- @media
- Try it
- Syntax
- Description
- Media types
- Media features
- Logical operators
- Accessibility concerns
- Security
- Formal syntax
- Examples
- Testing for print and screen media types
- Specifications
- Browser compatibility
- See also
- Found a content problem with this page?
- MDN
- Support
- Our communities
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- CSS Media Queries
- CSS3 Introduced Media Queries
- Browser Support
- Media Query Syntax
- CSS3 Media Types
- Media Queries Simple Examples
- Example
- Example
- More Media Query Examples
- CSS @media Reference
@media
The @media CSS at-rule can be used to apply part of a style sheet based on the result of one or more media queries. With it, you specify a media query and a block of CSS to apply to the document if and only if the media query matches the device on which the content is being used.
Note: In JavaScript, the rules created using @media can be accessed with the CSSMediaRule CSS object model interface.
Try it
Syntax
The @media at-rule may be placed at the top level of your code or nested inside any other conditional group at-rule.
/* At the top level of your code */ @media screen and (min-width: 900px) article padding: 1rem 3rem; > > /* Nested within another conditional at-rule */ @supports (display: flex) @media screen and (min-width: 900px) article display: flex; > > >
For a discussion of media query syntax, please see Using media queries.
Description
Media types
Media types describe the general category of a device. Except when using the not or only logical operators, the media type is optional and the all type is implied.
Intended for paged material and documents viewed on a screen in print preview mode. (Please see paged media for information about formatting issues that are specific to these formats.)
Intended primarily for screens.
Note: CSS2.1 and Media Queries 3 defined several additional media types ( tty , tv , projection , handheld , braille , embossed , and aural ), but they were deprecated in Media Queries 4 and shouldn’t be used.
Media features
Media features describe specific characteristics of the user agent, output device, or environment. Media feature expressions test for their presence or value, and are entirely optional. Each media feature expression must be surrounded by parentheses.
Does any available input mechanism allow the user to hover over elements? Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Is any available input mechanism a pointing device, and if so, how accurate is it? Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Width-to-height aspect ratio of the viewport
Number of bits per color component of the output device, or zero if the device isn’t color
Approximate range of colors that are supported by the user agent and output device. Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Number of entries in the output device’s color lookup table, or zero if the device does not use such a table
Width-to-height aspect ratio of the output device. Deprecated in Media Queries Level 4.
Height of the rendering surface of the output device. Deprecated in Media Queries Level 4.
Width of the rendering surface of the output device. Deprecated in Media Queries Level 4.
The display mode of the application, as specified in the web app manifest’s display member. Defined in the Web App Manifest spec.
Combination of brightness, contrast ratio, and color depth that are supported by the user agent and the output device. Added in Media Queries Level 5.
Detect whether user agent restricts color palette. Added in Media Queries Level 5.
Does the device use a grid or bitmap screen?
Does the primary input mechanism allow the user to hover over elements? Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Is the user agent or underlying OS inverting colors? Added in Media Queries Level 5.
Bits per pixel in the output device’s monochrome frame buffer, or zero if the device isn’t monochrome.
Orientation of the viewport.
How does the output device handle content that overflows the viewport along the block axis? Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Can content that overflows the viewport along the inline axis be scrolled? Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Is the primary input mechanism a pointing device, and if so, how accurate is it? Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Detect if the user prefers a light or dark color scheme. Added in Media Queries Level 5.
Detects if the user has requested the system increase or decrease the amount of contrast between adjacent colors. Added in Media Queries Level 5.
The user prefers less motion on the page. Added in Media Queries Level 5.
Pixel density of the output device.
Detects whether scripting (i.e. JavaScript) is available. Added in Media Queries Level 5.
How frequently the output device can modify the appearance of content. Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Combination of brightness, contrast ratio, and color depth that are supported by the video plane of user agent and the output device. Added in Media Queries Level 5.
Width of the viewport including width of scrollbar.
Logical operators
The logical operators not , and , only , and or can be used to compose a complex media query. You can also combine multiple media queries into a single rule by separating them with commas.
Used for combining multiple media features together into a single media query, requiring each chained feature to return true for the query to be true . It is also used for joining media features with media types.
Used to negate a media query, returning true if the query would otherwise return false . If present in a comma-separated list of queries, it will only negate the specific query to which it is applied. If you use the not operator, you must also specify a media type.
Note: In Level 3, the not keyword can’t be used to negate an individual media feature expression, only an entire media query.
Applies a style only if an entire query matches. It is useful for preventing older browsers from applying selected styles. When not using only , older browsers would interpret the query screen and (max-width: 500px) as screen , ignoring the remainder of the query, and applying its styles on all screens. If you use the only operator, you must also specify a media type.
Commas are used to combine multiple media queries into a single rule. Each query in a comma-separated list is treated separately from the others Thus, if any of the queries in a list is true , the entire media statement returns true . In other words, lists behave like a logical or operator.
Equivalent to the , operator. Added in Media Queries Level 4.
Accessibility concerns
To best accommodate people who adjust a site’s text size, use em s when you need a for your media queries.
Both em and px are valid units, but em works better if the user changes the browser text size.
Also consider using Level 4 media queries to improve the user’s experience. For example, prefers-reduced-motion to detect if the user has requested that the system minimize the amount of animation or motion it uses.
Security
Because media queries provide insights into the capabilities—and by extension, the features and design—of the device the user is working with, there is the potential that they could be abused to construct a «fingerprint» which identifies the device, or at least categorizes it to some degree of detail that may be undesirable to users.
Because of this potential, a browser may opt to fudge the returned values in some manner in order to prevent them from being used to precisely identify a computer. A browser might also offer additional measures in this area; for example, if Firefox’s «Resist Fingerprinting» setting is enabled, many media queries report default values rather than values representing the actual device state.
Formal syntax
Examples
Testing for print and screen media types
@media print body font-size: 10pt; > > @media screen body font-size: 13px; > > @media screen, print body line-height: 1.2; > > @media only screen and (min-width: 320px) and (max-width: 480px) and (resolution: 150dpi) body line-height: 1.4; > >
Introduced in Media Queries Level 4 is a new range syntax that allows for less verbose media queries when testing for any feature accepting a range, as shown in the below examples:
@media (height > 600px) body line-height: 1.4; > > @media (400px ) body line-height: 1.4; > >
For more examples, please see Using media queries.
Specifications
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
- Using media queries
- In JavaScript, @media can be accessed via the CSS object model interface CSSMediaRule .
- Extended Mozilla media features
- Extended WebKit media features
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This page was last modified on Jun 23, 2023 by MDN contributors.
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CSS Media Queries
The @media rule, introduced in CSS2, made it possible to define different style rules for different media types.
Examples: You could have one set of style rules for computer screens, one for printers, one for handheld devices, one for television-type devices, and so on.
Unfortunately these media types never got a lot of support by devices, other than the print media type.
CSS3 Introduced Media Queries
Media queries in CSS3 extended the CSS2 media types idea: Instead of looking for a type of device, they look at the capability of the device.
Media queries can be used to check many things, such as:
- width and height of the viewport
- width and height of the device
- orientation (is the tablet/phone in landscape or portrait mode?)
- resolution
Using media queries are a popular technique for delivering a tailored style sheet to desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones (such as iPhone and Android phones).
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specifies the first browser version that fully supports the @media rule.
Media Query Syntax
A media query consists of a media type and can contain one or more expressions, which resolve to either true or false.
The result of the query is true if the specified media type matches the type of device the document is being displayed on and all expressions in the media query are true. When a media query is true, the corresponding style sheet or style rules are applied, following the normal cascading rules.
Unless you use the not or only operators, the media type is optional and the all type will be implied.
You can also have different stylesheets for different media:
CSS3 Media Types
Value | Description |
---|---|
all | Used for all media type devices |
Used for printers | |
screen | Used for computer screens, tablets, smart-phones etc. |
speech | Used for screenreaders that «reads» the page out loud |
Media Queries Simple Examples
One way to use media queries is to have an alternate CSS section right inside your style sheet.
The following example changes the background-color to lightgreen if the viewport is 480 pixels wide or wider (if the viewport is less than 480 pixels, the background-color will be pink):
Example
The following example shows a menu that will float to the left of the page if the viewport is 480 pixels wide or wider (if the viewport is less than 480 pixels, the menu will be on top of the content):
Example
More Media Query Examples
For much more examples on media queries, go to the next page: CSS MQ Examples.
CSS @media Reference
For a full overview of all the media types and features/expressions, please look at the @media rule in our CSS reference.