How can I control the number of items per column in flexbox?

Question

In a flex container I have 5 items with a column direction but in a certain width I want to display 3 per column and force the others to wrap
is there any way to do that without fixed height ?
my code :

<div class="container">
    <div class="item-1 item">Item 1</div>
    <div class="item-2 item">Item 2</div>
    <div class="item-3 item">Item 3</div>
    <div class="item-4 item">Item 4</div>
    <div class="item-5 item">Item 5</div>
</div>

.container {
    display: flex;
    flex-flow: column wrap;
}

@media (min-width: 30em) {

}

js Bin: http://jsbin.com/fesujifelu/edit?html,css,output

Answer 1

In flexbox, items need a height / width limit on the container in order to wrap. Otherwise, they have no breakpoint and will continue along the same line.

But your layout is not a problem in CSS Grid Layout:

http://jsbin.com/lapafidejo/1/edit?html,css,output

/* ================================= 
  Flexbox
==================================== */

.container {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
}

/* ================================= 
  Media Queries
==================================== */

@media (min-width: 30em) {
  .container {
    grid-template-rows: 1fr 1fr 1fr;
    grid-auto-columns: 1fr;
    grid-auto-flow: column;
  }
}

/* ================================= 
  Page Styles
==================================== */

* {
  box-sizing: border-box;
}

body {
  font-size: 1.35em;
  font-family: 'Varela Round', sans-serif;
  color: #fff;
  background: #e8e9e9;
  padding-left: 5%;
  padding-right: 5%;
}

.container {
  padding: 10px;
  background: #fff;
  border-radius: 5px;
  margin: 45px auto;
  box-shadow: 0 1.5px 0 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

.item {
  color: #fff;
  padding: 15px;
  margin: 5px;
  background: #3db5da;
  border-radius: 3px;
}

<div class="container">
  <div class="item-1 item">Item 1</div>
  <div class="item-2 item">Item 2</div>
  <div class="item-3 item">Item 3</div>
  <div class="item-4 item">Item 4</div>
  <div class="item-5 item">Item 5</div>
</div>

---

Browser Support for CSS Grid

• Chrome - full support as of March 8, 2017 (version 57)
• Firefox - full support as of March 6, 2017 (version 52)
• Safari - full support as of March 26, 2017 (version 10.1)
• Edge - full support as of October 16, 2017 (version 16)
• IE11 - no support for current spec; supports obsolete version

Here's the complete picture: http://caniuse.com/#search=grid

---

Resources:

• https://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/complete-guide-grid/
• https://gridbyexample.com/examples/
• https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_Grid_Layout