🔲

CSS Grid Generator

Visually configure CSS Grid layout - set columns, rows, gap, and alignment - then copy the ready-to-use CSS code.

Live Preview

About CSS Grid Generator — CSS Grid Generator Online

This free CSS grid generator online provides a visual interface for configuring CSS Grid layout properties and copying production-ready code in seconds. Set grid-template-columns using fr units, px, %, or repeat() notation; define row sizing; control column and row gaps independently; and align grid items with justify-items and align-items — all with an instant live preview. The generated CSS output is complete and valid, ready to paste directly into your stylesheet. No installation, no account, and all processing happens client-side in your browser.

Front-end developers use CSS grid generators when prototyping page layouts — the classic sidebar and main content combination, responsive card grids, image galleries, and dashboard panels. UX designers use the live preview to validate column proportions before writing any code. Data teams building internal reporting dashboards use CSS Grid for table-like layouts where precise row and column control is essential. Students learning CSS layout use this CSS grid generator online as an interactive tool to understand how grid-template-columns, fr units, and the repeat() function combine to create complex layouts from a few simple declarations.

How to Use the CSS Grid Generator

  1. Type a grid-template-columns value into the text input — start with repeat(3, 1fr) for three equal columns, or try 200px 1fr 1fr for a fixed sidebar with two flexible content columns.
  2. Set grid-template-rows if you need explicit row sizes. Leave it as auto to let rows size to their content, which is the correct setting for most layouts.
  3. Drag the Column gap and Row gap sliders independently to set gutters between columns and rows. This is equivalent to column-gap and row-gap (previously grid-column-gap and grid-row-gap).
  4. Choose justify-items and align-items values to control how grid items are positioned within their cells. stretch fills the cell; center places items in the middle of the cell.
  5. Drag the Preview cells slider to add more cells and observe how the grid reflows, then click Copy CSS to copy the final generated code.

CSS Grid Properties Explained

CSS Grid introduces several new property names and value types. These are the key container properties this generator exposes, along with practical notes on how and when to use each.

  • grid-template-columns: Defines the number and size of columns. Use fr units for proportional flexible widths, repeat() to avoid repetition, minmax() for responsive columns, and fixed px or % values for columns that should not flex.
  • grid-template-rows: Defines explicit row heights. auto is the default and means each row is as tall as its tallest cell. Use fixed values like 100px when rows must maintain a specific height regardless of content.
  • column-gap / row-gap: Set space between column tracks and row tracks respectively, without adding space at the outer edges of the grid. These replaced the older grid-column-gap and grid-row-gap properties in the CSS Grid Level 2 spec.
  • justify-items: Aligns each grid item horizontally within its cell. stretch fills the full cell width; start, end, and center position items at the left, right, or middle of the cell.
  • align-items: Aligns each grid item vertically within its cell, using the same value options as justify-items. Combines with justify-items to control both dimensions of placement within a cell.

Tips for Getting the Best Results

CSS Grid's flexibility makes it powerful, but a few conventions help you avoid common layout mistakes and write more maintainable code.

  • Use the fr unit for flexible columns instead of percentages: The fr unit distributes free space after fixed-size columns and gaps are accounted for. Using percentages instead requires calculating gap widths manually and often leads to overflow. For example, repeat(3, 1fr) with a 16px column-gap produces three equal columns that perfectly fill the container — no math needed.
  • Use repeat() to avoid repetition in template values: Instead of writing 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr 1fr, use repeat(5, 1fr). For responsive grids that should show as many columns as will fit without JavaScript, use repeat(auto-fill, minmax(200px, 1fr)) — each column is at least 200px wide and columns wrap automatically.
  • Leave grid-template-rows as auto unless you have a specific reason: Explicit row heights force all cells in a row to match that height, which can clip content. Auto-sized rows grow to fit their content naturally. Only set explicit row heights for designs where consistent row heights are a deliberate visual requirement.
  • Set column-gap and row-gap independently for different gutters: Many designs need more vertical spacing between rows than horizontal spacing between columns — think card grids where cards are close together horizontally but have more breathing room vertically. Set column-gap and row-gap to different values rather than using the gap shorthand with a single value.
  • Test with different cell counts to validate the layout: A grid layout that looks correct with 6 cells may break badly with 7 or 11 cells if the last row is incomplete. Use the Preview cells slider to test your grid with edge-case counts and verify that partially filled rows look acceptable before shipping.

Why Use a CSS Grid Generator Online

Writing grid-template-columns values from memory requires knowing the fr unit, the repeat() function, and how they interact with gap — all without visual feedback. A CSS grid generator online lets you type a value and immediately see the result, making it far faster to iterate on layout ideas than editing a stylesheet and refreshing the browser. The generated CSS is syntactically correct every time. Works in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge without any installation required.

Developers building responsive dashboards, product listing pages, and image galleries use this tool to prototype the grid structure before writing component HTML. Teams doing design-to-code handoff use it to quickly verify that a grid-template-columns value from a design file produces the intended column proportions. Beginners learning CSS Grid use it alongside documentation to understand how fr units, repeat(), and gap interact visually before committing the concepts to memory.

Frequently Asked Questions about CSS Grid Generator

The fr unit stands for "fraction of free space." After fixed-size columns and gaps are measured, remaining space is divided proportionally among fr columns. repeat(3, 1fr) creates three equal-width columns sharing all available space. The value 2fr 1fr creates two columns where the first is exactly twice as wide as the second — for example, 600px and 300px in a 900px container with no gap.
Use CSS Grid when you need to control both rows and columns simultaneously — page-level layouts, card grids, dashboards, and image galleries are ideal Grid use cases. Use Flexbox when you need to arrange items along a single axis — navigation bars, button groups, or stacking items in a column. In practice, most modern layouts use both: Grid for the page structure and Flexbox for aligning items within each grid area.
No. The CSS Grid Generator runs entirely in your browser. All preview rendering and CSS generation is done client-side using JavaScript that applies inline styles to live DOM elements and reads them back to produce the output code. Nothing is transmitted to any server. You can use the tool offline once the page has loaded, and everything you type stays completely private on your device.
Use repeat(auto-fill, minmax(200px, 1fr)) as your grid-template-columns value. This creates as many columns as will fit given a minimum width of 200px, and each column stretches proportionally to fill remaining space. When the container narrows, columns wrap to new rows automatically without any media query. Adjust the minmax minimum value to control the breakpoint where columns stack. This is one of the most powerful patterns in CSS Grid.
gap is a shorthand that sets both column-gap and row-gap at once. If you write gap: 16px, both are 16px. Writing gap: 24px 16px sets row-gap to 24px and column-gap to 16px. Use column-gap and row-gap individually when you want different vertical and horizontal spacing — common in card grids where more vertical breathing room is desirable between rows than between columns.
Yes. The CSS Grid Generator works on mobile browsers including Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android. The text inputs for grid-template-columns and grid-template-rows accept typed values on mobile keyboards, and the sliders and dropdowns are touchscreen-friendly. The Copy CSS button works on mobile, letting you paste generated grid code directly into a code editor app or notes app on your device.
Yes, completely free with no account required and no usage limits. The tool is browser-based and all processing happens on your device, so there are no server costs associated with your usage. You can use it for personal projects, client work, or commercial applications without any restrictions. No attribution is required.
Yes. CSS Grid is fully supported in all modern browsers — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera — without any vendor prefixes. Browser support has been stable since 2017 and covers well over 98% of current global traffic. The CSS generated by this tool is compatible with all currently supported browsers. Internet Explorer 11 had a limited implementation of an older Grid spec, but IE11 reached end-of-life in 2022 and can safely be excluded from browser support targets.