Global settings
Get the lowdown on the key pieces of Bootstrap's infrastructure, including our approach to better, faster, stronger web development.
Requires HTML5 doctype
Bootstrap makes use of certain HTML elements and CSS properties that require the use of the HTML5 doctype. Include it at the beginning of all your projects.
{% highlight html linenos %} ... {% endhighlight %}Mobile first
With Bootstrap 2, we added optional mobile friendly styles for key aspects of the framework. With Bootstrap 3, we've rewritten the project to be mobile friendly from the start. Instead of adding on optional mobile styles, they're baked right into the core. In fact, Bootstrap is mobile first. Mobile first styles can be found throughout the entire library instead of in separate files.
To ensure proper rendering and touch zooming, add the viewport meta tag to your <head>.
Typography and links
Bootstrap sets basic global display, typography, and link styles. Specifically, we:
- Remove
marginon the body - Set
background-color: white;on thebody - Use the
@font-family-base,@font-size-base, and@line-height-baseattributes as our typographic base - Set the global link color via
@link-colorand apply link underlines only on:hover
These styles can be found within scaffolding.less.
Normalize reset
For improved cross-browser rendering, we use Normalize, a project by Nicolas Gallagher and Jonathan Neal.
Typography
Headings
All HTML headings, <h1> through <h6> are available.
Bootstrap heading |
Semibold 38px |
|---|---|
Bootstrap heading |
Semibold 32px |
Bootstrap heading |
Semibold 24px |
Bootstrap heading |
Semibold 18px |
Bootstrap heading |
Semibold 16px |
Bootstrap heading |
Semibold 12px |
Body copy
Bootstrap's global default font-size is 14px, with a line-height of 20px. This is applied to the <body> and all paragraphs. In addition, <p> (paragraphs) receive a bottom margin of half their line-height (10px by default).
Nullam quis risus eget urna mollis ornare vel eu leo. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula.
Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla.
Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.
...
{% endhighlight %}Lead body copy
Make a paragraph stand out by adding .lead.
Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus dolor auctor. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus.
...
{% endhighlight %}Built with Less
The typographic scale is based on two LESS variables in variables.less: @font-size-base and @line-height-base. The first is the base font-size used throughout and the second is the base line-height. We use those variables and some simple math to create the margins, paddings, and line-heights of all our type and more. Customize them and Bootstrap adapts.
Emphasis
Make use of HTML's default emphasis tags with lightweight styles.
<small>
For de-emphasizing inline or blocks of text, use the small tag.
This line of text is meant to be treated as fine print.
Bold
For emphasizing a snippet of text with a heavier font-weight.
The following snippet of text is rendered as bold text.
Italics
For emphasizing a snippet of text with italics.
The following snippet of text is rendered as italicized text.
Feel free to use <b> and <i> in HTML5. <b> is meant to highlight words or phrases without conveying additional importance while <i> is mostly for voice, technical terms, etc.
Alignment classes
Easily realign text to components with text alignment classes.
Left aligned text.
Center aligned text.
Right aligned text.
Left aligned text.
Center aligned text.
Right aligned text.
{% endhighlight %}Emphasis classes
Convey meaning through color with a handful of emphasis utility classes.
Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris nibh.
Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod.
Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla.
Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula.
...
...
...
...
{% endhighlight %}Abbreviations
Stylized implementation of HTML's <abbr> element for abbreviations and acronyms to show the expanded version on hover. Abbreviations with a title attribute have a light dotted bottom border and a help cursor on hover, providing additional context on hover.
<abbr>
For expanded text on long hover of an abbreviation, include the title attribute.
An abbreviation of the word attribute is attr.
<abbr class="initialism">
Add .initialism to an abbreviation for a slightly smaller font-size.
HTML is the best thing since sliced bread.
Addresses
Present contact information for the nearest ancestor or the entire body of work.
<address>
Preserve formatting by ending all lines with <br>.
795 Folsom Ave, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94107
P: (123) 456-7890 Full Name
first.last@example.com
795 Folsom Ave, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94107
P: (123) 456-7890 Full Name
first.last@example.com {% endhighlight %}
Blockquotes
For quoting blocks of content from another source within your document.
Default blockquote
Wrap <blockquote> around any HTML as the quote. For straight quotes we recommend a <p>.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer posuere erat a ante.
