Tailwindcss Advanced Layouts

Tailwind CSS Advanced Layout Techniques

CSS Grid Mastery

Complex Grid Layouts

<!-- Holy Grail Layout -->
<div class="grid min-h-screen grid-rows-[auto_1fr_auto]">
  <header class="bg-white shadow">Header</header>
  <div class="grid grid-cols-[250px_1fr_300px]">
    <aside class="bg-gray-50 p-4">Sidebar</aside>
    <main class="p-6">Main Content</main>
    <aside class="bg-gray-50 p-4">Right Sidebar</aside>
  </div>
  <footer class="bg-gray-800 text-white">Footer</footer>
</div>

<!-- Responsive Holy Grail -->
<div class="grid min-h-screen grid-rows-[auto_1fr_auto]">
  <header>Header</header>
  <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-[250px_1fr] lg:grid-cols-[250px_1fr_300px]">
    <aside class="order-2 md:order-1">Sidebar</aside>
    <main class="order-1 md:order-2">Main</main>
    <aside class="order-3 hidden lg:block">Right</aside>
  </div>
  <footer>Footer</footer>
</div>

Grid Template Areas

@utility grid-areas-dashboard {
  grid-template-areas:
    "header header header"
    "nav main aside"
    "nav footer footer";
}

@utility area-header { grid-area: header; }
@utility area-nav { grid-area: nav; }
@utility area-main { grid-area: main; }
@utility area-aside { grid-area: aside; }
@utility area-footer { grid-area: footer; }

<div class="grid grid-areas-dashboard grid-cols-[200px_1fr_250px] grid-rows-[60px_1fr_40px] min-h-screen">
  <header class="area-header bg-white shadow">Header</header>
  <nav class="area-nav bg-gray-100">Navigation</nav>
  <main class="area-main p-6">Main Content</main>
  <aside class="area-aside bg-gray-50 p-4">Sidebar</aside>
  <footer class="area-footer bg-gray-800 text-white">Footer</footer>
</div>

Auto-Fill and Auto-Fit Grids

<!-- Auto-fill: Creates as many tracks as fit, even empty ones -->
<div class="grid grid-cols-[repeat(auto-fill,minmax(250px,1fr))] gap-6">
  <div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow p-4">Card 1</div>
  <div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow p-4">Card 2</div>
  <div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow p-4">Card 3</div>
</div>

<!-- Auto-fit: Collapses empty tracks -->
<div class="grid grid-cols-[repeat(auto-fit,minmax(250px,1fr))] gap-6">
  <!-- Cards stretch to fill available space -->
</div>

<!-- With arbitrary values -->
<div class="grid grid-cols-[repeat(auto-fill,minmax(min(100%,300px),1fr))] gap-4">
  <!-- Handles edge case where container is smaller than minmax min -->
</div>

Subgrid

/* Enable subgrid in v4 */
@utility subgrid-cols {
  grid-template-columns: subgrid;
}

@utility subgrid-rows {
  grid-template-rows: subgrid;
}

<div class="grid grid-cols-4 gap-4">
  <!-- Span 2 columns but align children to parent grid -->
  <div class="col-span-2 grid subgrid-cols gap-4">
    <div>Aligned to parent column 1</div>
    <div>Aligned to parent column 2</div>
  </div>
</div>

Advanced Flexbox Patterns

Space Distribution

<!-- Equal spacing with first/last at edges -->
<div class="flex justify-between">
  <div>First</div>
  <div>Second</div>
  <div>Third</div>
</div>

<!-- Equal spacing everywhere including edges -->
<div class="flex justify-around">
  <div>Item</div>
  <div>Item</div>
  <div>Item</div>
</div>

<!-- Double space between items vs edges -->
<div class="flex justify-evenly">
  <div>Item</div>
  <div>Item</div>
  <div>Item</div>
</div>

Flexible Item Sizing

<!-- Items share space equally -->
<div class="flex">
  <div class="flex-1">1/3</div>
  <div class="flex-1">1/3</div>
  <div class="flex-1">1/3</div>
</div>

<!-- First item takes 2x space -->
<div class="flex">
  <div class="flex-[2]">2/4</div>
  <div class="flex-1">1/4</div>
  <div class="flex-1">1/4</div>
</div>

<!-- Fixed + flexible -->
<div class="flex">
  <div class="w-64 shrink-0">Fixed 256px</div>
  <div class="flex-1 min-w-0">Flexible (can shrink)</div>
</div>

<!-- Prevent shrinking with text overflow -->
<div class="flex min-w-0">
  <div class="shrink-0">Icon</div>
  <div class="min-w-0 truncate">Very long text that should truncate</div>
</div>

