Web/CSS/tab-size

The tab-size CSS property is used to customize the width of tab characters (U+0009).

Syntax

/* <integer> values */
tab-size: 4;
tab-size: 0;

/* <length> values */
tab-size: 10px;
tab-size: 2em;

/* Global values */
tab-size: inherit;
tab-size: initial;
tab-size: unset;

Values

<integer>: A multiple of the advance width of the space character (U+0020) to be used as the width of tabs. Must be nonnegative.
<length>: The width of tabs. Must be nonnegative.

Formal definition

Initial value	`8`
Applies to	block containers
Inherited	yes
Computed value	the specified integer or an absolute length
Animation type	a length

Formal syntax

<integer> | <length>

Examples

Expanding by character count

pre {
  tab-size: 4; /* Set tab size to 4 characters wide */
}

Collapse tabs

pre {
  tab-size: 0; /* Remove indentation */
}

Comparing to the default size

This example compares a default tab size with a custom tab size. Note that white-space is set to pre to prevent the tabs from collapsing.

HTML

<p>no tab</p>
<p>&#0009;default tab size of 8 characters wide</p>
<p class="custom">&#0009;custom tab size of 3 characters wide</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3 spaces, equivalent to the custom tab size</p>

CSS

p {
  white-space: pre;
}

.custom {
  tab-size: 3;
  -moz-tab-size: 3;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Text Module Level 3The definition of 'tab-size' 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
`tab-size`	Chrome Full support 21 Notes' Full support 21 Notes' Notes' This property is not yet animatable.	Edge Full support 79 Notes' Full support 79 Notes' Notes' This property is not yet animatable.	Firefox Full support 4 Prefixed' Notes' Full support 4 Prefixed' Notes' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -moz- Notes' See bug 737785 for the status of unprefixing this property. Notes' Before Firefox 53, this property was not animatable.	IE No support No	Opera Full support 15 Full support 15 Full support 10.5 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -o-	Safari Full support 6.1	WebView Android Full support 4.4	Chrome Android Full support 25 Notes' Full support 25 Notes' Notes' This property is not yet animatable.	Firefox Android Full support 4 Prefixed' Notes' Full support 4 Prefixed' Notes' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -moz- Notes' See bug 737785 for the status of unprefixing this property. Notes' Before Firefox 53, this property was not animatable.	Opera Android Full support 14 Full support 14 Full support 11 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -o-	Safari iOS Full support 7	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5 Notes' Full support 1.5 Notes' Notes' This property is not yet animatable.
`<length>`	Chrome Full support 42	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 53	IE No support No	Opera Full support 29	Safari No support No	WebView Android Full support 56	Chrome Android Full support 42	Firefox Android Full support 53	Opera Android Full support 29	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android Full support 4.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.