Web/CSS/transform-function/rotate3d()

The rotate3d() CSS function defines a transformation that rotates an element around a fixed axis in 3D space, without deforming it. Its result is a <transform-function> data type.

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In 3D space, rotations have three degrees of liberty, which together describe a single axis of rotation. The axis of rotation is defined by an [x, y, z] vector and pass by the origin (as defined by the transform-origin property). If, as specified, the vector is not normalized (i.e., if the sum of the square of its three coordinates is not 1), the user agent will normalize it internally. A non-normalizable vector, such as the null vector, [0, 0, 0], will cause the rotation to be ignored, but without invaliding the whole CSS property.

Note: Unlike rotations in the 2D plane, the composition of 3D rotations is usually not commutative. In other words, the order in which the rotations are applied impacts the result.

Syntax

The amount of rotation created by rotate3d() is specified by three <number>s and one <angle>. The <number>s represent the x-, y-, and z-coordinates of the vector denoting the axis of rotation. The <angle> represents the angle of rotation; if positive, the movement will be clockwise; if negative, it will be counter-clockwise.

rotate3d(x, y, z, a)

Values

x

Is a <number> describing the x-coordinate of the vector denoting the axis of rotation which could between 0 and 1.

y

Is a <number> describing the y-coordinate of the vector denoting the axis of rotation which could between 0 and 1.

z

Is a <number> describing the z-coordinate of the vector denoting the axis of rotation which could between 0 and 1.

a

Is an <angle> representing the angle of the rotation. A positive angle denotes a clockwise rotation, a negative angle a counter-clockwise one.

Cartesian coordinates on ℝ2	This transformation applies to the 3D space and can't be represented on the plane.
Homogeneous coordinates on ℝℙ2
Cartesian coordinates on ℝ3	[[../../../../../../media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2012/07/09/3553/0f942840117607143d2290fee99a7171/transform-functions-rotate3d_cart.png|[[File:../../../../../../media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2012/07/09/3553/0f942840117607143d2290fee99a7171/transform-functions-rotate3d_cart.png?size=webview]]]] 1+(1-cos(a))(x2-1)z·sin(a)+xy(1-cos(a))-y·sin(a)+xz·(1-cos(a))-z·sin(a)+xy·(1-cos(a))1+(1-cos(a))(y2-1)x·sin(a)+yz·(1-cos(a))ysin(a) + xz(1-cos(a))-xsin(a)+yz(1-cos(a))1+(1-cos(a))(z2-1)t0001
Homogeneous coordinates on ℝℙ3	[[../../../../../../media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2012/07/09/3552/037a18a389c26555d7aa423d8e72ffdf/transform-functions-rotate3d_hom4.png|[[File:../../../../../../media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2012/07/09/3552/037a18a389c26555d7aa423d8e72ffdf/transform-functions-rotate3d_hom4.png?size=webview]]]]

Examples

Rotating on the y-axis

HTML

<div>Normal</div>
<div class="rotated">Rotated</div>

CSS

body {
  perspective: 800px;
}

div {
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
  background-color: skyblue;
}

.rotated {
  transform: rotate3d(0, 1, 0, 60deg);
  background-color: pink;
}

Rotating on a custom axis

HTML

<div>Normal</div>
<div class="rotated">Rotated</div>

CSS

body {
  perspective: 800px;
}

div { 
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
  background-color: skyblue;
}

.rotated {
  transform: rotate3d(1, 2, -1, 192deg);
  background-color: pink;
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Transforms Level 2The definition of 'rotate3d()' in that specification.	Editor's Draft	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
<transform-function>	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3.5 Notes' Full support 3.5 Notes' Notes' Firefox 14 removed experimental support for skew(), but it was reintroduced in Firefox 15. Notes' Before Firefox 16, the translation values of matrix() and matrix3d() could be <length>s, in addition to the standard <number>.	IE Full support 9 Notes' Full support 9 Notes' Notes' Internet Explorer 9 supports 2D but not 3D transforms. In version 9, mixing 2D and 3D transform functions invalidates the entire property.	Opera Full support 10.5	Safari Full support 3.1	WebView Android Full support 2	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 11	Safari iOS Full support 3.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
3D support	Chrome Full support 12	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 10	IE Full support 10	Opera Full support 15	Safari Full support 4	WebView Android Full support 3	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 10	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 3.2	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support  

Full support

See implementation notes.'

See implementation notes.

See also

• transform
• <transform-function>

rotate3d() by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.