scroll-padding

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since April 2021.

The scroll-padding shorthand property sets scroll padding on all sides of an element at once. It specifies offsets that define the optimal viewing region of a scrollport within a scroll container.

Try it

scroll-padding: 0;
scroll-padding: 20px;
scroll-padding: 20%;
<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <div class="scroller" id="example-element">
    <div>1</div>
    <div>2</div>
    <div>3</div>
  </div>
  <div class="info">Scroll »</div>
</section>
.default-example .info {
  inline-size: 100%;
  padding: 0.5em 0;
  font-size: 90%;
  writing-mode: vertical-rl;
}

.scroller {
  text-align: left;
  height: 250px;
  width: 270px;
  overflow-y: scroll;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  box-sizing: border-box;
  border: 1px solid black;
  scroll-snap-type: y mandatory;
}

.scroller > div {
  flex: 0 0 250px;
  background-color: rebeccapurple;
  color: white;
  font-size: 30px;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  scroll-snap-align: start;
}

.scroller > div:nth-child(even) {
  background-color: white;
  color: rebeccapurple;
}

Constituent properties

This property is a shorthand for the following CSS properties:

Syntax

css
/* Keyword values */
scroll-padding: auto;

/* <length> values */
scroll-padding: 10px;
scroll-padding: 1em 0.5em 1em 1em;
scroll-padding: 10%;

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

Values

<length-percentage>

An inwards offset from the corresponding edge of the scrollport, as a valid <length> or a <percentage>.

auto

The offset is determined by the user agent. This will generally be 0px, but the user agent is free to detect and do something else if a non-zero value is more appropriate.

Description

The scroll-padding property is a shorthand that sets scroll-padding-top, scroll-padding-right, scroll-padding-bottom, and scroll-padding-left, in that order, setting the top, right, bottom, and left scroll padding of a scroll container, respectively.

Useful when creating scroll-snap containers, the scroll-padding property enables defining offsets for the optimal viewing region of the scrollport: the region used as the target region for placing elements in view of the user. This allows you to create insets in the scrollport to make room for objects that might obscure the content, such as fixed-positioned toolbars or sidebars, or to put more breathing room between a targeted element and the edges of the scrollport.

While defined in the CSS scroll snap module, this property applies to all scroll containers, no matter the value of the scroll-snap-type property.

Formal definition

Initial valueas each of the properties of the shorthand:
Applies toscroll containers
Inheritedno
Percentagesrelative to the scroll container's scrollport
Computed valueas each of the properties of the shorthand:
Animation typeby computed value type

Formal syntax

scroll-padding = 
[ auto | <length-percentage [0,∞]> ]{1,4}

<length-percentage> =
<length> |
<percentage>

Specifications

Specification
CSS Scroll Snap Module Level 1
# scroll-padding

Browser compatibility

See also