Flexbox

Tailwind CSS self-stretch Class

The self-stretch utility class generates the following CSS when applied to an element.

CSS Output

CSS
.self-stretch {
  align-self: stretch;
}

Variants

Use these variant prefixes to apply self-stretch conditionally:

responsive:self-stretch

Use It

HTML
<div class="flex items-start h-32 gap-4">
  <div class="p-4 bg-blue-500">Natural height</div>
  <div class="self-stretch p-4 bg-green-500">Stretches to full height</div>
</div>

Understanding self-stretch

The Tailwind CSS self-stretch utility applies align-self: stretch; to an element when added to its class attribute. It stretches this specific flex item to fill the cross axis of its container, regardless of the container's align-items setting.

This utility is part of Tailwind's Flexbox module, designed for building flexible one-dimensional layouts with powerful alignment and distribution controls. In Tailwind's utility-first workflow, you add self-stretch directly to your HTML elements rather than writing custom CSS. This approach accelerates development and keeps styles co-located with your markup, making it easy to see exactly how each element is styled at a glance.

Common responsive variants include sm:self-stretch, md:self-stretch, lg:self-stretch, and xl:self-stretch, allowing different behavior at each breakpoint. State variants like hover:self-stretch and focus:self-stretch enable interactive styling without any JavaScript. You can also combine multiple variants for fine-grained control over when the utility applies.

This class works well alongside `self-auto`, `self-start`, `self-center`, `self-end` to build complete, production-ready interfaces. Tailwind's tree-shaking ensures only utilities you actually use appear in your final CSS bundle, keeping file sizes minimal. Browser support for the underlying CSS is excellent across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

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