The background-repeat
CSS property sets how background images are repeated. A background image can be repeated along the horizontal and vertical axes, or not repeated at all.
The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.
By default, the repeated images are clipped to the size of the element, but they can be scaled to fit (using round
) or evenly distributed from end to end (using space
).
Syntax
/* Keyword values */ background-repeat: repeat-x; background-repeat: repeat-y; background-repeat: repeat; background-repeat: space; background-repeat: round; background-repeat: no-repeat; /* Two-value syntax: horizontal | vertical */ background-repeat: repeat space; background-repeat: repeat repeat; background-repeat: round space; background-repeat: no-repeat round; /* Global values */ background-repeat: inherit; background-repeat: initial; background-repeat: unset;
Values
<repeat-style>
- The one-value syntax is a shorthand for the full two-value syntax:
-
Single value Two-value equivalent repeat-x
repeat no-repeat
repeat-y
no-repeat repeat
repeat
repeat repeat
space
space space
round
round round
no-repeat
no-repeat no-repeat
-
repeat
The image is repeated as much as needed to cover the whole background image painting area. The last image will be clipped if it doesn't fit. space
The image is repeated as much as possible without clipping. The first and last images are pinned to either side of the element, and whitespace is distributed evenly between the images. The background-position
property is ignored unless only one image can be displayed without clipping. The only case where clipping happens usingspace
is when there isn't enough room to display one image.round
As the allowed space increases in size, the repeated images will stretch (leaving no gaps) until there is room (space left >= half of the image width) for another one to be added. When the next image is added, all of the current ones compress to allow room. Example: An image with an original width of 260px, repeated three times, might stretch until each repetition is 300px wide, and then another image will be added. They will then compress to 225px. no-repeat
The image is not repeated (and hence the background image painting area will not necessarily be entirely covered). The position of the non-repeated background image is defined by the background-position
CSS property.
Formal definition
Initial value | repeat |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line . |
Inherited | no |
Computed value | a list, each item consisting of two keywords, one per dimension |
Animation type | discrete |
Formal syntax
<repeat-style>#where
<repeat-style> = repeat-x | repeat-y | [ repeat | space | round | no-repeat ]{1,2}
Examples
Setting background-repeat
HTML
<ol> <li>no-repeat <div class="one"></div> </li> <li>repeat <div class="two"></div> </li> <li>repeat-x <div class="three"></div> </li> <li>repeat-y <div class="four"></div> </li> <li>space <div class="five"></div> </li> <li>round <div class="six"></div> </li> <li>repeat-x, repeat-y (multiple images) <div class="seven"></div> </li> </ol>
CSS
/* Shared for all DIVS in example */ ol, li { margin: 0; padding: 0; } li { margin-bottom: 12px; } div { background-image: url(https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12005/starsolid.gif); width: 160px; height: 70px; } /* Background repeats */ .one { background-repeat: no-repeat; } .two { background-repeat: repeat; } .three { background-repeat: repeat-x; } .four { background-repeat: repeat-y; } .five { background-repeat: space; } .six { background-repeat: round; } /* Multiple images */ .seven { background-image: url(https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/12005/starsolid.gif), url(https://developer.cdn.mozilla.net/media/redesign/img/favicon32.png); background-repeat: repeat-x, repeat-y; height: 144px; }
Result
In this example, each list item is matched with a different value of background-repeat
.
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3 The definition of 'background-repeat' in that specification. |
Candidate Recommendation | Adds support for multiple background images, the two-value syntax allowing distinct repetition behavior for the horizontal and vertical directions, the space and round keywords, and for backgrounds on inline-level elements by precisely defining the background painting area. |
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'background-repeat' in that specification. |
Recommendation | No significant changes. |
CSS Level 1 The definition of 'background-repeat' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table in this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
background-repeat | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 1 | IE Full support 4 | Opera Full support 3.5 | Safari Full support 1 | WebView Android Full support 37 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 10.1 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
Multiple backgrounds | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 3.6 | IE Full support 9 | Opera Full support 10.5 | Safari Full support 1.3 | WebView Android Full support 37 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 11 | Safari iOS Full support 1 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
round and space keywords | Chrome Full support 30 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 49 | IE Full support 9 | Opera
Full support
17
| Safari Full support 7 | WebView Android Full support ≤37 | Chrome Android Full support 30 | Firefox Android Full support 49 | Opera Android Full support 18 | Safari iOS Full support 8 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 2.0 |
Two-value syntax (different values for x & y directions) | Chrome Full support 3 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 13 | IE Full support 9 | Opera Full support 10.5 | Safari Full support 5 | WebView Android Full support ≤37 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 14 | Opera Android Full support 11 | Safari iOS Full support 4 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support