{% endhighlight %}Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer posuere erat a ante.
Blockquote options
Style and content changes for simple variations on a standard blockquote.
Naming a source
Add <small> tag for identifying the source. Wrap the name of the source work in <cite>.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer posuere erat a ante.
Someone famous in Source Title
{% endhighlight %}Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer posuere erat a ante.
Someone famous Source Title
Alternate displays
Use .pull-right for a floated, right-aligned blockquote.
...{% endhighlight %}
Lists
Unordered
A list of items in which the order does not explicitly matter.
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
- Consectetur adipiscing elit
- Integer molestie lorem at massa
- Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet
- Nulla volutpat aliquam velit
- Phasellus iaculis neque
- Purus sodales ultricies
- Vestibulum laoreet porttitor sem
- Ac tristique libero volutpat at
- Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel
- Aenean sit amet erat nunc
- Eget porttitor lorem
- ...
Ordered
A list of items in which the order does explicitly matter.
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
- Consectetur adipiscing elit
- Integer molestie lorem at massa
- Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet
- Nulla volutpat aliquam velit
- Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel
- Aenean sit amet erat nunc
- Eget porttitor lorem
- ...
Unstyled
Remove the default list-style and left padding on list items (immediate children only).
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
- Consectetur adipiscing elit
- Integer molestie lorem at massa
- Facilisis in pretium nisl aliquet
- Nulla volutpat aliquam velit
- Phasellus iaculis neque
- Purus sodales ultricies
- Vestibulum laoreet porttitor sem
- Ac tristique libero volutpat at
- Faucibus porta lacus fringilla vel
- Aenean sit amet erat nunc
- Eget porttitor lorem
- ...
Inline
Place all list items on a single line with inline-block and some light padding.
- Lorem ipsum
- Phasellus iaculis
- Nulla volutpat
- ...
Description
A list of terms with their associated descriptions.
- Description lists
- A description list is perfect for defining terms.
- Euismod
- Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.
- Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus.
- Malesuada porta
- Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod.
- ...
- ...
Horizontal description
Make terms and descriptions in <dl> line up side-by-side.
- Description lists
- A description list is perfect for defining terms.
- Euismod
- Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.
- Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus.
- Malesuada porta
- Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod.
- Felis euismod semper eget lacinia
- Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus.
- ...
- ...
Auto-truncating
Horizontal description lists will truncate terms that are too long to fit in the left column fix text-overflow. In narrower viewports, they will change to the default stacked layout.
Grid system
Live grid example
The default Bootstrap grid system utilizes 12 columns, making for a 940px wide container without responsive features enabled. With the responsive CSS file added, the grid adapts to be 724px and 1170px wide depending on your viewport. Below 767px viewports, the columns become fluid and stack vertically.
Basic grid HTML
For a simple two column layout, create a .row and add the appropriate number of .span* columns. As this is a 12-column grid, each .span* spans a number of those 12 columns, and should always add up to 12 for each row (or the number of columns in the parent).
Given this example, we have .span4 and .span8, making for 12 total columns and a complete row.
Offsetting columns
Move columns to the right using .offset* classes. Each class increases the left margin of a column by a whole column. For example, .offset4 moves .span4 over four columns.
Nesting columns
To nest your content with the default grid, add a new .row and set of .span* columns within an existing .span* column. Nested rows should include a set of columns that add up to 12.
Code
Inline
Wrap inline snippets of code with <code>.
<section> should be wrapped as inline.
<section> should be wrapped as inline.
{% endhighlight %}
Basic block
Use <pre> for multiple lines of code. Be sure to escape any angle brackets in the code for proper rendering.
<p>Sample text here...</p>
<p>Sample text here...</p>{% endhighlight %}
You may optionally add the .pre-scrollable class which will set a max-height of 350px and provide a y-axis scrollbar.
Tables
Default styles
For basic styling—light padding and only horizontal dividers—add the base class .table to any <table>. It may seem super redundant, but given the widespread use of tables for other plugins like calendars and date pickers, we've opted to isolate our custom table styles.
| # | First Name | Last Name | Username |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark | Otto | @mdo |
| 2 | Jacob | Thornton | @fat |
| 3 | Larry | the Bird |
Optional classes
Add any of the following classes to the .table base class.
