max-content

The max-content sizing keyword represents the intrinsic maximum width or height of the content. For text content this means that the content will not wrap at all even if it causes overflows.

Syntax

css
/* Used as a length */
width: max-content;
inline-size: max-content;
height: max-content;
block-size: max-content;

/* used in grid tracks */
grid-template-columns: 200px 1fr max-content;

Examples

Using max-content for box sizing

HTML

html
<div id="container">
  <div class="item">Item</div>
  <div class="item">
    Item with more text in it which will overflow the fixed width box.
  </div>
</div>

CSS

css
#container {
  background-color: #8cffa0;
  padding: 10px;
  width: 200px;
}

.item {
  width: max-content;
  background-color: #8ca0ff;
  padding: 5px;
  margin-bottom: 1em;
}

Result

Sizing grid columns with max-content

HTML

html
<div id="container">
  <div>Item</div>
  <div>Item with more text in it.</div>
  <div>Flexible item</div>
</div>

CSS

css
#container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: max-content max-content 1fr;
  grid-gap: 5px;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  height: 200px;
  width: 100%;
  background-color: #8cffa0;
  padding: 10px;
}

#container > div {
  background-color: #8ca0ff;
  padding: 5px;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Box Sizing Module Level 3
# valdef-width-max-content

Browser compatibility

desktopmobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
max-content

See also