break-inside CSS property

Baseline Widely available *

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since January 2019.

* Some parts of this feature may have varying levels of support.

The break-inside CSS property sets how page, column, or region breaks should behave inside a generated box. If there is no generated box, the property is ignored.

Try it

break-inside: auto;
break-inside: avoid;
<div>
  <p>
    The effect of this property can be noticed when the document is being
    printed or a preview of a print is displayed.
  </p>
  <button id="print-btn">Show Print Preview</button>
  <div class="box-container">
    <div class="box">Content before the property</div>
    <div class="box" id="example-element">Content with 'break-inside'</div>
    <div class="box">Content after the property</div>
  </div>
</div>
.box {
  border: solid #5b6dcd 5px;
  background-color: #5b6dcd;
  margin: 10px 0;
  padding: 5px;
}

#example-element {
  border: solid 5px #ffc129;
  background-color: #ffc129;
  color: black;
}

@media print {
  #example-element {
    height: 25cm;
  }
}
const btn = document.getElementById("print-btn");

btn.addEventListener("click", () => {
  window.print();
});

Syntax

css
/* Keyword values */
break-inside: auto;
break-inside: avoid;
break-inside: avoid-page;
break-inside: avoid-column;
break-inside: avoid-region;

/* Global values */
break-inside: inherit;
break-inside: initial;
break-inside: revert;
break-inside: revert-layer;
break-inside: unset;

Each possible break point (in other words, each element boundary) is affected by three properties: the break-after value of the previous element, the break-before value of the next element, and the break-inside value of the containing element.

To determine if a break must be done, the following rules are applied:

  1. If any of the three concerned values is a forced break value (always, left, right, page, column, or region), it has precedence. If more than one of them are such a break, the value of the element that appears the latest in the flow is used. Thus, the break-before value has precedence over the break-after value, which in turn has precedence over the break-inside value.
  2. If any of the three concerned values is an avoid break value (avoid, avoid-page, avoid-region, or avoid-column), no such break will be applied at that point.

Once forced breaks have been applied, soft breaks may be added if needed, but not on element boundaries that resolve in a corresponding avoid value.

Values

auto

Allows, but does not force, any break (page, column, or region) to be inserted within the principal box.

avoid

Avoids any break (page, column, or region) from being inserted within the principal box.

avoid-page

Avoids any page break within the principal box.

avoid-column

Avoids any column break within the principal box.

avoid-region

Avoids any region break within the principal box.

Page break aliases

For compatibility reasons, the legacy page-break-inside property should be treated by browsers as an alias of break-inside. This ensures that sites using page-break-inside continue to work as designed. A subset of values should be aliased as follows:

page-break-inside break-inside
auto auto
avoid avoid

Formal definition

Initial valueauto
Applies toblock-level elements
Inheritedno
Computed valueas specified
Animation typediscrete

Formal syntax

break-inside = 
auto |
avoid |
avoid-page |
avoid-column |
avoid-region

Examples

Avoiding breaking inside a figure

In the following example we have a container that contains an <h1> spanning all columns (achieved using column-span: all) and a series of paragraphs laid out in multiple columns using column-width: 200px. We also have a <figure> containing an image and a caption.

By default, it is possible for you to get a break between the image and its caption, which is not what we want. To avoid this, we have set break-inside: avoid on the <figure>, which causes them to always stay together.

HTML

html
<article>
  <h1>Main heading</h1>

  <p>
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla vitae
    fringilla mauris. Quisque commodo eget nisi sed pretium. Mauris luctus nec
    lacus in ultricies. Mauris vitae hendrerit arcu, ac scelerisque lacus.
    Aliquam lobortis in lacus sit amet posuere. Fusce iaculis urna id neque
    dapibus, eu lacinia lectus dictum.
  </p>

  <figure>
    <img
      src="https://mdn.dev/archives/media/attachments/2020/07/29/17350/3b4892b7e820122ac6dd7678891d4507/firefox.png" />
    <figcaption>The Firefox logo — fox wrapped around the world</figcaption>
  </figure>

  <p>
    Praesent condimentum dui dui, sit amet rutrum diam tincidunt eu. Cras
    suscipit porta leo sit amet rutrum. Sed vehicula ornare tincidunt. Curabitur
    a ipsum ac diam mattis volutpat ac ut elit. Nullam luctus justo non
    vestibulum gravida. Morbi metus libero, pharetra non porttitor a, molestie
    nec nisi.
  </p>

  <p>
    In finibus viverra enim vel suscipit. Quisque consequat velit eu orci
    malesuada, ut interdum tortor molestie. Proin sed pellentesque augue. Nam
    risus justo, faucibus non porta a, congue vel massa. Cras luctus lacus nisl,
    sed tincidunt velit pharetra ac. Duis suscipit faucibus dui sed ultricies.
  </p>
</article>

CSS

css
html {
  font-family: "Helvetica", "Arial", sans-serif;
}

body {
  width: 80%;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

h1 {
  font-size: 3rem;
  letter-spacing: 2px;
  column-span: all;
}

h1 + p {
  margin-top: 0;
}

p {
  line-height: 1.5;
  break-after: column;
}

figure {
  break-inside: avoid;
}

img {
  max-width: 70%;
  display: block;
  margin: 0 auto;
}

figcaption {
  font-style: italic;
  font-size: 0.8rem;
  width: 70%;
}

article {
  column-width: 200px;
  gap: 20px;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Fragmentation Module Level 3
# break-within
CSS Regions Module Level 1
# region-flow-break
CSS Multi-column Layout Module Level 1
# break-before-break-after-break-inside

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
break-inside
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera – No support
Opera 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-04-12)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – No support
Opera Android 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-06-30)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
auto
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
avoid
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
avoid-column
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
avoid-page
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Supported in Multi-column Layout
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera – No support
Opera 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-04-12)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – No support
Opera Android 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-06-30)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
multicol_context.avoid-column
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera – No support
Opera 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-04-12)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – No support
Opera Android 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-06-30)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Supported in Paged Media
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera – No support
Opera 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-04-12)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera – Full support
Opera 37 (Release date: 2016-05-04)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 10 (Release date: 2016-09-20)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 65 (Release date: 2019-01-29)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – No support
Opera Android 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-06-30)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 37 (Release date: 2016-06-16)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 50 (Release date: 2016-04-13)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 10 (Release date: 2016-09-13)
footnote Full support
paged_context.avoid-page
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 51 (Release date: 2016-05-25)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera – No support
Opera 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-04-12)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera – Full support
Opera 38 (Release date: 2016-06-08)
footnote Full support
Safari – No support
Safari
footnote No support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 51 (Release date: 2016-06-08)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 92 (Release date: 2021-09-07)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – No support
Opera Android 11.1 – 12 (Release date: 2011-06-30)
footnote Removed in 12.1 and later
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 41 (Release date: 2016-10-25)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – No support
Safari on iOS
footnote No support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 5 (Release date: 2016-12-15)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 51 (Release date: 2016-06-08)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – No support
WebView on iOS
footnote No support

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support
No support
No support
Has more compatibility info.

See also