Flexbox Generator

Configure CSS flexbox properties visually with a live item preview

What is it and how does it work?

A flexbox generator lets you configure CSS Flexbox layout visually — toggling properties and watching items rearrange in a live preview — then copy the CSS that produces the layout. Flexbox is the modern way to arrange elements in a row or column and control how they align, space out and wrap, but its properties interact in ways that are hard to predict from the code alone. Seeing items shift as you change justify-content or align-items turns abstract property names into an intuitive picture.

The properties that do the heavy lifting are justify-content (spacing along the main axis), align-items (alignment on the cross axis), flex-direction (row or column) and flex-wrap (whether items spill onto new lines). The common confusion is that the main and cross axes swap when you switch from row to column, so justify and align effectively trade places — something a live preview makes obvious immediately. This tool generates standards-based CSS in your browser, ready to drop into your stylesheet for navbars, card grids, centering and toolbars.

Common use cases

• Centering content: configure justify-content and align-items to perfectly centre an element both horizontally and vertically.
• Building a navbar: space links evenly along a row and align them, then copy the flex CSS.
• Laying out cards: set wrapping and spacing so a row of cards flows neatly onto new lines on smaller screens.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between justify-content and align-items?

justify-content positions items along the main axis (horizontal in a row), controlling spacing between them. align-items positions items along the cross axis (vertical in a row), controlling their alignment. Together they place items in both directions.

How do I centre something with flexbox?

Set the container to display:flex, then justify-content:center and align-items:center. This centres the child on both axes — the cleanest solution to the classic "centre a div" problem, which the generator lets you produce in a couple of clicks.

Why do justify and align seem to swap when I use a column?

Because flex-direction defines which axis is the "main" one. In a row the main axis is horizontal; in a column it becomes vertical, so justify-content now controls vertical spacing and align-items controls horizontal alignment. The axes flip with the direction.

When should I use flexbox versus grid?

Flexbox excels at arranging items in a single direction — a row or a column — and distributing space along it. CSS Grid is built for two-dimensional layouts with rows and columns together. Many layouts use flexbox for components and grid for the overall page structure.

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