Containers

How they work

Containers are the most basic layout element in Bootstrap and are required when using our default grid system . Containers are used to contain, pad, and (sometimes) center the content within them. While containers can be nested, most layouts do not require a nested container.

Bootstrap comes with three different containers:

• .container, which sets a max-widthat each responsive breakpoint
• .container-{breakpoint}, which is width: 100%until the specified breakpoint
• .container-fluid, which is width: 100%at all breakpoints

The table below illustrates how each container's max-widthcompares to the original .containerand .container-fluidacross each breakpoint.

See them in action and compare them in our Grid example .

default container

Our default .containerclass is a responsive, fixed-width container, meaning its max-widthchanges at each breakpoint.

<div class="container">
  <!-- Content here -->
</div>

Responsive containers

Responsive containers allow you to specify a class that is 100% wide until the specified breakpoint is reached, after which we apply max-widths for each of the higher breakpoints. For example, .container-smis 100% wide to start until the smbreakpoint is reached, where it will scale up with md, lg, xl, and xxl.

<div class="container-sm">100% wide until small breakpoint</div>
<div class="container-md">100% wide until medium breakpoint</div>
<div class="container-lg">100% wide until large breakpoint</div>
<div class="container-xl">100% wide until extra large breakpoint</div>
<div class="container-xxl">100% wide until extra extra large breakpoint</div>

fluid containers

Use .container-fluidfor a full width container, spanning the entire width of the viewport.

<div class="container-fluid">
  ...
</div>

Sass

As shown above, Bootstrap generates a series of predefined container classes to help you build the layouts you desire. You may customize these predefined container classes by modifying the Sass map (found in _variables.scss) that powers them:

$container-max-widths: (
  sm: 540px,
  md: 720px,
  lg: 960px,
  xl: 1140px,
  xxl: 1320px
);

In addition to customizing the Sass, you can also create your own containers with our Sass mixin.

// Source mixin
@mixin make-container($padding-x: $container-padding-x) {
  width: 100%;
  padding-right: $padding-x;
  padding-left: $padding-x;
  margin-right: auto;
  margin-left: auto;
}

// Usage
.custom-container {
  @include make-container();
}

For more information and examples on how to modify our Sass maps and variables, please refer to the Sass section of the Grid documentation .