column-rule-width

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since ⁨March 2017⁩.

The column-rule-width CSS property sets the width of the line drawn between columns in a multi-column layout.

Try it

column-rule-width: thin;

column-rule-width: medium;

column-rule-width: thick;

column-rule-width: 12px;

<section id="default-example">
  <p id="example-element">
    London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in
    Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets
    as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it
    would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so,
    waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.
  </p>
</section>

#example-element {
  columns: 3;
  column-rule: solid;
  text-align: left;
}

Syntax

css

/* Keyword values */
column-rule-width: thin;
column-rule-width: medium;
column-rule-width: thick;

/* <length> values */
column-rule-width: 1px;
column-rule-width: 2.5em;

/* Global values */
column-rule-width: inherit;
column-rule-width: initial;
column-rule-width: revert;
column-rule-width: revert-layer;
column-rule-width: unset;

The column-rule-width property is specified as a single <'border-width'> value.

Values

<'border-width'>: Is a keyword defined by border-width describing the width of the rule. It may be either a <length> or one of the thin, medium, or thick keywords.

Formal definition

Initial value	`medium`
Applies to	multicol elements
Inherited	no
Computed value	the absolute length; `0` if the `column-rule-style` is `none` or `hidden`
Animation type	a length

Formal syntax

column-rule-width = 
  <line-width-list>       |
  <auto-line-width-list>  

<line-width-list> = 
  [ <line-width-or-repeat> ]+  

<auto-line-width-list> = 
  [ <line-width-or-repeat> ]* <auto-repeat-line-width> [ <line-width-or-repeat> ]*  

<line-width-or-repeat> = 
  <line-width>         |
  <repeat-line-width>  

<auto-repeat-line-width> = 
  repeat( auto , [ <line-width> ]+ )  

<line-width> = 
  <length [0,∞]>  |
  thin            |
  medium          |
  thick           

<repeat-line-width> = 
  repeat( [ <integer [1,∞]> ] , [ <line-width> ]+ )

Examples

Setting a thick column rule

HTML

html

<p>
  This is a bunch of text split into three columns. The `column-rule-width`
  property is used to change the width of the line that is drawn between
  columns. Don't you think that's wonderful?
</p>

CSS

css

p {
  column-count: 3;
  column-rule-style: solid;
  column-rule-width: thick;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Multi-column Layout Module Level 1 # crw

Browser compatibility

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This page was last modified on ⁨Oct 30, 2025⁩ by MDN contributors.

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