Flexbox Playground — Interactive Flexbox Layout Tool
Experiment with CSS Flexbox properties in real time. Adjust container and item settings, see live results, and copy clean CSS output. Runs entirely in your browser.
How to Use the Flexbox Playground
- Container properties — adjust flex-direction, justify-content, align-items, and flex-wrap using the dropdowns.
- Gap — use the slider to set spacing between flex items.
- Add items — click "Add Item" to create flex children you can customize.
- Item controls — set flex-grow, flex-shrink, flex-basis, and align-self for each item.
- Remove items — click the × button on any item to remove it.
- Copy CSS — grab the complete Flexbox CSS with one click.
Why Use This Flexbox Playground
Flexbox can be confusing — justify-content vs. align-items, the difference between flex-grow and flex-basis, when to use align-self. This playground lets you experiment visually with every property and instantly see how it affects your layout.
Perfect for learning Flexbox concepts, building real layouts, or just quickly generating clean CSS without memorizing syntax.
Frequently Asked Questions
justify-content distributes items along the main axis (left-right for row, top-bottom for column). align-items distributes items along the cross axis (top-bottom for row, left-right for column). Think of it as: justify = main axis, align = cross axis.
Use Flexbox for one-dimensional layouts (a row or a column) like navigation bars, card rows, and centering content. Use CSS Grid for two-dimensional layouts (rows and columns simultaneously) like page layouts and dashboards.
flex: 1 is shorthand for flex-grow: 1; flex-shrink: 1; flex-basis: 0%. It makes the item grow equally to fill available space. Use flex: 0 0 auto to prevent growing/shrinking.
Use Cases
Navigation Bars
Build responsive navigation bars with evenly spaced links and aligned logo using justify-content and align-items.
Card Layouts
Create equal-height card rows with flex-wrap for responsive grid systems that adapt to screen width.
Centering Content
Vertically and horizontally center any element with just two flexbox properties on the parent container.
Form Layouts
Align form labels, inputs, and buttons side by side with proper spacing using flex containers and gap.