Skip to content

How to have a flex child not fill entire height

I had a horizontal list of items, and if a line of text got to 2 lines, I had some additional space and its flex siblings were extending to full height.

Before

This was the code

<li class="flex">
  <code class="flex-none text-sm whitespace-normal mr-2 mt-0.5 bg-white text-black p-1 ">
    {new Date(post.date).toString().slice(4, 11)}
  </code>{' '}
  <code class="flex-none text-sm whitespace-normal mr-2 bg-black text-white border p-1 ">
    {post.tag}
  </code>
  <a href={'/' + post.url + '/'}>{post.title}</a>
</li>

To fix this, I added the self-start class to the code blocks which in Tailwind CSS applies the CSS align-self: start;

After


→ Here's my latest YouTube video

→ Get my CSS Handbook

→ I wrote 17 books to help you become a better developer, download them all at $0 cost by joining my newsletter

JOIN MY CODING BOOTCAMP, an amazing cohort course that will be a huge step up in your coding career - covering React, Next.js - next edition February 2025

Bootcamp 2025

Join the waiting list