The align-items Property

The align-items property sets the alignment of elements along the cross axis for flex containers and along the vertical axis for grids. It is applied to the parent element.

Syntax

selector {
	align-items: flex-start | flex-end | center | baseline | stretch;
}

Values

Value	Description
`flex-start`	Items are packed toward the start of the cross (vertical) axis.
`flex-end`	Items are packed toward the end of the cross (vertical) axis.
`center`	Items are centered along the cross (vertical) axis.
`baseline`	Items are aligned such as their baselines align. The baseline is an imaginary line that runs along the bottom of characters without considering descenders, for example, like in the letters `'p'` and `'y'`.
`stretch`	Items are stretched to fill the container's cross axis, still respecting `min-width` and `max-width` if set. If width and height are set for the items - `stretch` will be ignored.

Default value: stretch.

Example . The stretch value

Currently, the main axis is directed from left to right, and along the cross axis, the items are stretched to the full height:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: stretch;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . The stretch value + item dimensions

Currently, width and height are set for the items, therefore the stretch value for the align-items property will be ignored:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: stretch;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	width: 100px;
	height: 50px;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . The flex-start value without item dimensions

Currently, the items will be aligned to the top:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: flex-start;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . The flex-start value + item dimensions

Currently, the items will still be aligned to the top, but they will have a set width and height:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: flex-start;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	width: 100px;
	height: 50px;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . The flex-end value + item dimensions

Currently, the items will be aligned to the bottom:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: flex-end;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	width: 100px;
	height: 50px;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . The center value + item dimensions

Currently, the items will be centered along the cross axis (vertically in this case):

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: center;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	width: 100px;
	height: 50px;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . The center value, items of different sizes

Currently, the items have different heights (they are currently expanded by the text, but you can also set height), the width is the same for all, since the width property is set:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: center;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	width: 100px;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . The baseline value, items of different sizes

This is what alignment by the baseline looks like:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: flex;
	align-items: baseline;
	flex-direction: row;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#parent > div {
	width: 130px;
	line-height: 1;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Example . Alignment to the start of the vertical axis in a grid

Let's align our items inside the cells to the start of the vertical axis:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: grid;
	align-items: flex-start;
	grid-template-columns: 100px 100px;
	gap: 10px;
	padding: 10px;
	border: 2px solid #696989;
	height: 200px;
	width: 400px;
}
#parent > div {
	gap: 10px;
	padding: 10px;
	box-sizing: border-box;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Now let's look at our grid in the browser's developer tools:

Example . Alignment to the center of the vertical axis in a grid

Now let's align our items in the cells to the center of the vertical axis:

<div id="parent">
	<div>1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: grid;
	align-items: center;
	grid-template-columns: 100px 100px;
	gap: 10px;
	padding: 10px;
	border: 2px solid #696989;
	height: 200px;
	width: 400px;
}
#parent > div {
	gap: 10px;
	padding: 10px;
	box-sizing: border-box;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}

Let's see the grid display in the developer tools:

Example . Alignment to the end of the vertical axis in a grid

Let's change the item alignment again, this time to the end of the vertical axis:

<div id="parent">
	<div id="elem1">1</div>
	<div>2</div>
	<div>3</div>
	<div>4</div>
	<div>5</div>
</div>

#parent {
	display: grid;
	align-items: end;
	grid-template-columns: 100px 100px;
	gap: 10px;
	padding: 10px;
	border: 2px solid #696989;
	height: 200px;
	width: 400px;
}
#parent > div {
	gap: 10px;
	padding: 10px;
	box-sizing: border-box;
	border: 1px solid #696989;
}
#elem1 {
	
}

Now let's see what our grid looks like through the developer tools: