background-position-x

The background-position-x CSS property sets the initial horizontal position for each background image. The position is relative to the position layer set by background-origin.

The value of this property is overridden by any declaration of the background or background-position shorthand properties applied to the element after it.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
background-position-x: left;
background-position-x: center;
background-position-x: right;

/* <percentage> values */
background-position-x: 25%;

/* <length> values */
background-position-x: 0px;
background-position-x: 1cm;
background-position-x: 8em;

/* Side-relative values */
background-position-x: right 3px;
background-position-x: left 25%;

/* Multiple values */
background-position-x: 0px, center;

/* Global values */
background-position-x: inherit;
background-position-x: initial;
background-position-x: unset;

The background-position-x property is specified as one or more values, separated by commas.

Values

left
Aligns the left edge of the background image with the left edge of the background position layer.
center
Aligns the center of the background image with the center of the background position layer.
right
Aligns the right edge of the background image with the right edge of the background position layer.
<length>
The offset of the given background image's left vertical edge from the background position layer's left vertical edge. (Some browsers allow assigning the right edge for offset).
<percentage>
The offset of the given background image's horizontal position relative to the container. A value of 0% means that the left edge of the background image is aligned with the left edge of the container, and a value of 100% means that the right edge of the background image is aligned with the right edge of the container, thus a value of 50% horizontally centers the background image.

Formal definition

Initial valueleft
Applies toall elements
Inheritedno
Percentagesrefer to width of background positioning area minus height of background image
Computed valueA list, each item consisting of: an offset given as a combination of an absolute length and a percentage, plus an origin keyword
Animation typediscrete

Formal syntax

[ center | [ [ left | right | x-start | x-end ]? <length-percentage>? ]! ]#

where
<length-percentage> = <length> | <percentage>

Examples

Basic example

The following example shows a simple background image implementation, with background-position-x and background-position-y used to define the image's horizontal and vertical positions separately.

HTML

<div></div>

CSS

div {
  width: 300px;
  height: 300px;
  background-color: skyblue;
  background-image: url(https://media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2020/07/29/17350/3b4892b7e820122ac6dd7678891d4507/firefox.png);
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-position-x: center;
  background-position-y: bottom 10px;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 4
The definition of 'background-position-x' in that specification.
Editor's Draft Initial specification of longhand sub-properties of background-position to match longstanding implementations.

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
background-position-xChrome Full support 1Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 49IE Full support 6Opera Full support 15Safari Full support 1WebView Android Full support ≤37Chrome Android Full support 18Firefox Android Full support 49Opera Android Full support 18Safari iOS Full support 1Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
Two-value syntax (support for offsets from any edge)Chrome No support NoEdge No support 12 — 79Firefox Full support 49IE Full support 9Opera No support NoSafari No support NoWebView Android No support NoChrome Android No support NoFirefox Android Full support 49Opera Android No support NoSafari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No

Legend

Full support
Full support
No support
No support

See also