`resize` CSS property

Limited availability

This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.

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The resize CSS property sets whether an element is resizable, and if so, in which directions.

Try it

resize: both;

resize: horizontal;

resize: vertical;

resize: none;

<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <div id="example-element">Try resizing this element.</div>
</section>

#example-element {
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, cyan 0%, cyan 94%, white 95%);
  border: 3px solid #c5c5c5;
  overflow: auto;
  width: 250px;
  height: 250px;
  font-weight: bold;
  color: black;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  padding: 10px;
}

resize does not apply to the following:

Inline elements
Block elements for which the overflow property is set to visible or clip

Syntax

css

/* Keyword values */
resize: none;
resize: both;
resize: horizontal;
resize: vertical;
resize: block;
resize: inline;

/* Global values */
resize: inherit;
resize: initial;
resize: revert;
resize: revert-layer;
resize: unset;

The resize property is specified as a single keyword value from the list below.

Values

none: The element offers no user-controllable method for resizing it.
both: The element displays a mechanism for allowing the user to resize it, which may be resized both horizontally and vertically.
horizontal: The element displays a mechanism for allowing the user to resize it in the horizontal direction.
vertical: The element displays a mechanism for allowing the user to resize it in the vertical direction.
block: The element displays a mechanism for allowing the user to resize it in the block direction (either horizontally or vertically, depending on the writing-mode and direction value).
inline: The element displays a mechanism for allowing the user to resize it in the inline direction (either horizontally or vertically, depending on the writing-mode and direction value).

Formal definition

Initial value	`none`
Applies to	elements with `overflow` other than `visible`, and optionally replaced elements representing images or videos, and iframes
Inherited	no
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

resize = 
  none        |
  both        |
  horizontal  |
  vertical    |
  block       |
  inline

Examples

Disabling resizability of text areas

In many browsers, <textarea> elements are resizable by default. You may override this behavior with the resize property.

HTML

html

<textarea>Type some text here.</textarea>

CSS

css

textarea {
  resize: none; /* Disables resizability */
}

Result

Using resize with arbitrary elements

You can use the resize property to make any element resizable. In the example below, a resizable <div> contains a resizable paragraph (<p> element).

HTML

html

<div class="resizable">
  <p class="resizable">
    This paragraph is resizable in all directions, because the CSS `resize`
    property is set to `both` on this element.
  </p>
</div>

CSS

css

.resizable {
  resize: both;
  overflow: scroll;
  border: 1px solid black;
}

div {
  height: 300px;
  width: 300px;
}

p {
  height: 200px;
  width: 200px;
}