CSS Overflow & White-space

Control what happens when content exceeds its container and how whitespace is handled.

Overflow Property

overflow: visible (Default)

Content overflow is visible:

.container {
  overflow: visible;
}

overflow: hidden

Content is clipped:

.container {
  overflow: hidden;
}

overflow: scroll

Always shows scrollbar:

.container {
  overflow: scroll;
}

overflow: auto

Scrollbar only when needed:

.container {
  overflow: auto;
}

Individual Axes

.container {
  overflow-x: hidden;
  overflow-y: auto;
}

Text Truncation

Single Line Truncation

.truncate {
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
  white-space: nowrap;
  max-width: 200px;
}

Multi-Line Truncation

/* 2 lines */
.truncate-2 {
  display: -webkit-box;
  -webkit-line-clamp: 2;
  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
  overflow: hidden;
}

/* 3 lines */
.truncate-3 {
  display: -webkit-box;
  -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
  overflow: hidden;
}

White-space Property

normal (Default)

Text wraps normally:

.white-space-normal {
  white-space: normal;
}

nowrap

Text doesn’t wrap:

.white-space-nowrap {
  white-space: nowrap;
}

pre

Preserves spaces and line breaks:

.white-space-pre {
  white-space: pre;
}

pre-wrap

Preserves spaces but wraps:

.white-space-pre-wrap {
  white-space: pre-wrap;
}

pre-line

Preserves line breaks but collapses spaces:

.white-space-pre-line {
  white-space: pre-line;
}

break-spaces

Like pre-wrap but breaks at any whitespace:

.white-space-break-spaces {
  white-space: break-spaces;
}

Word Break

word-break: normal

Default behavior:

.word-break-normal {
  word-break: normal;
}

word-break: break-all

Breaks at any character:

.word-break-all {
  word-break: break-all;
}

word-break: keep-word

Breaks at word boundaries:

.word-break-keep {
  word-break: keep-word;
}

Overflow Wrap

overflow-wrap: normal

Default behavior:

.overflow-wrap-normal {
  overflow-wrap: normal;
}

overflow-wrap: break-word

Breaks long words:

.overflow-wrap-break {
  overflow-wrap: break-word;
}

Complete Example: Card with Truncation

.card {
  width: 300px;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  border-radius: 10px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.card-image {
  width: 100%;
  height: 200px;
  object-fit: cover;
}

.card-content {
  padding: 1.5rem;
}

.card-title {
  font-size: 1.25rem;
  margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
  overflow: hidden;
  text-overflow: ellipsis;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

.card-text {
  color: #666;
  display: -webkit-box;
  -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
  -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
  overflow: hidden;
  margin-bottom: 1rem;
}

.card-footer {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-between;
  align-items: center;
}

<div class="card">
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="Image" class="card-image" />
  <div class="card-content">
    <h3 class="card-title">This is a very long title that should be truncated</h3>
    <p class="card-text">
      This is a longer description that should be truncated after three lines.
      It provides more context about the content.
    </p>
    <div class="card-footer">
      <span>Jan 1, 2026</span>
      <a href="#">Read more</a>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Complete Example: Scrollable Container

.scroll-container {
  width: 300px;
  height: 200px;
  overflow-y: auto;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  padding: 1rem;
}

.scroll-container::-webkit-scrollbar {
  width: 8px;
}

.scroll-container::-webkit-scrollbar-track {
  background: #f1f1f1;
  border-radius: 4px;
}

.scroll-container::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb {
  background: #888;
  border-radius: 4px;
}

.scroll-container::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:hover {
  background: #555;
}

<div class="scroll-container">
  <p>Long content that scrolls...</p>
  <p>More content...</p>
  <p>Even more content...</p>
  <p>Keep scrolling...</p>
  <p>Almost there...</p>
  <p>End of content</p>
</div>

Complete Example: Code Block

.code-block {
  background-color: #1e1e1e;
  color: #d4d4d4;
  padding: 1rem;
  border-radius: 5px;
  overflow-x: auto;
  white-space: pre;
  font-family: 'Fira Code', monospace;
  font-size: 0.9rem;
  line-height: 1.5;
}

.code-block::-webkit-scrollbar {
  height: 8px;
}

.code-block::-webkit-scrollbar-track {
  background: #2d2d2d;
}

.code-block::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb {
  background: #555;
  border-radius: 4px;
}

<pre class="code-block">
  .container {
    display: flex;
    justify-content: space-between;
    align-items: center;
    padding: 1rem;
  }
</pre>

Complete Example: Table with Fixed Headers

.table-container {
  width: 100%;
  max-height: 400px;
  overflow-y: auto;
  border: 1px solid #ddd;
  border-radius: 5px;
}

.table {
  width: 100%;
  border-collapse: collapse;
}

.table thead {
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  background-color: #f5f5f5;
}

.table th,
.table td {
  padding: 0.75rem;
  text-align: left;
  border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
}

.table th {
  font-weight: 600;
  background-color: #f5f5f5;
}

.table tbody tr:hover {
  background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

Best Practices

1. Use text-overflow: ellipsis — Clean truncation
2. Use overflow: auto — Only show scrollbar when needed
3. Use overflow-wrap: break-word — Prevent long word overflow
4. Test with long content — Ensure truncation works
5. Provide tooltips — For truncated content

Common Mistakes

1. Missing white-space: nowrap — Text-overflow doesn’t work without it
2. Missing overflow: hidden — Content overflows instead of truncating
3. Using overflow: scroll always — Scrollbar shows even when not needed
4. Not testing long content — Truncation may not work as expected
5. Ignoring accessibility — Truncated content needs tooltip