CSS background-repeat Property
Example
Repeat a background-image only vertically:
body
{
background-image: url("paper.gif");
background-repeat: repeat-y;
}
Try it Yourself »
More "Try it Yourself" examples below.
Definition and Usage
The background-repeat property sets if/how a background image will be
repeated.
By default, a background-image is repeated both vertically and horizontally.
Tip: The background image is placed according to the background-position property. If no background-position is specified, the image is always placed at the element's top left corner.
| Default value: | repeat |
|---|---|
| Inherited: | no |
| Animatable: | no. Read about animatable |
| Version: | CSS1 |
| JavaScript syntax: | object.style.backgroundRepeat="repeat-x" Try it |
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.
| Property | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| background-repeat | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 |
CSS Syntax
background-repeat: repeat|repeat-x|repeat-y|no-repeat|initial|inherit;
Property Values
| Value | Description | Demo |
|---|---|---|
| repeat | The background image is repeated both vertically and horizontally. The last image will be clipped if it does not fit. This is default | Demo ❯ |
| repeat-x | The background image is repeated only horizontally | Demo ❯ |
| repeat-y | The background image is repeated only vertically | Demo ❯ |
| no-repeat | The background-image is not repeated. The image will only be shown once | Demo ❯ |
| space | The background-image is repeated as much as possible without clipping. The first and last image is pinned to either side of the element, and whitespace is distributed evenly between the images | Demo ❯ |
| round | The background-image is repeated and squished or stretched to fill the space (no gaps) | Demo ❯ |
| initial | Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial | |
| inherit | Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit |
More Examples
Example
Repeat a background image both vertically and horizontally (this is default):
body
{
background-image: url("paper.gif");
background-repeat: repeat;
}
Try it Yourself »
Example
Repeat a background image only horizontally:
body
{
background-image: url("paper.gif");
background-repeat: repeat-x;
}
Try it Yourself »
Example
Do not repeat a background image. The image will only be shown once:
body
{
background-image: url("paper.gif");
background-repeat: no-repeat;
}
Try it Yourself »
Example
Using background-repeat: space and background-repeat: round:
#example2 {
border: 2px solid black;
padding: 25px;
background: url("w3css.gif");
background-repeat: space;
}
#example3 {
border: 1px solid black;
padding: 25px;
background: url("w3css.gif");
background-repeat: round;
}
Try it Yourself »
Example
Use different background properties to create a "hero" image:
.hero-image {
background-image: url("photographer.jpg"); /* The
image used */
background-color: #cccccc; /* Used if the image is
unavailable */
height: 500px; /* You must set a specified height */
background-position: center; /* Center the image */
background-repeat: no-repeat; /* Do not repeat the image */
background-size: cover; /* Resize the background image to cover the entire container */
}
Try it Yourself »
Related Pages
CSS tutorial: CSS Background
CSS reference: background-position property
HTML DOM reference: backgroundRepeat property