Basscss / Docs

Utility

Utilities are single-purpose styles that provide the backbone for layout. Once these are set, they should be considered immutable and never change or be extended. Each utility is designed to do one thing well, while making its usage simple and obvious with short, humanized naming conventions.

Typography

Use these utilities to alter default typographic styles.

Bold

Regular

Italic

Caps

Left align

Center

Right align

Justify Bacon ipsum dolor sit amet chuck prosciutto landjaeger ham hock filet mignon shoulder hamburger pig venison.

<p class="bold">Bold</p>
<p class="regular">Regular</p>
<p class="italic">Italic</p>
<p class="caps">Caps</p>
<p class="left-align">Left align</p>
<p class="center">Center</p>
<p class="right-align">Right align</p>
<p class="justify">Justify Bacon ipsum dolor sit amet chuck prosciutto landjaeger ham hock filet mignon shoulder hamburger pig venison.</p>

Layout

Use the following layout utilities to alter default HTML layout.

.inline       { display: inline }
.block        { display: block }
.inline-block { display: inline-block }

.overflow-hidden { overflow: hidden }

.clearfix:before,
.clearfix:after {
  content: " ";
  display: table
}
.clearfix:after { clear: both }

.left  { float: left }
.right { float: right }

.fit { max-width: 100% }

.half-width { width: 50% }
.full-width { width: 100% }

Media Object

Use utilites to create a media object.

Image

Body Bacon ipsum dolor sit amet chuck prosciutto landjaeger ham hock filet mignon shoulder hamburger pig venison.

<div class="clearfix mb2 outline-blue">
  <div class="left p2 mr1">Image</div>
  <div class="overflow-hidden">
    <p><b>Body</b> Bacon ipsum dolor sit amet chuck prosciutto landjaeger ham hock filet mignon shoulder hamburger pig venison.</p>
  </div>
</div>

Double-Sided Media Object

For a container with a flexible center, use a double-sided media object.

Image
Image

Body Bacon ipsum dolor sit amet chuck prosciutto landjaeger ham hock filet mignon shoulder hamburger pig venison.

<div class="clearfix mb2 outline-blue">
  <div class="left p2 mr1">Image</div>
  <div class="right p2 ml1">Image</div>
  <div class="overflow-hidden">
    <p><b>Body</b> Bacon ipsum dolor sit amet chuck prosciutto landjaeger ham hock filet mignon shoulder hamburger pig venison.</p>
  </div>
</div>

White Space Scale

Margin and padding utilities are based on a global white space scale defined with variables. These utilities use a shorthand naming convention.

Shorthand Description
m Margin
p Padding
t Top
r Right
b Bottom
l Left
x X-axis (left and right)
y Y-axis (top and bottom)
n Negative (margin only)
1 --space-1 (default .5rem)
2 --space-2 (default 1rem)
3 --space-3 (default 2rem)
4 --space-4 (default 4rem)

Margins

Use these utilities to reset or alter default margins. Negative x-axis margins are used to offset padding. Margin auto is used to horizontally center block-level elements with a set width.

.m0  { margin:        0 }
.mt0 { margin-top:    0 }
.mr0 { margin-right:  0 }
.mb0 { margin-bottom: 0 }
.ml0 { margin-left:   0 }

.m1  { margin:        var(--space-1) }
.mt1 { margin-top:    var(--space-1) }
.mr1 { margin-right:  var(--space-1) }
.mb1 { margin-bottom: var(--space-1) }
.ml1 { margin-left:   var(--space-1) }

.m2  { margin:        var(--space-2) }
.mt2 { margin-top:    var(--space-2) }
.mr2 { margin-right:  var(--space-2) }
.mb2 { margin-bottom: var(--space-2) }
.ml2 { margin-left:   var(--space-2) }

.m3  { margin:        var(--space-3) }
.mt3 { margin-top:    var(--space-3) }
.mr3 { margin-right:  var(--space-3) }
.mb3 { margin-bottom: var(--space-3) }
.ml3 { margin-left:   var(--space-3) }

