A Complete Guide to CSS Functions

url()

.el {
  background: url(/images/image.jpg);
}

attr()

/* <div data-example="foo"> */
div {
  content: attr(data-example);
}

calc()

.el {
  width: calc(100vw - 80px);
}

lang()

p:lang(en) {
  quotes: "\201C" "\201D" "\2018" "\2019" "\201C" "\201D" "\2018" "\2019";
}

:not()

h3:not(:first-child) {
  margin-top: 0;
}

:nth-child()

.el:nth-child(3n) {
  background-color: #eee;
}

nth-child() allows you to target one or more of the elements present in a group of elements that are on the same level in the Document Object Model (DOM) tree.

In the right hands, :nth-child() is incredibly powerful. You can even solve fizzbuzz with it! If you’re looking for a good way to get started, Chris has a collection useful pseudo selector recipes.

:nth-last-child()

.el:nth-last-child(2) {
  opacity: 0.75;
}
.el:last-child {
  opacity: 0.5;
}

This pseudo class selector targets elements in a group of one or more elements that are on the same level in the DOM. It starts counting from the last element in the group and works backwards through the list of available DOM nodes.

:nth-of-type()

h2:nth-of-type(odd) {
  text-indent: 3rem;
}

:nth-of-type() matches a specified collection of elements of a given type. For example, a declaration of img:nth-of-type(5) would target the fifth image on a page.

:nth-last-of-type()

section:nth-last-of-type(3) {
  background-color: darkorchid;
}

This pseudo class selector can target an element in a group of elements of a similar type. Much like :nth-last-child(), it starts counting from the last element in the group. Unlike :nth-last-child, it will skip elements that don’t apply as it works backwards. 

cubic-bezier()

.el {
  transition-timing-function: 
    cubic-bezier(0.17, 0.67, 0.83, 0.67);
}

Instead of keyword values like ease, ease-in-out, or linear, you can use cubic-bezier() to create a custom timing function for your animation. While you can read about the math that powers cubic beziers, I think it’s much more fun to play around with making one instead.

path()

.clip-me {
  clip-path: path('M0.5,1 C0.5,1,0,0.7,0,0.3 A0.25,0.25,1,1,1,0.5,0.3 A0.25,0.25,1,1,1,1,0.3 C1,0.7,0.5,1,0.5,1 Z');
}
.move-me {
  offset-path: path("M56.06,227 ...");
}

This function is paired with the offset-path property (or eventually, the clip-path property). It allows you to “draw” a SVG path that other elements can be animated to follow.

Both Michelle Barker and Dan Wilson have published excellent articles that go into more detail about this approach to animation.

steps()

.el {
  animation: 2s infinite alternate steps(10);
}

This relatively new function allows you to set the easing timing across an animation, which allows for a greater degree of control over what part of the animation occurs when. Dan Wilson has another excellent writeup of how it fits into the existing animation easing landscape. 

scaleX(), scaleY(), scaleZ(), scale3d(), and scale()

.double {
  transform: scale(2);
}

Scaling functions let you increase or decrease the size of something along one or more axes. If you use scale3d() you can even do this in three dimensions!

translateX(), translateY(), translateZ(), translate3d(), and translate()

.center {
  position: absolute;
  top: 50%;
  left: 50%;
  transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
}

Translate functions let you reposition an element along one or more axes. Much like scale functions, you can also extend this manipulation into three dimensions.

perspective()

.cube {
  transform: perspective(50em) rotateY(50deg)
}

This function lets you adjust the appearance of an object to make it look like it is projecting up and out from its background.

rotateX(), rotateY(), rotateZ(), rotate3d(), and rotate()

.avatar {
  transform: rotate(25deg);
}

Rotate functions let you swivel an element along one or more axes, much like grasping a ball and turning it around in your hand.

skewX(), skewY(), and skew()

.header {
  transform: skew(25deg, 15deg);
}

Skew functions are a little different from scaling and rotation functions in that they apply a distortion effect relative to a single point. The amount of distortion is proportionate to the angle and distance declared, meaning that the further the effect continues in a direction the more pronounced it will be. 

