Sass Variables

Variables are a way to store information that you can re-use later.

With Sass, you can store information in variables, like:

strings
numbers
colors
booleans
lists
nulls

Sass uses the $ symbol, followed by a name, to declare variables:

Sass Variable Syntax:

$variablename: value;

The following example declares 4 variables named myFont, myColor, myFontSize, and myWidth. After the variables are declared, you can use the variables wherever you want:

SCSS Syntax:

$myFont: Helvetica, sans-serif;
$myColor: red;
$myFontSize: 18px;
$myWidth: 680px;

body {
font-family: $myFont;
font-size: $myFontSize;
color: $myColor;
}

#container {
width: $myWidth;
}

Run Example »

So, when the Sass file is transpiled, it takes the variables (myFont, myColor, etc.) and outputs normal CSS with the variable values placed in the CSS, like this:

CSS Output:

body {
font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 18px;
color: red;
}

#container {
width: 680px;
}

Sass Variable Scope

Sass variables are only available at the level of nesting where they are defined.

Look at the following example:

SCSS Syntax:

$myColor: red;

h1 {
$myColor: green;
color: $myColor;
}

p {
color: $myColor;
}

Run Example »

Will the color of the text inside a <p> tag be red or green? It will be red!

The other definition, $myColor: green; is inside the <h1> rule, and will only be available there!

So, the CSS output will be:

CSS Output:

h1 {
color: green;
}

p {
color: red;
}

Ok, that is the default behavior for variable scope.

Using Sass !global

The default behavior for variable scope can be overridden by using the !global switch.

!global indicates that a variable is global, which means that it is accessible on all levels.

Look at the following example (same as above; but with !global added):

SCSS Syntax:

$myColor: red;

h1 {
$myColor: green !global;
color: $myColor;
}

p {
color: $myColor;
}

Run Example »

Now the color of the text inside a <p> tag will be green!

So, the CSS output will be:

CSS Output:

h1 {
color: green;
}

p {
color: green;
}

Tip: Global variables should be defined outside any rules. It could be wise to define all global variables in its own file, named "_globals.scss", and include the file with the @include keyword.

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