W3cubDocs

white-space

The white-space CSS property sets how white space inside an element is handled.

Note: To make words break within themselves, use overflow-wrap, word-break, or hyphens instead.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
white-space: normal;
white-space: nowrap;
white-space: pre;
white-space: pre-wrap;
white-space: pre-line;

/* Global values */
white-space: inherit;
white-space: initial;
white-space: unset;

The white-space property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.

Values

normal: Sequences of white space are collapsed. Newline characters in the source are handled the same as other white space. Lines are broken as necessary to fill line boxes.
nowrap: Collapses white space as for normal, but suppresses line breaks (text wrapping) within the source.
pre: Sequences of white space are preserved. Lines are only broken at newline characters in the source and at <br> elements.
pre-wrap: Sequences of white space are preserved. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.
pre-line: Sequences of white space are collapsed. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.

The following table summarizes the behavior of the various white-space values:

	New lines	Spaces and tabs	Text wrapping
`normal`	Collapse	Collapse	Wrap
`nowrap`	Collapse	Collapse	No wrap
`pre`	Preserve	Preserve	No wrap
`pre-wrap`	Preserve	Preserve	Wrap
`pre-line`	Preserve	Collapse	Wrap

Formal syntax

normal | pre | nowrap | pre-wrap | pre-line

Examples

Basic example

code { 
  white-space: pre; 
}

Line breaks inside `<pre>` elements

pre {
  word-wrap: break-word;      /* IE 5.5-7 */
  white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; /* Firefox 1.0-2.0 */
  white-space: pre-wrap;      /* Modern browsers */
}

See it in action

Source

    <p>    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
    
    Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
    
    Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
    
    Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>

CSS + Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Text Module Level 3 The definition of 'white-space' in that specification.	Working Draft	Precisely defines the breaking algorithms.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'white-space' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition.

Initial value	`normal`
Applies to	all elements
Inherited	yes
Media	visual
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete
Canonical order	the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari
Basic support	1	12	1	5.5	4	1
`pre`	1	12	1	6	4	1
`pre-wrap`	1	12	3 3 1 — 3.6 Prefixed Prefixed Requires the vendor prefix: -moz-	8 8 From Internet Explorer 5.5 to 7, `word-wrap: break-word;` can be used for line breaks in `pre` elements.	8	3
`pre-line`	1	12	3.5	8	9.5	3
Support on `<textarea>`	1	?	36	5.5	4	1
Support in SVG	No	?	36	?	?	?

	Mobile
	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Edge Mobile	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	iOS Safari	Samsung Internet
Basic support	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?
`pre`	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
`pre-wrap`	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
`pre-line`	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Support on `<textarea>`	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Support in SVG	?	?	?	?	?	?	No