The flex component simplifies the creation of flexible and responsive layouts by abstracting the complexity of CSS flexbox. Instead of manually handling flex properties, developers can use this component to build structured and adaptable designs with improved readability and maintainability.
By leveraging flex, layouts can automatically adjust to different screen sizes and content variations, ensuring a seamless user experience. This documentation covers its functionality, best practices, and key concepts to help you use it effectively.
The flexible box layout module (usually referred to as flexbox) is a CSS layout model that provides a more efficient way to organize, align, and distribute space among items within a container, even when their size is unknown or dynamic.
Below, we share a series of essential links to help you understand and use the flex component correctly. If you are not acquainted with these concepts, we strongly recommend taking a moment to review them:
- Use flex for responsive layouts: use the flex component to create layouts that adapt to different screen sizes and content variations.
- Prioritize fluidity over fixed sizes: avoid using fixed widths or heights when possible, as they can lead to layout issues on different devices. Instead, leverage flex properties like
grow,shrink, andbasisto create scalable designs. - Leverage alignment and justification: use
justifyContentandalignItemsstrategically to control content positioning within the flex container, ensuring a well-structured and visually balanced layout. - Optimize nested flex containers: while nesting flex containers is sometimes necessary, excessive nesting can reduce readability and maintainability. Consider alternative layout strategies when appropriate.
- Ensure consistency with design tokens: whenever possible, use the design tokens provided by the Halstack Design System to maintain visual and functional consistency across applications, even though the component allows custom values.
- Combine with other layout techniques: flexbox is powerful but not always the best tool for every scenario. Consider using the grid component for complex two-dimensional layouts or stacked components for simpler structures.