Masonry-Like with Flexbox

<!-- Column-based masonry -->
<div class="flex flex-col flex-wrap h-[800px] gap-4">
  <div class="w-[calc(33.333%-1rem)] h-48">Item 1</div>
  <div class="w-[calc(33.333%-1rem)] h-64">Item 2</div>
  <div class="w-[calc(33.333%-1rem)] h-32">Item 3</div>
  <!-- Items flow vertically then wrap to next column -->
</div>

Container Queries

Basic Container Queries

@plugin "@tailwindcss/container-queries";

<!-- Define container -->
<div class="@container">
  <!-- Respond to container width -->
  <div class="flex flex-col @md:flex-row @lg:grid @lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4">
    <div>Item 1</div>
    <div>Item 2</div>
    <div>Item 3</div>
  </div>
</div>

Named Containers

<!-- Multiple named containers -->
<div class="@container/sidebar">
  <nav class="@[200px]/sidebar:flex-col @[300px]/sidebar:flex-row">
    Navigation
  </nav>
</div>

<div class="@container/main">
  <article class="@[600px]/main:prose-lg @[900px]/main:prose-xl">
    Content
  </article>
</div>

Container Query Units

<!-- Size relative to container -->
<div class="@container">
  <h1 class="text-[5cqw]">Scales with container width</h1>
  <p class="text-[3cqi]">Scales with container inline size</p>
</div>

Position and Layering

Sticky Positioning

<!-- Sticky header -->
<header class="sticky top-0 z-50 bg-white/80 backdrop-blur-sm border-b">
  Navigation
</header>

<!-- Sticky sidebar -->
<aside class="sticky top-20 h-[calc(100vh-5rem)] overflow-auto">
  Sidebar content
</aside>

<!-- Sticky table header -->
<div class="overflow-auto max-h-96">
  <table>
    <thead class="sticky top-0 bg-white shadow">
      <tr>
        <th class="sticky left-0 bg-white z-10">Corner cell</th>
        <th>Column 2</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>...</tbody>
  </table>
</div>

Fixed Elements

<!-- Fixed bottom navigation (mobile) -->
<nav class="fixed bottom-0 inset-x-0 z-50 bg-white border-t md:hidden">
  <div class="flex justify-around py-2">
    <a href="#">Home</a>
    <a href="#">Search</a>
    <a href="#">Profile</a>
  </div>
</nav>

<!-- Fixed action button -->
<button class="fixed bottom-6 right-6 z-40 rounded-full bg-brand-500 p-4 shadow-lg">
  <PlusIcon />
</button>

Z-Index Management

@theme {
  --z-dropdown: 100;
  --z-sticky: 200;
  --z-fixed: 300;
  --z-modal-backdrop: 400;
  --z-modal: 500;
  --z-popover: 600;
  --z-tooltip: 700;
  --z-toast: 800;
}

@utility z-dropdown { z-index: var(--z-dropdown); }
@utility z-sticky { z-index: var(--z-sticky); }
@utility z-fixed { z-index: var(--z-fixed); }
@utility z-modal-backdrop { z-index: var(--z-modal-backdrop); }
@utility z-modal { z-index: var(--z-modal); }
@utility z-popover { z-index: var(--z-popover); }
@utility z-tooltip { z-index: var(--z-tooltip); }
@utility z-toast { z-index: var(--z-toast); }

Overflow and Scrolling

Custom Scrollbars

@utility scrollbar-thin {
  scrollbar-width: thin;
}

@utility scrollbar-none {
  scrollbar-width: none;
  -ms-overflow-style: none;
}

@utility scrollbar-none::-webkit-scrollbar {
  display: none;
}

/* Custom scrollbar styling */
@utility scrollbar-custom {
  scrollbar-color: oklch(0.7 0 0) oklch(0.95 0 0);
}

@utility scrollbar-custom::-webkit-scrollbar {
  width: 8px;
  height: 8px;
}

@utility scrollbar-custom::-webkit-scrollbar-track {
  background: oklch(0.95 0 0);
  border-radius: 4px;
}

@utility scrollbar-custom::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb {
  background: oklch(0.7 0 0);
  border-radius: 4px;
}

@utility scrollbar-custom::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:hover {
  background: oklch(0.5 0 0);
}

Scroll Snap

<!-- Horizontal carousel -->
<div class="flex snap-x snap-mandatory overflow-x-auto gap-4 pb-4">
  <div class="snap-start shrink-0 w-80">Card 1</div>
  <div class="snap-start shrink-0 w-80">Card 2</div>