CSS Flexbox Playground

An interactive playground for learning and prototyping CSS Flexbox layouts. Toggle every container and item property, see the result instantly, and copy clean CSS or Tailwind code when you are done.

Container Properties

display: flex

Item Properties

Click an item in the preview to select it and customize its individual flex properties.

Preview

Click an item to select it
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.container {
  display: flex;
  gap: 10px;
}
Flexbox Cheat Sheet

flex-direction

row (default): items flow left to right. column: items flow top to bottom. -reverse variants flip the direction.

justify-content

Aligns items along the main axis. flex-start: pack to start. center: center items. space-between: equal space between items. space-around: equal space around items. space-evenly: truly equal spacing.

align-items

Aligns items along the cross axis. stretch (default): fill the container. center: center on the cross axis. baseline: align text baselines.

flex-wrap

nowrap (default): all items on one line, may overflow. wrap: items wrap onto new lines. wrap-reverse: items wrap in reverse order.

align-content

Only applies when wrapping is on. Controls how multiple lines are distributed on the cross axis. Works like justify-content but for wrapped lines.

Item properties

order: controls visual order (lower values come first). flex-grow: how much an item should grow relative to siblings. flex-shrink: how much an item should shrink. flex-basis: initial size before growing/shrinking. align-self: overrides align-items for one item.

100% client-side. Nothing is sent to any server.

Why Use a Flexbox Playground?

CSS Flexbox has a learning curve. Properties like justify-content, align-items, and flex-grow interact in ways that are hard to visualize from documentation alone. A playground removes the guesswork by giving you instant visual feedback. Toggle a property, watch the items move. It takes seconds to understand what would otherwise take minutes of reading and experimenting in a code editor.

This is especially valuable when prototyping. Instead of writing CSS, saving, switching to the browser, checking the result, going back to the editor, and tweaking values, you can build the entire layout visually and copy the finished code. It turns a 15-minute task into a 30-second one.

Common Flexbox Patterns

Centered content. The most common flexbox pattern: display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center;. This centers a child both horizontally and vertically within the container. It replaced years of margin-auto hacks and transform tricks.

Navigation bar. A horizontal flex container with justify-content: space-between to push the logo left and nav links right. Or use gap with margin-left: auto on the last group of items.

Equal-height cards. Set display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 16px; on the container and flex: 1 1 300px; on each card. Cards grow to fill the row and wrap responsively, always maintaining equal heights within each row.

Sticky footer. Use flex-direction: column; min-height: 100vh; on the page wrapper, then flex-grow: 1 on the main content. The footer stays at the bottom even when content is short.

Pro Tips

Start with Direction
Decide if your layout flows horizontally (row) or vertically (column) first. This determines the main axis for all other properties.
Use gap, Not Margins
The gap property is cleaner than margins for spacing flex items. It only applies between items and doesn't require margin-collapse workarounds.
flex: 1 Shorthand
flex: 1 is shorthand for flex-grow: 1, flex-shrink: 1, flex-basis: 0%. It makes items share all available space equally.
Debug with Borders
If your flex layout isn't behaving, add a border to the container and items. This reveals sizing, overflow, and alignment issues instantly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a CSS Flexbox playground?
A flexbox playground is an interactive tool that lets you experiment with all CSS Flexbox properties and see the results in real-time. Instead of writing code, refreshing, and checking the browser, you toggle properties visually and watch items rearrange instantly. It's the fastest way to learn flexbox or prototype a layout.
How is this different from writing CSS manually?
This playground gives you immediate visual feedback. Toggle flex-direction from row to column and watch items reflow. Change justify-content from flex-start to space-between and see the spacing change instantly. Once you have the layout you want, copy the generated CSS or Tailwind classes into your project.
Can I customize individual flex items?
Yes. Click any item in the preview to select it, then set per-item properties: order (visual position), flex-grow (how much it expands), flex-shrink (how much it contracts), flex-basis (initial size), and align-self (individual cross-axis alignment).
Does the playground support Tailwind CSS?
Yes. Switch to the Tailwind tab in the code output to get utility classes instead of vanilla CSS. The tool translates every property — including per-item flex-grow, flex-shrink, and order — into their Tailwind equivalents.
When should I use Flexbox vs CSS Grid?
Flexbox is best for one-dimensional layouts: a row of navigation links, a toolbar of buttons, centering content, or distributing cards along a single axis. CSS Grid excels at two-dimensional layouts where you need control over both rows and columns. Many modern layouts combine both.
Is this tool free to use?
Yes, completely free with no signup, no watermarks, and no limits. The tool runs 100% in your browser — nothing is uploaded to any server. Use it as often as you like for personal or commercial projects.

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Last updated: March 2026