 57 Full support 29 Disabled' Disabled' From version 29: this feature is behind the `Enable experimental Web Platform features` preference. To change preferences in Chrome, visit chrome://flags.	Firefox Android Full support 52 Full support 52 No support 40 — 59 Disabled' Disabled' From version 40 until version 59 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.grid.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 43 Full support 43 Full support 28 Disabled' Disabled' From version 28: this feature is behind the `Enable experimental Web Platform features` preference.	Safari iOS Full support 10.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 6.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.