Columns

Utilities for controlling the number of columns within an element.

Quick reference

Basic usage

Adding based on column count

Use thecolumns-{count} utilities to set the number of columns that should be created for the content within an element. The column will be automatically adjusted to accommodate that number.

<div >
  <img src="..." />
  <img src="..." />
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Adding based on column

Use thecolumns-{width} utilities to set the ideal column for the content within an element, with the number of columns (the count) automatically adjusting to accommodate that value.

This “t-shirt” scale is the same as the max-width scale, with the addition of2xs and3xs, since smaller columns may be desirable.

Resize the example to see the expected behaviour

<div >
  <img src="..." />
  <img src="..." />
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Setting the column gap

To specify the between columns, you can use the gap-x utilities:

<div >
  <img src="..." />
  <img src="..." />
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Applying conditionally

Hover, focus, and other states

Tailwind lets you conditionally apply utility classes in different states using variant modifiers. For example, usehover:columns-3 to only apply thecolumns-3 utility on hover.

<div >
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

For a complete list of all available state modifiers, check out the Hover, Focus, & Other States documentation.

Breakpoints and media queries

You can also use variant modifiers to target media queries like responsive breakpoints, dark mode, prefers-reduced-motion, and more. For example, usemd:columns-3 to apply thecolumns-3 utility at only medium screen sizes and above.

<div >
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

To learn more, check out the documentation on Responsive Design, Dark Mode and other media query modifiers.

Using custom values

Customizing your theme

By default, Tailwind provides a column count scale from1-12 as well as a column t-shirt scale from3xs-7xl. You can customize these values by editingtheme.columns ortheme.extend.columns in yourtailwind.config.js file.

tailwind.config.js

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      columns: {
        '4xs': '14rem',
      }
    },
  }
}

Learn more about customizing the default theme in the theme customization documentation.

Arbitrary values

If you need to use a one-offcolumns value that doesn’t make sense to include in your theme, use square brackets to generate a property on the fly using any arbitrary value.

<div >
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Learn more about arbitrary value support in the arbitrary values documentation.