Jorge Moreno also did us all a favor and made a great tool called CSS Transform Functions Visualizer. It allows you to adjust sizing and scaling in real time to better understand how all these functions work together:

As responsible web professionals, we should be mindful of our users and the fact that they may not be using new or powerful hardware to view our content. Large and complicated animations may slow down the experience, or even cause the browser to crash in extreme scenarios.

To prevent this, we can use techniques like will-change to prepare the browser for what’s in store, and the update media feature to remove animation on devices that do not support a fast refresh rate. 

brightness()

.avatar:hover {
  filter: brightness(150%);
}

This function adjusts how, um, bright something appears. Setting it to a low level will make it appear as if it has had a shadow cast over it. Setting it to a high level will blow it out, like an over-exposed photo.

blur()

.ghost {
  filter: blur(50%);
}

If you’re familiar with Photoshop’s Gaussian Blur filter, you know how blur() works. The more of this you apply, the more indistinct the thing you apply it to will look.

contrast()

.wow {
  filter: contrast(200%);
}

contrast() will adjust the degree of difference between the lightest and darkest parts of what is applied to.

grayscale()

.no-color {
  filter: grayscale(100%);
}

grayscale() removes the color information from what it is applied to. Remember that this isn’t an all-or-nothing affair! You can apply a partial grayscale effect to make something look weathered or washed out.

An interesting application of grayscale() could be lightly applying it to images when dark mode is enabled, to slightly diminish the overall vibrancy of color in a situation where the user may want less eye strain.

invert()

While invert() can be used to make something look like a photo negative, my favorite technique is to use it in a inverted colors media query to invert inverted images and video:

@media (inverted-colors: inverted) {
  img,
  video {
    filter: invert(100%);
  }
}

This ensures that image and video content looks the way it should, regardless of a user’s expressed browsing mode preferences. 

opacity()

.filter-visibility {
  filter: opacity(0);
}

This function controls how much of the background is visible through the element (and child elements) the function is applied to. 

An element that has 0% opacity will be completely transparent, although it will still be present in the DOM. If you need to remove an object completely, use other techniques such as the hidden attribute.

saturate()

.full-color {
  filter: saturate(100%);
}

Applying this filter can enhance, or decrease the intensity of the color of what it is applied to. Enhancing an image’s saturation is a common technique photographers use to fix underexposed photos.

sepia()

.is-old-timey {
  filter: sepia(1);
}

There are fancier ways to describe this, but realistically it’s a function that makes something look like it’s an old-timey photograph.

drop-shadow()

.fit-shape-shadow {
  filter: drop-shadow(3rem 0 0.5rem #e486da);
}

A drop shadow is a visual effect applied to an object that makes it appear like it is hovering off of the page. There’s a bit of a trick here, in that CSS also allows you to apply drop shadow effects to text and elements. It’s also distinct from the box-shadow property is that it applies drop shadows to the shape of an element rather than the actual box of an element.

Skilled designers and developers can take advantage of this to create complicated visual effects.

hue-rotate()

.change-color {
  filter: hue-rotate(180deg);
}

When a class with a declaration containing hue-rotate() is applied to an element, each pixel used to draw that element will have it’s hue valued shifted by the amount you specify. hue-rotate()‘s effect is applied to each and every pixel it is applied to, so all colors will update relative to their hue value’s starting point.

This can create a really psychedelic effect when applied to things that contain a lot of color information, such as photos.

SVG filters

filter() also lets us import SVGs filters to use to create specialized visual effects. The topic is too complicated to really do it justice in this article — if you’re looking for a good starting point, I recommend “The Art Of SVG Filters And Why It Is Awesome” by Dirk Weber.