CSS grid-auto-flow Property

The grid-auto-flow property controls how auto-placed items are flowed into the grid.

This property has the following values: row, column, dense, row-dense, column-dense. If neither "row" nor "column" value is provided, "row" is supposed.

The grid-auto-flow property can have either a single keyword (dense, column, or row) or two keywords (column-dense or row-dense).

Initial Value row
Applies to Grid containers.
Inherited No.
Animatable Yes.
Version CSS Grid Layout Module Level 1
DOM Syntax object.style.gridAutoFlow = "row";

Syntax

grid-auto-flow: row | column | dense | row dense | column dense | initial | inherit;

Example of the grid-auto-flow property:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      .grey-container {
        display: grid;
        grid-template-columns: auto auto auto;
        grid-template-rows: auto auto;
        grid-auto-flow: column;
        grid-gap: 10px;
        background-color: #ccc;
        padding: 10px;
      }
      .grey-container > div {
        background-color: #eee;
        text-align: center;
        padding: 20px 0;
        font-size: 30px;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Grid-auto-flow property example</h2>
    <h3>grid-auto-flow: column</h3>
    <div class="grey-container">
      <div>1</div>
      <div>2</div>
      <div>3</div>
      <div>4</div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Here, the items are placed by filling each column. In the following example, we can see that the items are placed by filling each row.

The effect of this property depends on the specified value. A 3D element with z>0 becomes larger, a 3D-element with z<0 becomes smaller. The visual effect will be more impressive if the value is smaller.

Example of the grid-auto-flow property with the grid-template-columns property:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      .white-container {
        display: grid;
        grid-template-columns: auto auto auto;
        grid-template-rows: auto auto;
        grid-auto-flow: row;
        grid-gap: 10px;
        background-color: #ccc;
        padding: 10px;
      }
      .white-container > div {
        background-color: #fff;
        text-align: center;
        padding: 20px 0;
        font-size: 30px;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Grid-auto-flow property example</h2>
    <h3>grid-auto-flow: row</h3>
    <div class="white-container">
      <div>1</div>
      <div>2</div>
      <div>3</div>
      <div>4</div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Example of the grid-auto-flow property with the "row" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      .grey-container {
        height: 250px;
        width: 250px;
        display: grid;
        grid-gap: 20px;
        grid-template: repeat(4, 1fr) / repeat(2, 1fr);
        grid-auto-flow: row;
        background-color: #ccc;
        padding: 10px;
      }
      .box1 {
        background-color: #00f3ff;
        grid-row-start: 3;
      }
      .box2 {
        background-color: #ff00d4;
      }
      .box3 {
        background-color: #827c7c;
      }
      .box4 {
        grid-column-start: 2;
        background-color: orange;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="grey-container">
      <div class="box1"></div>
      <div class="box2"></div>
      <div class="box3"></div>
      <div class="box4"></div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Result

grid-auto-flow property

Example of the grid-auto-flow property with the "column" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      .grey-container {
        height: 250px;
        width: 250px;
        display: grid;
        grid-gap: 20px;
        grid-template: repeat(4, 1fr) / repeat(2, 1fr);
        grid-auto-flow: column;
        background-color: #ccc;
        padding: 10px;
      }
      .box1 {
        background-color: #00f3ff;
        grid-row-start: 3;
      }
      .box2 {
        background-color: #827c7c;
      }
      .box3 {
        background-color: #ff00d4;
      }
      .box4 {
        grid-column-start: 2;
        background-color: #4cbb13;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="grey-container">
      <div class="box1"></div>
      <div class="box2"></div>
      <div class="box3"></div>
      <div class="box4"></div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Example of the grid-auto-flow property with the "column-dense" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      .grey-container {
        height: 250px;
        width: 250px;
        display: grid;
        grid-gap: 20px;
        grid-template: repeat(4, 1fr) / repeat(2, 1fr);
        grid-auto-flow: column dense;
        background-color: #ccc;
        padding: 10px;
      }
      .box1 {
        background-color: #0ad6e0;
        grid-row-start: 3;
      }
      .box2 {
        background-color: #841c72;
      }
      .box3 {
        background-color: #827c7c;
      }
      .box4 {
        grid-column-start: 2;
        background-color: #4cbb13;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="grey-container">
      <div class="box1"></div>
      <div class="box2"></div>
      <div class="box3"></div>
      <div class="box4"></div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Example of the grid-auto-flow property with the "row-dense" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      .grey-container {
        height: 250px;
        width: 250px;
        display: grid;
        grid-gap: 20px;
        grid-template: repeat(4, 1fr) / repeat(2, 1fr);
        grid-auto-flow: row dense;
        background-color: #ccc;
        padding: 10px;
      }
      .box1 {
        background-color: #0ad6e0;
        grid-row-start: 3;
      }
      .box2 {
        background-color: #841c72;
      }
      .box3 {
        background-color: #827c7c;
      }
      .box4 {
        grid-column-start: 2;
        background-color: #4cbb13;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="grey-container">
      <div class="box1"></div>
      <div class="box2"></div>
      <div class="box3"></div>
      <div class="box4"></div>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>

Values

Value Description Play it
row Places items by filling each row, adding new rows if necessary. This is the default value of this property. Play it »
column Places items by filling each column, adding new columns if necessary. Play it »
dense Place items to fill any holes in the grid if smaller items come up later. Play it »
row-dense Places items by filling each row, and fills holes in the grid. Play it »
column-dense Places items by filling each column, and fills holes in the grid. Play it »
initial Makes the property use its default value.
inherit Inherits the property from its parents element.

Browser support

chrome edge firefox safari opera
57.0+ 16.0+ 52.0+ 10.1+ 44.0+

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