.table-striped
Adds zebra-striping to any table row within the <tbody> via the :nth-child CSS selector (not available in IE8).
| # | First Name | Last Name | Username |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark | Otto | @mdo |
| 2 | Jacob | Thornton | @fat |
| 3 | Larry | the Bird |
.table-bordered
Add borders and rounded corners to the table.
| # | First Name | Last Name | Username |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark | Otto | @mdo |
| Mark | Otto | @TwBootstrap | |
| 2 | Jacob | Thornton | @fat |
| 3 | Larry the Bird | ||
.table-hover
Enable a hover state on table rows within a <tbody>.
| # | First Name | Last Name | Username |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark | Otto | @mdo |
| 2 | Jacob | Thornton | @fat |
| 3 | Larry the Bird | ||
.table-condensed
Makes tables more compact by cutting cell padding in half.
| # | First Name | Last Name | Username |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark | Otto | @mdo |
| 2 | Jacob | Thornton | @fat |
| 3 | Larry the Bird | ||
Optional row classes
Use contextual classes to color table rows.
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
.success
|
Indicates a successful or positive action. |
.error
|
Indicates a dangerous or potentially negative action. |
.warning
|
Indicates a warning that might need attention. |
.info
|
Used as an alternative to the default styles. |
| # | Product | Payment Taken | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TB - Monthly | 01/04/2012 | Approved |
| 2 | TB - Monthly | 02/04/2012 | Declined |
| 3 | TB - Monthly | 03/04/2012 | Pending |
Supported table markup
List of supported table HTML elements and how they should be used.
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
<table>
|
Wrapping element for displaying data in a tabular format |
<thead>
|
Container element for table header rows (<tr>) to label table columns
|
<tbody>
|
Container element for table rows (<tr>) in the body of the table
|
<tr>
|
Container element for a set of table cells (<td> or <th>) that appears on a single row
|
<td>
|
Default table cell |
<th>
|
Special table cell for column (or row, depending on scope and placement) labels |
<caption>
|
Description or summary of what the table holds, especially useful for screen readers |
| ... | ... | ... |
|---|---|---|
| ... | ... | ... |
Forms
Default styles
Individual form controls automatically receive some global styling. By default, inputs are set to width: 100%;.
Optional layouts
Included with Bootstrap are optional form layouts for common use cases.
Inline form
Add .form-inline for left-aligned labels and inline-block controls for a compact layout.
Horizontal form
Right align labels and float them to the left to make them appear on the same line as controls. Requires the most markup changes from a default form:
- Add
.form-horizontalto the form - Wrap labels and controls in
.control-group - Add
.control-labelto the label - Wrap any associated controls in
.controlsfor proper alignment
Supported form controls
Examples of standard form controls supported in an example form layout.
Inputs
Most common form control, text-based input fields. Includes support for all HTML5 types: text, password, datetime, datetime-local, date, month, time, week, number, email, url, search, tel, and color.
Requires the use of a specified type at all times.
Textarea
Form control which supports multiple lines of text. Change rows attribute as necessary.
Checkboxes and radios
Checkboxes are for selecting one or several options in a list while radios are for selecting one option from many.
Default (stacked)
{% highlight html linenos %}Inline checkboxes
Use .checkbox-inline or .radio-inline class to a series of checkboxes or radios for controls appear on the same line.
Selects
Use the default option or specify a multiple="multiple" to show multiple options at once.
Form control states
Provide feedback to users or visitors with basic feedback states on form controls and labels.
Input focus
We remove the default outline styles on some form controls and apply a box-shadow in its place for :focus.
Invalid inputs
Style inputs via default browser functionality with :invalid. Specify a type, add the required attribute if the field is not optional, and (if applicable) specify a pattern.
This is not available in versions of Internet Explorer 7-9 due to lack of support for CSS pseudo selectors.
{% highlight html linenos %} {% endhighlight %}Disabled inputs
Add the disabled attribute on an input to prevent user input and trigger a slightly different look.
Disabled fieldsets
Add the disabled attribute to a <fieldset> to disable all the controls within the <fieldset> at once. Link buttons (with the <a> element) will be aesthetically disabled, but you will need custom JavaScript to disable their behavior.