.m4  { margin:        var(--space-4) }
.mt4 { margin-top:    var(--space-4) }
.mr4 { margin-right:  var(--space-4) }
.mb4 { margin-bottom: var(--space-4) }
.ml4 { margin-left:   var(--space-4) }

.mxn1 { margin-left: -var(--space-1); margin-right: -var(--space-1); }
.mxn2 { margin-left: -var(--space-2); margin-right: -var(--space-2); }
.mxn3 { margin-left: -var(--space-3); margin-right: -var(--space-3); }
.mxn4 { margin-left: -var(--space-4); margin-right: -var(--space-4); }

.mx-auto { margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; }

Padding

Padding utilities are only available in symmetrical orientations. This is to normalize the spacing used around elements.

.p1  { padding:       var(--space-1) }
.py1 { padding-top:   var(--space-1); padding-bottom: var(--space-1) }
.px1 { padding-left:  var(--space-1); padding-right:  var(--space-1) }

.p2  { padding:       var(--space-2) }
.py2 { padding-top:   var(--space-2); padding-bottom: var(--space-2) }
.px2 { padding-left:  var(--space-2); padding-right:  var(--space-2) }

.p3  { padding:       var(--space-3) }
.py3 { padding-top:   var(--space-3); padding-bottom: var(--space-3) }
.px3 { padding-left:  var(--space-3); padding-right:  var(--space-3) }

.p4  { padding:       var(--space-4) }
.py4 { padding-top:   var(--space-4); padding-bottom: var(--space-4) }
.px4 { padding-left:  var(--space-4); padding-right:  var(--space-4) }

Responsive States

These styles allow for conditionally showing and hiding elements using a mobile-first approach.

Prefix Naming Convention

Prefix Description
(no prefix) Not scoped to a breakpoint
sm- --breakpoint-sm (default: min-width 40em)
md- --breakpoint-md (default: min-width 52em)
lg- --breakpoint-lg (default: min-width 64em)

To adjust the default breakpoints, declare custom media queries after importing the file via Rework, or manually adjust them in CSS.

.sm-show, .md-show, .lg-show {
  display: none !important
}
@media (--breakpoint-sm) {
  .sm-show { display: block !important }
}
@media (--breakpoint-md) {
  .md-show { display: block !important }
}
@media (--breakpoint-lg) {
  .lg-show { display: block !important }
}
.hide { display: none !important }
@media (--breakpoint-sm) {
  .sm-hide { display: none !important }
}
@media (--breakpoint-md) {
  .md-hide { display: none !important }
}
@media (--breakpoint-lg) {
  .lg-hide { display: none !important }
}

Example

Resize the browser window to see the effect.

Visible from --breakpoint-sm and up.

Hidden from --breakpoint-sm and up.

<h3 class="hide sm-show">Visible from <code>--breakpoint-sm</code> and up.</h3>
<h3 class="sm-hide red">Hidden from <code>--breakpoint-sm</code> and up.</h3>

Responsive Line Break

Control wrapping at different screen widths.

Responsive Line Break
To Control Wrapping

<h1>
  Responsive Line Break
  <br class="md-show">
  To Control Wrapping
</h1>

Positions

These styles alter the default document flow.

Use positions with caution. They are often unnecessary and commonly misused.
See the Guide to Basics for more info.

.relative { position: relative }
.absolute { position: absolute }
.fixed    { position: fixed }

.top-0    { top: 0 }
.right-0  { right: 0 }
.bottom-0 { bottom: 0 }
.left-0   { left: 0 }

.z1 { z-index: 1 }
.z2 { z-index: 2 }
.z3 { z-index: 3 }
.z4 { z-index: 4 }

.absolute-center {
  top: 0;
  right: 0;
  bottom: 0;
  left: 0;
  margin: auto;
  display: table;
}

Default Variables

Utility styles use the following variables. To alter these defaults, declare new values after importing Basscss with Rework.

:root {
  --space-1: .5rem;
  --space-2: 1rem;
  --space-3: 2rem;
  --space-4: 4rem;
  --bold-font-weight: bold;
}

NPM

Utility styles are also available as a standalone NPM module.

npm install basscss-utilities