CSS align-items Property

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The CSS align-items property specifies the default alignment for flex items. It is similar to the justify-content property but the vertical version.

This property is one of the CSS3 properties.

The align-items property accepts the following values:

stretch
flex-start
center
flex-end
baseline

Initial Value	stretch
Applies to	All elements.
Inherited	No.
Animatable	No.
Version	CSS3
DOM Syntax	object.style.alignItems = "center";

Syntax

align-items: stretch | center | flex-start | flex-end | baseline | initial | inherit;

Example of the align-items property:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Title of the document</title>
    <style>
      #example {
        width: 220px;
        height: 300px;
        padding: 0;
        border: 1px solid #000;
        display: -webkit-flex;
        /* Safari */
        -webkit-align-items: stretch;
        /* Safari 7.0+ */
        display: flex;
        align-items: stretch;
      }
      #example li {
        -webkit-flex: 1;
        /* Safari 6.1+ */
        flex: 1;
        list-style: none;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Align-items: stretch; example</h2>
    <ul id="example">
      <li style="background-color:#8ebf42;">Green</li>
      <li style="background-color:#1c87c9;">Blue</li>
      <li style="background-color:#ccc;">Gray</li>
    </ul>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Result

CSS align-items Property with the stretch value

In the following example, the items are positioned at the center of the container.

Example of the align-items property with the "center" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>The title of the document</title>
    <style>
      #example {
        width: 220px;
        height: 300px;
        padding: 0;
        border: 1px solid #000;
        display: -webkit-flex;
        /* Safari */
        -webkit-align-items: center;
        /* Safari 7.0+ */
        display: flex;
        align-items: center;
      }
      #example li {
        -webkit-flex: 1;
        /* Safari 6.1+ */
        flex: 1;
        list-style: none;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Align-items: center; example</h2>
    <ul id="example">
      <li style="background-color:#8ebf42;">Green</li>
      <li style="background-color:#1c87c9;">Blue</li>
      <li style="background-color:#ccc;">Gray</li>
    </ul>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

In the next example, the items are placed at the beginning.

Example of the align-items property with the "flex-start" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>The title of the document</title>
    <style>
      #example {
        width: 220px;
        height: 300px;
        padding: 0;
        border: 1px solid #000;
        display: -webkit-flex;
        /* Safari */
        -webkit-align-items: flex-start;
        /* Safari 7.0+ */
        display: flex;
        align-items: flex-start;
      }
      #example li {
        -webkit-flex: 1;
        /* Safari 6.1+ */
        flex: 1;
        list-style: none;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Align-items: flex-start; example</h2>
    <ul id="example">
      <li style="background-color:#8ebf42;">Green</li>
      <li style="background-color:#1c87c9;">Blue</li>
      <li style="background-color:#ccc;">Gray</li>
    </ul>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Here, we apply the "flex-end" value which places the items at the end of the container.

Example of the align-items property with the "flex-end" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>The title of the document</title>
    <style>
      #example {
        width: 220px;
        height: 300px;
        padding: 0;
        border: 1px solid #000;
        display: -webkit-flex;
        /* Safari */
        -webkit-align-items: flex-end;
        /* Safari 7.0+ */
        display: flex;
        align-items: flex-end;
      }
      #example li {
        -webkit-flex: 1;
        /* Safari 6.1+ */
        flex: 1;
        list-style: none;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Align-items: flex-end; example</h2>
    <ul id="example">
      <li style="background-color:#8ebf42;">Green</li>
      <li style="background-color:#1c87c9;">Blue</li>
      <li style="background-color:#ccc;">Gray</li>
    </ul>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Let’s see our last example with the "baseline" value which places the items at the baseline of the container.

Example of the align-items property with the "baseline" value:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>The title of the document</title>
    <style>
      #example {
        width: 220px;
        height: 300px;
        padding: 0;
        border: 1px solid #000;
        display: -webkit-flex;
        /* Safari */
        -webkit-align-items: baseline;
        /* Safari 7.0+ */
        display: flex;
        align-items: baseline;
      }
      #example li {
        -webkit-flex: 1;
        /* Safari 6.1+ */
        flex: 1;
        list-style: none;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h2>Align-items: baseline; example</h2>
    <ul id="example">
      <li style="background-color:#8ebf42;">Green</li>
      <li style="background-color:#1c87c9;">Blue</li>
      <li style="background-color:#ccc;">Gray</li>
    </ul>
  </body>
</html>

Try it Yourself »

Result

CSS align-items Property with the baseline value

Values

Value	Description	Play it
stretch	Makes items stretch to fit the container. This is the default value for this property.	Play it »
center	Items are placed at the center of the container.	Play it »
flex-start	Items are placed at the beginning of the container.	Play it »
flex-end	Items are placed at the end of the container.	Play it »
baseline	Items are positioned at the baseline of the container.	Play it »
initial	It makes the property use its default value.	Play it »
inherit	It inherits the property from its parents element.