Validation states
Bootstrap includes validation styles for error, warning, info, and success messages. To use:
- Add
.has-warning,.has-error, or.has-successto the parent element - Add .input-with-feedback to the field(s) in question
Validation styles are applied on a per-input basis. With horizontal forms, the <label class="control-label"> will always be styled.
Extending form controls
Adding on top of existing browser controls, Bootstrap includes other useful form components.
Input groups
Add text or buttons before, after, or on both sides of any text-based input. Use .input-group with a .add-on to prepend or append elements to an <input>.
Avoid using <select> elements here as they cannot be fully styled in WebKit browsers.
Optional sizes
Add the relative form sizing classes to the `.input-group-addon`.
{% highlight html linenos %}Buttons instead of text
Buttons in input groups are a bit different and require one extra level of nesting. Instead of .input-group-addon, you'll need to use .input-group-btn to wrap the buttons. This is required due to default browser styles that cannot be overridden.
Button dropdowns
{% highlight html linenos %}Segmented dropdown groups
{% highlight html linenos %}Control sizing
Use relative sizing classes like .input-large or match your inputs to the grid column sizes using .span* classes.
Relative sizing
Create larger or smaller form controls that match button sizes.
{% highlight html linenos %} {% endhighlight %}Column sizing
Use .span1 to .span12 for setting widths on inputs that match Bootstrap's grid system.
If you need multiple inputs on the same line, wrap them in the standard grid markup (with .row and .span* classes). Each input should have it's own column and will expand to fill the available width automatically.
Uneditable inputs
Present data in a form that's not editable without using actual form markup.
{% highlight html linenos %} Some value here {% endhighlight %}Form actions
End a form with a group of actions (buttons). When placed within a .form-horizontal, the buttons will automatically indent to line up with the form controls.
Help text
Inline and block level support for help text that appears around form controls.
Inline help
{% highlight html linenos %} Inline help text {% endhighlight %}Block help
{% highlight html linenos %} A longer block of help text that breaks onto a new line and may extend beyond one line. {% endhighlight %}Images
Add classes to an <img> element to easily style images in any project. Rounded corners are not available in IE8.
Icons font by Glyphicons
Included glyphs
Bootstrap comes with all 160 of Glyphicons Halflings set, all available in font formats for easy coloring, sizing, and placement.
Glyphicons attribution
Glyphicons Halflings are normally not available for free, but an arrangement between Bootstrap and the Glyphicons creator have made this possible at no cost to you as developers. As a thank you, we ask you to include an optional link back to Glyphicons whenever practical.
How to use
Add the appropriate class to any inline element. All icon classes are prefixed with glyphicon- for easy styling. To use, place the following code just about anywhere:
Want to change the icon color? Just change the color of the parent element.
When using beside strings of text, as in buttons or nav links, be sure to leave a space after the icon for proper spacing.
Icon examples
Use them in buttons, button groups for a toolbar, navigation, or prepended form inputs.
Buttons
Button group in a button toolbar
Dropdown in a button group
{% highlight html linenos %} {% endhighlight %}Large button
{% highlight html linenos %} Star {% endhighlight %}Small button
{% highlight html linenos %} {% endhighlight %}Navigation
Form fields
{% highlight html linenos %}Responsive utilities
For faster mobile-friendly development, use these utility classes for showing and hiding content by device via media query.
| Class | Phones 767px and below | Tablets 979px to 768px | Desktops Default |
|---|---|---|---|
.visible-phone |
Visible | Hidden | Hidden |
.visible-tablet |
Hidden | Visible | Hidden |
.visible-desktop |
Hidden | Hidden | Visible |
.hidden-phone |
Hidden | Visible | Visible |
.hidden-tablet |
Visible | Hidden | Visible |
.hidden-desktop |
Visible | Visible | Hidden |
When to use
Use on a limited basis and avoid creating entirely different versions of the same site. Instead, use them to complement each device's presentation. Responsive utilities should not be used with tables, and as such are not supported.
Responsive utilities test case
Resize your browser or load on different devices to test the above classes.
Visible on...
Green checkmarks indicate that class is visible in your current viewport.
- Phone✔ Phone
- Tablet✔ Tablet
- Desktop✔ Desktop
Hidden on...
Here, green checkmarks indicate that class is hidden in your current viewport.