inset-inline

Baseline Widely available *

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since September 2021.

* Some parts of this feature may have varying levels of support.

The inset-inline CSS property defines the logical start and end offsets of an element in the inline direction, which maps to physical offsets depending on the element's writing mode, directionality, and text orientation. It corresponds to the top and bottom, or right and left properties depending on the values defined for writing-mode, direction, and text-orientation.

This inset property has no effect on non-positioned elements.

Try it

inset-inline: 5% 10%;
writing-mode: horizontal-tb;

inset-inline: 10px 40px;
writing-mode: vertical-rl;

inset-inline: 5% 10%;
writing-mode: horizontal-tb;
direction: rtl;

<section id="default-example">
  <div class="example-container">
    <div id="example-element">I am absolutely positioned.</div>
    <p>
      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>
  </div>
</section>

.example-container {
  border: 0.75em solid #ad1457;
  padding: 0.75em;
  text-align: left;
  position: relative;
  width: 100%;
  min-height: 200px;
}

#example-element {
  background-color: #07136c;
  border: 6px solid #ffa000;
  color: white;
  position: absolute;
  inset: 0;
}

Constituent properties

This property is a shorthand for the following CSS properties:

Syntax

css
/* <length> values */
inset-inline: 3px 10px;
inset-inline: 2.4em 3em;
inset-inline: 10px; /* value applied to start and end */
inset-inline: auto calc(anchor(self-start) + 20px);
inset-inline: 400px anchor-size(--myAnchor height, 100px);

/* <percentage>s of the width or height of the containing block */
inset-inline: 10% 5%;

/* Keyword value */
inset-inline: auto;

/* Global values */
inset-inline: inherit;
inset-inline: initial;
inset-inline: revert;
inset-inline: revert-layer;
inset-inline: unset;

Values

The inset-inline property takes the same values as the left property.

Formal definition

Initial valueas each of the properties of the shorthand:
Applies topositioned elements
Inheritedno
Percentageslogical-width of containing block
Computed valueas each of the properties of the shorthand:
Animation typea length, percentage or calc();

Formal syntax

inset-inline = 
  <'top'>{1,2}  

<top> = 
  auto                 |
  <length-percentage>  |
  <anchor()>           |
  <anchor-size()>      

<length-percentage> = 
  <length>      |
  <percentage>  

<anchor()> = 
  anchor( <anchor-name>?                  &&
  <anchor-side> , <length-percentage>? )  

<anchor-size()> = 
  anchor-size( [ <anchor-name> || <anchor-size> ]? , <length-percentage>? )  

<anchor-name> = 
  <dashed-ident>  

<anchor-side> = 
  inside        |
  outside       |
  top           |
  left          |
  right         |
  bottom        |
  start         |
  end           |
  self-start    |
  self-end      |
  <percentage>  |
  center        

<anchor-size> = 
  width        |
  height       |
  block        |
  inline       |
  self-block   |
  self-inline

Examples

Setting inline start and end offsets

HTML

html
<div>
  <p class="exampleText">Example text</p>
</div>

CSS

css
div {
  background-color: yellow;
  width: 120px;
  height: 120px;
}

.exampleText {
  writing-mode: vertical-lr;
  position: relative;
  inset-inline: 20px 50px;
  background-color: #c8c800;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Logical Properties and Values Level 1
# propdef-inset-inline
CSS Positioned Layout Module Level 3
# propdef-inset-inline

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also