Block formatting context

A block formatting context (BFC) is a part of a visual CSS rendering of a web page. It's the region in which the layout of block boxes occurs and in which floats interact with other elements.

A block formatting context is created by at least one of the following:

The root element of the document (<html>).
Floats (elements where float isn't none).
Absolutely positioned elements (elements where position is absolute or fixed).
Inline-blocks (elements with display: inline-block).
Table cells (elements with display: table-cell, which is the default for HTML table cells).
Table captions (elements with display: table-caption, which is the default for HTML table captions).
Anonymous table cells implicitly created by the elements with display: table, table-row, table-row-group, table-header-group, table-footer-group (which is the default for HTML tables, table rows, table bodies, table headers, and table footers, respectively), or inline-table.
Block elements where overflow has a value other than visible and clip.
Elements with display: flow-root.
<button> elements and button <input> types defaulting to display: flow-root.
Elements with contain: layout, content, or paint.
Flex items (direct children of the element with display: flex or inline-flex) if they are neither flex nor grid nor table containers themselves.
Grid items (direct children of the element with display: grid or inline-grid) if they are neither flex nor grid nor table containers themselves.
Multicol containers (elements where column-count or column-width isn't auto, including elements with column-count: 1).
column-span: all, even when the column-span: all element isn't contained by a multicol container.

Formatting contexts affect layout because an element that establishes a new block formatting context will:

contain internal floats.
exclude external floats.
suppress margin collapsing.

Flex and grid containers, defined by setting an element's (display to flex, grid, inline-flex, or inline-grid, establishes a new flex or grid formatting context. These are similar to block formatting context except there are no floating children available inside a flex or grid container, but these formatting contexts do exclude external floats and suppress margin collapsing.

Examples

Let's have a look at a couple of these in order to see the effect creating a new BFC.

Contain internal floats

In the following example, we have float content that is the same height as the content alongside it. We have a floated element inside a <div> with a border applied. The content of that <div> has floated alongside the floated element. As the content of the float is taller than the content alongside it, the border of the <div> now runs through the float. As explained in the guide to in flow and out of flow elements, the float has been taken out of flow so the background and border of the <div> only contain the content and not the float.

overflow: auto

Setting overflow: auto or set other values than the initial value of overflow: visible created a new BFC containing the float. Our <div> now becomes a mini-layout inside our layout. Any child element will be contained inside it.

The problem with using overflow to create a new BFC is that the overflow property is meant for telling the browser how you want to deal with overflowing content. There are some occasions in which you will find you get unwanted scrollbars or clipped shadows when you use this property purely to create a BFC. In addition, it is potentially not readable for a future developer, as it might not be obvious why you used overflow for this purpose. If you use overflow, it is a good idea to comment the code to explain.

display: flow-root

The display: flow-root value lets us create a new BFC without any other potentially problematic side-effects. Using display: flow-root on the containing block creates a new BFC.

With display: flow-root; on the <div>, everything inside that container participates in the block formatting context of that container, and floats will not poke out of the bottom of the element.

The value name of flow-root makes sense when you understand you are creating something that acts like the root element (<html> element in browser) in terms of how it creates a new context for the flow layout inside it.

This is the default rendering for <button> elements and button <input> types meaning button's create a new BFC as long as their display value isn't set to a value that doesn't automatically create a new BFC.

HTML

<section>
  <div class="box">
    <div class="float">I am a floated box!</div>
    <p>I am content inside the container.</p>
  </div>
</section>
<section>
  <div class="box" style="overflow:auto">
    <div class="float">I am a floated box!</div>
    <p>I am content inside the <code>overflow:auto</code> container.</p>
  </div>
</section>
<section>
  <div class="box" style="display:flow-root">
    <div class="float">I am a floated box!</div>
    <p>I am content inside the <code>display:flow-root</code> container.</p>
  </div>
</section>

CSS

section {
  height: 150px;
}
.box {
  background-color: rgb(224 206 247);
  border: 5px solid rebeccapurple;
}
.box[style] {
  background-color: aliceblue;
  border: 5px solid steelblue;
}
.float {
  float: left;
  width: 200px;
  height: 100px;
  background-color: rgb(255 255 255 / 50%);
  border: 1px solid black;
  padding: 10px;
}

Exclude external floats

In the following example, we are using display:flow-root and floats, creating two side-by-side boxes demonstrating that an element in the normal flow establishes a new BFC and does not overlap the margin box of any floats in the same block formatting context as the element itself.

HTML

<section>
  <div class="float">Try to resize this outer float</div>
  <div class="box"><p>Normal</p></div>
</section>
<section>
  <div class="float">Try to resize this outer float</div>
  <div class="box" style="display:flow-root">
    <p><code>display:flow-root</code></p>
  </div>
</section>

CSS

section {
  height: 150px;
}
.box {
  background-color: rgb(224 206 247);
  border: 5px solid rebeccapurple;
}
.box[style] {
  background-color: aliceblue;
  border: 5px solid steelblue;
}
.float {
  float: left;
  overflow: hidden; /* required by resize:both */
  resize: both;
  margin-right: 25px;
  width: 200px;
  height: 100px;
  background-color: rgb(255 255 255 / 75%);
  border: 1px solid black;
  padding: 10px;
}

Prevent margin collapsing

You can create a new BFC to avoid margin collapsing between two neighbor elements.

Margin collapsing example

In this example we have two adjacent <div> elements, which each have a vertical margin of 10px. Because of margin collapsing, the vertical gap between them is 10px, not the 20px we might expect.

<div class="blue"></div>
<div class="red"></div>

.blue,
.red {
  height: 50px;
  margin: 10px 0;
}

.blue {
  background: blue;
}

.red {
  background: red;
}

Preventing margin collapsing

In this example, we wrap the second <div> in an outer <div>, and create a new BFC by using overflow: hidden on the outer <div>. This new BFC prevents the margins of the nested <div> from collapsing with those of the outer <div>.

<div class="blue"></div>
<div class="outer">
  <div class="red"></div>
</div>

.blue,
.red {
  height: 50px;
  margin: 10px 0;
}

.blue {
  background: blue;
}

.red {
  background: red;
}

.outer {
  overflow: hidden;
  background: transparent;
}

Specifications

Specification
CSS Display Module Level 3 # block-formatting-context

Examples

Contain internal floats

HTML

CSS

Exclude external floats

HTML

CSS

Prevent margin collapsing

Margin collapsing example

Preventing margin collapsing

Specifications

See also