About Flexbox Playground

Generate CSS flexbox layouts from property combinations. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Web / Frontend collection.

Use Cases

• Prototype card and list layouts before writing CSS
• Learn how justify-content and align-items interact
• Copy flexbox snippets into a component library
• Teach flexbox to juniors with live visual feedback

Tips

• Click property pills to change layout instantly
• Add or remove items to test wrapping behavior
• The CSS output updates in real-time

Fun Facts

• Flexbox (CSS Flexible Box Layout) became a W3C Candidate Recommendation in 2012 but wasn't widely supported until 2015-2016.
• The flexbox spec went through 3 completely different syntaxes (2009, 2011, 2012) before settling on the current one — more rewrites than any other CSS module.
• Flexbox was designed for one-dimensional layouts (row OR column). CSS Grid was created later for two-dimensional layouts (rows AND columns simultaneously).

FAQ

Is it interactive?

Yes — toggle every flexbox property and see the layout update live. Outputs the exact CSS so you can copy it.

What patterns are shown?

Common ones pre-loaded: holy grail layout, centered content, sticky footer, equal-height cards. Start from a pattern and tweak.

What about flex-wrap edge cases?

Yes — wrap, wrap-reverse, and the interaction with justify-content/align-content that surprises most developers.

Does it show mobile responsive behavior?

Resize the preview pane to test. For real responsive design, combine with media queries after you've settled on the flex values.