Non-standard: This feature is not standardized. We do not recommend using non-standard features in production, as they have limited browser support, and may change or be removed. However, they can be a suitable alternative in specific cases where no standard option exists.
Deprecated: This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.
Warning: This is a property of the original CSS flexible box layout Module draft, and has been replaced by a newer standard. The -moz-box-direction will only be used for XUL while the previous standard box-direction has been replaced by flex-direction. See flexbox for information about the current standard.
The box-direction CSS property specifies whether a box lays out its contents normally (from the top or left edge), or in reverse (from the bottom or right edge).
/* Keyword values */ box-direction: normal; box-direction: reverse; /* Global values */ box-direction: inherit; box-direction: initial; box-direction: revert; box-direction: revert-layer; box-direction: unset;
The box-direction property is specified as one of the keyword values listed below.
The edge of the box designated the start for layout purposes depends on the box's orientation:
The edge opposite to the start is designated the end.
If the direction is set using the element's dir attribute, then the style is ignored.
| Initial value | normal |
|---|---|
| Applies to | elements with a CSS display value of box or inline-box
|
| Inherited | no |
| Computed value | as specified |
| Animation type | discrete |
box-direction =
normal |
reverse
.example {
/* bottom-to-top layout */
-moz-box-direction: reverse; /* Mozilla */
-webkit-box-direction: reverse; /* WebKit */
box-direction: reverse; /* As specified */
}
Not part of any standard.
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Opera | Safari | Chrome Android | Firefox for Android | Opera Android | Safari on IOS | Samsung Internet | WebView Android | WebView on iOS | |
box-direction |
1 | 12 | 491 | 15 | 31.1–3 | 18 | 494 | 14 | 1 | 1.0 | 4.4 | 1 |
© 2005–2025 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/box-direction