Web/CSS/white-space

The white-space CSS property sets how white space inside an element is handled.

Note: To make words break within themselves, use overflow-wrap, word-break, or hyphens instead.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
white-space: normal;
white-space: nowrap;
white-space: pre;
white-space: pre-wrap;
white-space: pre-line;
white-space: break-spaces;

/* Global values */
white-space: inherit;
white-space: initial;
white-space: unset;

The white-space property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.

Values

normal: Sequences of white space are collapsed. Newline characters in the source are handled the same as other white space. Lines are broken as necessary to fill line boxes.
nowrap: Collapses white space as for normal, but suppresses line breaks (text wrapping) within the source.
pre: Sequences of white space are preserved. Lines are only broken at newline characters in the source and at <br> elements.
pre-wrap: Sequences of white space are preserved. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.
pre-line: Sequences of white space are collapsed. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.
break-spaces: The behavior is identical to that of pre-wrap, except that:

Any sequence of preserved white space always takes up space, including at the end of the line. A line breaking opportunity exists after every preserved white space character, including between white space characters. Such preserved spaces take up space and do not hang, and thus affect the box’s intrinsic sizes (min-content size and max-content size).

The following table summarizes the behavior of the various white-space values:

	New lines	Spaces and tabs	Text wrapping	End-of-line spaces
`normal`	Collapse	Collapse	Wrap	Remove
`nowrap`	Collapse	Collapse	No wrap	Remove
`pre`	Preserve	Preserve	No wrap	Preserve
`pre-wrap`	Preserve	Preserve	Wrap	Hang
`pre-line`	Preserve	Collapse	Wrap	Remove
`break-spaces`	Preserve	Preserve	Wrap	Wrap

Formal definition

Initial value	`normal`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	yes
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

normal | pre | nowrap | pre-wrap | pre-line | break-spaces

Examples

Basic example

code { 
  white-space: pre; 
}

Line breaks inside <pre> elements

pre {
  word-wrap: break-word;      /* IE 5.5-7 */
  white-space: pre-wrap;      /* Modern browsers */
}

In action

HTML

<div id="css-code" class="box">
  p { white-space:
  <select>
    <option>normal</option>
    <option>nowrap</option>
    <option>pre</option>
    <option>pre-wrap</option>
    <option>pre-line</option>
    <option>break-spaces</option>
  </select> }
</div>
<div id="results" class="box">
  <p>    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

    Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

    Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

    Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
</div>

.box {
  width: 300px;
  padding: 16px;
  border-radius: 10px;
}

#css-code {
  background-color: rgb(220, 220, 220);
  font-size: 16px;
  font-family: monospace;
}

#css-code select {
  font-family: inherit;
}

#results {
  background-color: rgb(230, 230, 230);
  overflow-x: scroll;
  height: 400px;
  white-space: normal;
  font-size: 14px;
}

var select  = document.querySelector("#css-code select");
var results = document.querySelector("#results p");
select.addEventListener("change", function(e) {
  results.setAttribute("style", "white-space: "+e.target.value);
})

<p> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Text Module Level 3The definition of 'white-space' in that specification.	Working Draft	Precisely defines the breaking algorithms.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)The definition of 'white-space' in that specification.	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
`white-space`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 5.5	Opera Full support 4	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 1	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
`break-spaces`	Chrome Full support 76	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 69	IE No support No	Opera Full support 62	Safari Full support 13.1	WebView Android Full support 76	Chrome Android Full support 76	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android Full support 54	Safari iOS Full support 13.4	Samsung Internet Android Full support 12.0
`nowrap`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 5.5	Opera Full support 4	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 1	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
`pre`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 6	Opera Full support 4	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`pre-line`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3.5	IE Full support 8	Opera Full support 9.5	Safari Full support 3	WebView Android Full support 37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`pre-wrap`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 3 Full support 3 No support 1 — 3.6 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -moz-	IE Full support 8 Notes' Full support 8 Notes' Notes' From Internet Explorer 5.5 to 7, `word-wrap: break-word;` can be used for line breaks in `pre` elements.	Opera Full support 8	Safari Full support 3	WebView Android Full support 37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
Support in SVG	Chrome No support No	Edge No support 12 — 79	Firefox Full support 36	IE Full support 10	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android No support No	Firefox Android Full support 36	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android No support No
Support on `<textarea>`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 36	IE Full support 5.5	Opera Full support 4	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 37	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 36	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

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.