Input/Button Elements Not Shrinking in a Flex Container

input / button elements not shrinking in a flex container

An input element, unlike a div, comes with a default width.

Here's a simple illustration of this setting:

Sample Image

The browser automatically gives the input a width.

input {  border: 1px solid blue;  display: inline;}
div { border: 1px solid red; display: inline;}
<form>  <input>  <br><br>  <div></div></form>

How to make input inside flexbox size to available space?

This is because the input has a default width bigger than 100px. Add min-width:0 to the input to fix this:

div{  display:flex;  width:100px;  position:relative;  border:solid 1px #000;}
input{ flex:1; display:block; border:none; min-width:0;}
<div>   <input type="number">   <button>OK</button></div>

Why don't flex items shrink past content size?

The Automatic Minimum Size of Flex Items

You're encountering a flexbox default setting.

A flex item cannot be smaller than the size of its content along the main axis.

The defaults are...

  • min-width: auto
  • min-height: auto

...for flex items in row-direction and column-direction, respectively.

You can override these defaults by setting flex items to:

  • min-width: 0
  • min-height: 0
  • overflow: hidden (or any other value, except visible)

Flexbox Specification

4.5. Automatic Minimum Size of Flex
Items

To provide a more reasonable default minimum size for flex items, this
specification introduces a new auto value as the initial value of
the min-width and min-height properties defined in CSS 2.1.

With regard to the auto value...

On a flex item whose overflow is visible in the main axis, when specified on the flex item’s main-axis min-size property, specifies an automatic minimum size. It otherwise computes to 0.

In other words:

  • The min-width: auto and min-height: auto defaults apply only when overflow is visible.
  • If the overflow value is not visible, the value of the min-size property is 0.
  • Hence, overflow: hidden can be a substitute for min-width: 0 and min-height: 0.

and...

  • The minimum sizing algorithm applies only on the main axis.
  • For example, a flex item in a row-direction container does not get min-height: auto by default.
  • For a more detailed explanation see this post:

    • min-width rendering differently in flex-direction: row and flex-direction: column

You've applied min-width: 0 and the item still doesn't shrink?

Nested Flex Containers

If you're dealing with flex items on multiple levels of the HTML structure, it may be necessary to override the default min-width: auto / min-height: auto on items at higher levels.

Basically, a higher level flex item with min-width: auto can prevent shrinking on items nested below with min-width: 0.

Examples:

  • Flex item is not shrinking smaller than its content
  • Fitting child into parent
  • white-space css property is creating issues with flex

Browser Rendering Notes

  • Chrome vs. Firefox / Edge

    Since at least 2017, it appears that Chrome is either (1) reverting back to the min-width: 0 / min-height: 0 defaults, or (2) automatically applying the 0 defaults in certain situations based on a mystery algorithm. (This could be what they call an intervention.) As a result, many people are seeing their layout (especially desired scrollbars) work as expected in Chrome, but not in Firefox / Edge. This issue is covered in more detail here: flex-shrink discrepancy between Firefox and Chrome

  • IE11

    As noted in the spec, the auto value for the min-width and min-height properties is "new". This means that some browsers may still render a 0 value by default, because they implemented flex layout before the value was updated and because 0 is the initial value for min-width and min-height in CSS 2.1. One such browser is IE11. Other browsers have updated to the newer auto value as defined in the flexbox spec.


Revised Demo

.container {  display: flex;}
.col { min-height: 200px; padding: 30px; word-break: break-word}
.col1 { flex: 1; background: orange; font-size: 80px; min-width: 0; /* NEW */}
.col2 { flex: 3; background: yellow}
.col3 { flex: 4; background: skyblue}
.col4 { flex: 4; background: red}
<div class="container">  <div class="col col1">Lorem ipsum dolor</div>  <div class="col col2">Lorem ipsum dolor</div>  <div class="col col3">Lorem ipsum dolor</div>  <div class="col col4">Lorem ipsum dolor</div></div>

Input doesn't respect flex container width

The reason it works in IE is because it picks up the flex-basis: 100%, but it shouldn't.

The reason it overflows in Chrome (and should in IE), is that a flex item can't by default be smaller than its content since its min-width is set to auto, and in this case form elements, such as input, have a default width set using the browsers built it style sheet.

The reason min-width: 0 works, is when set to 0 the flex item will, since its flex-shrink value is 1 (the default), be allowed to shrink, and does to adjust to its parent's width.

Stack snippet

.input-with-button {  display: flex;  width: 100px;  border: 5px solid blue;  margin-bottom: 10px;}
.input-with-button input { flex-basis: 100%; min-width: 0; /* added */}
<div class='input-with-button'>  <div>Test</div></div>
<div class='input-with-button'> <input></div>

Why input tag flex doesn't work?Overflow layout instead of evenly sizing?

Input has its default min-width which is auto so that reason only flex not able to resize it.

so you have to overwrite it with min-width:0.

input {  min-width: 0;}
<div style="display: flex; width: 300px; background: red; padding: 5px;">  <input style="flex: 1;">  <input style="flex: 1;">  <input style="flex: 1;">  <input style="flex: 1;"></div>

Flex box ignoring width if input in flexitem

Flexbox items has a min-width that defaults to auto, which means they won't shrink below their contents width.

In this case your input element has a default width set in the user agent style sheet, which then dictate the size of the flex item.

Give the ele a min-width: 0 and it will work as expected.

.wrapper {  width: 200px;  display: -webkit-flex;  display: flex;  -webkit-align-items: center;  align-items: center;  -webkit-justify-content: center;  justify-content: center;  flex-direction: row;}
.ele { display: -webkit-flex; display: flex; -webkit-align-items: center; align-items: center; -webkit-justify-content: center; justify-content: center; flex-direction: row; flex: 3; min-width: 0;}
.ele1 { flex: 1;}
.ele input { display: inline; max-width: 100%;}
<div class="wrapper">  <div class="ele ele3" style="background-color: red;">    <input type="number" value="9999" />  </div>  <div class="ele ele1" style="background-color: green;">    2  </div>  <div class="ele ele3" style="background-color: yellow;">    <input type="number" value="9999" />  </div></div>

flexbox form not filling up full width of available space

Ok I figured it out you do it on the child

.form-container {
background-color: red;
}

.search-form {
display: flex;
align-items: flex-start;
}

.sesrch-form label {
flex-grow: 1;
}
<div class="form-container">
<form role="search" method="get" class="search-form" action="/">
<label>
<span class="screen-reader-text">Test form</span>
<input type="search" class="search-field" placeholder="field" value="search" name="s" title="search input" />
</label>
<input type="submit" class="search-submit button" value="search" />
</form>
</div>

Why does the width of my input grow so much?

Thanks to one of @Michael_B's comments, I managed to identify the issue. Browsers set a minimum width to input tags.

  • input / button elements not shrinking in a flex container
  • Why doesn't the <input> element respect min-width?

I applied width: 0 on the input and the width scaled down to the value I was expecting.



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