First Public Working Draft: CSS Gap Decorations Module Level 1

The CSS Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of CSS Gap Decorations Module Level 1. This module introduces several properties to add row and column gap decorations to container layout types such as grid and flex.

CSS Gap Decorations: A New Frontier in Layout Styling

The CSS Working Group has just published the First Public Working Draft of an exciting new specification: CSS Gap Decorations Module Level 1. This draft introduces a set of properties aimed at bringing visual styling directly to the gaps between elements in layout containers like Grid and Flexbox.

What Are Gap Decorations?

Up until now, web developers have relied on creative workarounds—like borders, pseudo-elements, and nested wrappers—to simulate visual effects between rows and columns in layout structures. With this new module, that may soon be a thing of the past.

The CSS Gap Decorations Module proposes dedicated styling capabilities for the row and column gaps within a container. Think of it as giving the space between elements first-class visual treatment.

Why It Matters

Modern layouts often rely on grid and flex to organize content. While the gap property provides a clean and semantic way to control spacing, it has always been purely functional—adding space, but not style. This module takes that concept further by allowing developers to:

  • Apply background colors, gradients, or even images to the gaps

  • Define borders or other visual effects

  • Achieve more design flexibility without messy markup hacks

This could enable cleaner code, more responsive designs, and fewer DOM elements needed purely for styling.

What’s Included?

Though still early in development, the draft introduces several new properties. While implementation details and syntax may evolve, the initial proposal aims to support:

  • Decorating both row and column gaps independently

  • Supporting different layout containers like Grid and Flexbox

  • Bringing customizable visuals to layout gaps in a standardized, reusable way

When Can We Use It?

As with all early-stage CSS specs, this is just the beginning. It’s not yet supported by browsers, and the spec itself is subject to significant changes as it matures. However, its publication as a First Public Working Draft signals that it’s officially on the roadmap.

Stay Ahead

If you’re a designer or developer who loves pushing the boundaries of what CSS can do, this is a spec to watch. It’s another step toward a world where we need fewer hacks and have more expressive, intuitive styling tools right out of the box.


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