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radial-gradient()

The radial-gradient() CSS function creates an image consisting of a progressive transition between two or more colors that radiate from an origin. Its shape may be a circle or an ellipse. The function's result is an object of the <gradient> data type, which is a special kind of <image>.

As with any gradient, a radial gradient has no intrinsic dimensions; i.e., it has no natural or preferred size, nor a preferred ratio. Its concrete size will match the size of the element it applies to.

To create a radial gradient that repeats so as to fill its container, use the repeating-radial-gradient() function instead.

Because <gradient>s belong to the <image> data type, they can only be used where <image>s can be used. For this reason, radial-gradient() won't work on background-color and other properties that use the <color> data type.

Composition of a radial gradient

A radial gradient is defined by a center point, an ending shape, and two or more color-stop points.

To create a smooth gradient, the radial-gradient() function draws a series of concentric shapes radiating out from the center to the ending shape (and potentially beyond). The ending shape may be either a circle or an ellipse.

Color-stop points are positioned on a virtual gradient ray that extends horizontally from the center towards the right. Percentage-based color-stop positions are relative to the intersection between the ending shape and this gradient ray, which represents 100%. Each shape is a single color determined by the color on the gradient ray it intersects.

Syntax

/* A gradient at the center of its container,
   starting red, changing to blue, and finishing green */
radial-gradient(circle at center, red 0, blue, green 100%)

Values

<position>

The position of the gradient, interpreted in the same way as background-position or transform-origin. If unspecified, it defaults to center.

<shape>

The gradient's shape. The value can be circle (meaning that the gradient's shape is a circle with constant radius) or ellipse (meaning that the shape is an axis-aligned ellipse). If unspecified, it defaults to ellipse.

<extent-keyword>

A keyword describing how big the ending shape must be. The possible keywords are:

Keyword	Description
`closest-side`	The gradient's ending shape meets the side of the box closest to its center (for circles) or meets both the vertical and horizontal sides closest to the center (for ellipses).
`closest-corner`	The gradient's ending shape is sized so that it exactly meets the closest corner of the box from its center.
`farthest-side`	Similar to `closest-side`, except the ending shape is sized to meet the side of the box farthest from its center (or vertical and horizontal sides).
`farthest-corner`	The gradient's ending shape is sized so that it exactly meets the farthest corner of the box from its center.

Note: Early implementations of this function included other keywords (cover and contain) as synonyms of the standard farthest-corner and closest-side, respectively. Use the standard keywords only, as some implementations have already dropped those older variants.

<color-stop>

A color-stop's <color> value, followed by an optional stop position (either a <percentage> or a <length> along the gradient's axis). A percentage of 0%, or a length of 0, represents the center of the gradient; the value 100% represents the intersection of the ending shape with the virtual gradient ray. Percentage values in between are linearly positioned on the gradient ray.

Formal syntax

radial-gradient(
  [ [ circle || <length> ]                         [ at <position> ]? , |
    [ ellipse || [ <length> | <percentage> ]{2} ]  [ at <position> ]? , |
    [ [ circle | ellipse ] || <extent-keyword> ]   [ at <position> ]? , |
    at <position> ,
  ]?
  <color-stop> [ , <color-stop> ]+
)
where <extent-keyword> = closest-corner | closest-side | farthest-corner | farthest-side
  and <color-stop>     = <color> [ <percentage> | <length> ]?

Examples

Simple gradient

.radial-gradient {
  background-image: radial-gradient(cyan 0%, transparent 20%, salmon 40%);
}

Non-centered gradient

.radial-gradient {
  background-image: radial-gradient(farthest-corner at 40px 40px,
      #f35 0%, #43e 100%);
}

Note: Please see Using CSS gradients for more examples.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Images Module Level 3 The definition of 'radial-gradients()' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Initial definition.

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari
Basic support	26 26 Yes Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit-	12	16 16 Before Firefox 36, gradients weren't applied on the pre-multiplied color space, leading to shades of grey unexpectedly appearing when used with transparency. 3.6 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -moz- Since Firefox 42, the prefixed version of gradients can be disabled by setting `layout.css.prefixes.gradients` to `false`. 49 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit- 44 Prefixed Disabled Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled From version 44: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	10 10 Internet Explorer 5.5 through 9.0 supported gradients via a proprietary filter: `-ms-filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Gradient()`.	12.1 12.1 11.6 — 15 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -o- 15 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit-	6.1 6.1 5.1 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit- Safari 4 was supporting an experimental `-webkit-gradient(radial,…)` function. This old outdated syntax is still supported for compatibility purposes.
`at` syntax	26	12	16 16 Before Firefox 36, gradients weren't applied on the pre-multiplied color space, leading to shades of grey unexpectedly appearing when used with transparency. 10 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -moz- Since Firefox 42, the prefixed version of gradients can be disabled by setting `layout.css.prefixes.gradients` to `false`. 49 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit- 44 Prefixed Disabled Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled From version 44: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	10	15 15 11.6 — 15 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -o-	No
Interpolation Hints / Gradient Midpoints	40	No	36	No	27	6.1

	Mobile
	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge Mobile	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	iOS Safari	Samsung Internet
Basic support	Yes Yes Yes Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit-	26 26 18 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Yes	16 16 Before Firefox 36, gradients weren't applied on the pre-multiplied color space, leading to shades of grey unexpectedly appearing when used with transparency. 4 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -moz- Since Firefox 42, the prefixed version of gradients can be disabled by setting `layout.css.prefixes.gradients` to `false`. 49 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit- 44 Prefixed Disabled Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit- Disabled From version 44: this feature is behind the `layout.css.prefixes.webkit` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	12.1 12.1 12 — 14 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -o- 14 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Yes	Yes
`at` syntax	Yes	Yes	Yes	16 16 10 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -moz-	No	No	Yes
Interpolation Hints / Gradient Midpoints	40	40	No	36	Yes	Yes	Yes

Quantum CSS notes

Gecko used to have a long-standing bug whereby radial gradients like radial-gradient(circle gold,red) would work, even though they shouldn't because of the missing comma between circle and gold. Also, calc() expressions were rejected — causing the value to be invalid — when used as the radius component of a radial-gradient() function (bug 1376019). Firefox's new parallel CSS engine (also known as Quantum CSS or Stylo, released in Firefox 57) fixed these bugs.