Local Tools Online

CSS Grid Generator

Grid syntax is one of those things every developer half-remembers — grid-template-columns, repeat(), minmax(), the difference between fr units and percentages — and looks up again every single time. The CSS Grid Generator lets you build a layout visually, drag column and row boundaries around, set gaps and alignment, and get clean, ready-to-paste CSS out the other end without reconstructing the syntax from memory or a half-remembered Stack Overflow answer.

Why local processing matters here

On its own, a grid template isn’t secret information. But this tool rarely gets used in isolation — people build a layout here while looking at real component names, real class conventions, and sometimes real content from a product that hasn’t shipped yet, all sitting in the same browser tab or copy-pasted alongside the grid code for context. A server-side version of this tool has no way to guarantee that context doesn’t get logged along with your session. Running the whole thing client-side means the layout you’re prototyping — and whatever unreleased product details happen to be visible while you build it — never has a reason to leave your machine.

How to use it

  1. Set your grid container’s column and row counts, or start from a preset (sidebar layout, holy grail layout, card grid) and adjust from there.
  2. Drag the column and row dividers directly on the visual grid to resize tracks, or type explicit values like 1fr 2fr 1fr if you already know the ratio you want.
  3. Set the gap between tracks — row and column gap can be set independently if your layout needs different spacing in each direction.
  4. Place items onto specific grid areas by clicking cells, which is faster than hand-writing grid-column and grid-row values for irregular layouts.
  5. Adjust alignment (justify-items, align-items, and the container-level justify-content/align-content) using the visual controls and watch the preview update immediately.
  6. Copy the generated CSS once the layout looks right — it comes out as plain, unprefixed, standards-compliant grid syntax ready to drop into a stylesheet.

Common situations this solves

  • Building a dashboard layout with a fixed sidebar, header, and a main content area that needs to resize independently.
  • Creating a responsive card grid that reflows from four columns to two to one without writing separate media query breakpoints by hand.
  • Reproducing a design comp’s exact spacing and alignment without guessing at fr ratios through trial and error.
  • Prototyping a layout idea quickly before committing to markup, especially useful when explaining a layout concept to a teammate or client.
  • Debugging an existing grid that isn’t behaving as expected, by rebuilding it here to isolate which property is causing the issue.

FAQ

Why does my grid item span more columns than I expect? 

This usually happens when grid-column: span 2 is set but the container doesn’t have enough tracks left in that row to fit it — the browser will either overflow into the next row or shrink the span depending on other rules. Rebuilding the layout here visually tends to make the mismatch obvious faster than reading the CSS.

What’s the difference between fr units and percentages for column sizing? 

fr units divide the remaining space after fixed-width tracks and gaps are accounted for, while percentages divide the total container width. For layouts with a mix of fixed and flexible columns, fr almost always produces more predictable behavior, which is why the generator defaults to it.

Can I export the generated grid as Tailwind classes instead of raw CSS? 

Not directly from this tool, but the CSS → Tailwind Converter takes any CSS output — including what this generator produces — and converts it to the closest matching Tailwind utility classes.

Does this handle named grid areas (grid-template-areas)? 

Yes — assigning names to cells in the visual editor generates the grid-template-areas string automatically, which is usually the more readable option for layouts with more than four or five distinct regions.

Why isn’t my grid gap working in older browsers? 

gap on grid containers has broad support in any browser released in the last several years, but if you’re targeting something older, the generator can also output the equivalent grid-column-gap/grid-row-gap properties as a fallback.

Should I use CSS Grid or Flexbox for this layout? 

Grid is generally the better fit for two-dimensional layouts (rows and columns that need to align together), while Flexbox handles one-dimensional layouts more naturally. If you’re not sure which fits your case, the CSS Flexbox Generator is worth comparing side by side before committing to one approach.