Elements in a flex container are not wrapping

Question

When I try to insert block elements in a flex container, they all stay on the same line as if they were inline-blocks.

I would like the two first div's to be on the same line, and the last one to be on a second line. Sadly, that doesn't seem to work.

Anyone have any idea ?

<div style="display: flex">
  <div style="display: inline-block">
    This is an inline block element
  </div>
  <div style="display: inline-block">
    This is an inline block element
  </div>
  <div style="display: block">
    This is a block element
  </div>
</div>

Answer 1

An initial setting of a flex container is flex-wrap: nowrap. This means flex items are forced to remain in a single line.

You can override the default with flex-wrap: wrap.

The display value of flex items is ignored in flex layout.

---

A flex container, which is an element with display: flex or display: inline-flex, establishes a flex formatting context. Although similar to a block formatting context, there are differences.

One difference is that children of a flex container ignore the display property.

Another difference is that, in a flex container, margins don't collapse, and the float and clear properties have no effect.

A flex container also comes with several default settings. Among them:

• justify-content: flex-start - flex items will stack at the start of the line
• flex-shrink: 1 - flex items are allowed to shrink and will not overflow the container
• align-items: stretch - flex items will expand to cover the cross-size of the container
• flex-direction: row - flex items will align horizontally
• flex-wrap: nowrap - flex items are forced to stay in a single line

Note the last two items.

Flex items will line up in a row and cannot wrap.

If you want to have two flex items on the first line, and a third item on the second line, allow the container to be multi-line with flex-wrap: wrap.

.container {
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
}
.box {
  flex: 0 0 45%;
  height: 50px;
  margin: 5px;
  background-color: lightgreen;
  border: 1px solid #ccc;
}

<div class="container">
  <div class="box"></div>
  <div class="box"></div>
  <div class="box"></div>
</div>

Also, if you want flex containers to display inline, use display: inline-flex not display: flex. These are comparable to display: inline-block and display: block.