A little help goes a long way. Find a tool/

Design

CSS Flexbox Generator

Free CSS flexbox generator: pick flex-direction, justify-content, align-items, flex-wrap and gap, preview the layout live, and copy a minimal declaration block.

YOUR WORKSPACEFree to use. No sign-up.
—
Pick the container properties above.

Deep dive guides

A LITTLE CONTEXT · 4 MIN READCSS Flexbox: The Container Properties That Matter

How css flexbox generator works

Flexbox has two roles and this tool generates the first one: the container. Choosing flex-direction, justify-content, align-items, flex-wrap, and gap produces the declaration block that turns any element into a flex container. Every value maps one-to-one to a CSS property, and the preview applies the identical declarations to a row of sample boxes so what you see is what the browser will render.

The generator writes minimal CSS by default: display: flex plus only the properties that differ from the CSS initial values — flex-direction: row, justify-content: flex-start, align-items: stretch, and flex-wrap: nowrap are the spec defaults and are omitted unless you ask for them with the include-defaults switch. gap is emitted only when greater than zero. Fewer declarations mean less to review, and nothing you did not choose shows up in the output.

Copy the block into your stylesheet, or read it as a cheat sheet: justify-content positions items along the main axis (the direction row or column travels), align-items positions them on the cross axis, and wrap controls whether items stay on one line. Pair it with the grid generator when you need two-dimensional placement — flexbox handles one direction at a time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between justify-content and align-items?
justify-content positions items along the main axis — the direction set by flex-direction — while align-items positions them on the cross axis. In the default row direction, justify-content moves items horizontally and align-items stretches or centers them vertically; flip flex-direction to column and the two axes swap.
Why is my generated CSS shorter than the settings I picked?
The generator omits properties left at their CSS initial values — row, flex-start, stretch, nowrap — because omitting them produces identical rendering. Turn on include-defaults when you want every chosen property written out explicitly, for example in a teaching document or a design token file.
Should I use gap or margins between flex items?
Prefer gap. It applies only between items — no stray margin on the first or last child — it works identically in rows and wrapped lines, and it survives reordering. Margins require :last-child cleanup hacks and behave differently when flex-wrap kicks in.
When should I use flexbox instead of grid?
Use flexbox when items flow in one direction — toolbars, button rows, centering a card — and grid when placement needs both rows and columns at once. Flexbox sizes content first and distributes leftover space; grid fixes the tracks first and places items into them.