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About Mesh

There are a lot of different grid systems already out there and most of them are pretty good. But ☝️ none of them is offering the whole bandwidth of possible options. E.g. I wanted to switch between a flex, inline-block or float based grid as well as I wanted to be able to overwrite certain parameters like gutter or column-count breakpoint wise. That is how I came up with the idea to create my very own grid compiler and Mesh was born 🎉🎉🎉.

Getting Started

Installation

npm i postcss-mesh

Grid Setup

Mesh is based on @-rules. To initiate a new grid use @mesh-grid. All breakpoints for a grid should be nested within the respective grid declaration. See the example below for a simple grid setup with bootstrap standards.

  • @mesh-grid {

    column-count: 12;

    compile: true;

    container-width: 100%;

    display-type: float;

    gutter-on-outside: true;

    gutter: 30px;

    name: mesh;

    query-condition: min-width;

    responsive-gutter: false;

    @mesh-viewport-sm {

    container-width: 540px;

    viewport: 576px;

    }

    @mesh-viewport-md {

    container-width: 720px;

    viewport: 768px;

    }

    @mesh-viewport-lg {

    container-width: 960px;

    viewport: 992px;

    }

    @mesh-viewport-xl {

    container-width: 1140px;

    viewport: 1200px;

    }

    }

  • <!--

    This markup is a two column grid with

    equal widths for all defined breakpoints.

    -->

    <div class="mesh-container">

    <div class="mesh-void">

    <div class="mesh-column-6 mesh-column-sm-6 mesh-column-md-6 mesh-column-lg-6 mesh-column-xl-6"></div>

    <div class="mesh-column-6 mesh-column-sm-6 mesh-column-md-6 mesh-column-lg-6 mesh-column-xl-6"></div>

    </div>

    </div>

Unique Selling Points

Responsive Gutter

Set the responsive-gutter property to true to scale the gutter as your container grows. This makes your grid less static and more fluid. To make this feature work you have to set a viewport context even in your default settings of the grid.

This feature inherits the gutter size for the first nested level only.

  • // This set up uses 375px as context.

    // If your screen is 375px wide the gap

    // between your columns should be exact 30px.

    // If your screen gets bigger, the gap scales up.

    // If your screen gets smaller, the gap scales down.

    @mesh-grid {

    viewport: 375px;

    gutter: 30px;

    responsive-gutter: true;

    }

Regular

Responsive

Gutter On Outside

Allows you to toggle the container's padding which is based on the gutter size.

  • // default is true

    @mesh-grid {

    gutter-on-outside: true;

    }

Mobile First || Desktop First

You can decide if your default viewport is a desktop one or a mobile one using the query-condition property. This property takes min-width or max-width as an argument. If set to min-width your default viewport will be a mobile one. As soon as your screen's width hits the next bigger width defined in all of your breakpoints, it snaps to the related breakpoint.

  • // min-width || max-width

    // default is min-width

    @mesh-grid {

    query-condition: min-width;

    }

Unlimited Breakpoints

Bootstrap comes with five predefined breakpoints (Extra small <576px, Small ≥576px, Medium ≥768px, Large ≥992px, Extra Large ≥1200px). These breakpoints have proved its worth over time. But nevertheless, sometimes your design requires more individual breakpoints. In this case Mesh is your best friend. With Mesh you can define as many or as less custom breakpoints as you want using the @mesh-viewport-VIEWPORTNAME-@-rule where VIEWPORTNAME is the viewport's ID. The ID is used in the viewport specific classes. E.g. @mesh-viewport-lg results in .mesh-column-lg-classes.

  • // this is how you would define a standard large bootstrap breakpoint

    // properties "container-width" & "viewport" are required

    @mesh-viewport-lg {

    container-width: 960px;

    viewport: 992px;

    }

Property Overwrite

Property Overwrite allows you to overwrite some properties breakpoint wise, e.g. gutter. Learn more about properties here.

  • // default is 30px

    @mesh-viewport-lg {

    gutter: 30px;

    }

Custom Class Names

Overwrite the default classNames to keep them unique, short or both. See the properties list for the whole range of naming properties.

  • // this changes all selectors containing "column"

    // e.g. ".mesh-column-1" to ".mesh-col-1"

    @mesh-grid {

    naming-column: col;

    }

Excluding

It's a fact: Most projects don't use the whole bandwith of available column-spans. This leads to many lines of unused CSS in the final bundle. Thanks to this feature it is possible to exclude certain column-spans for certain components viewport wise.

  • // this how you would exclude ".mesh-column-1" & ".mesh-column-2"

    @mesh-grid {

    exclude-columns: 1, 2;

    }

You can also exclude-pushes, exclude-pulls & exclude-offsets. See the properties list for the whole range of excluding properties.

Components

Mesh's compiled Grid is made of three basic components and three transform components. The basic components describe the .mesh-container, .mesh-void & .mesh-column classes. These components are necessary to set up a very basic grid. The transform components describe the .mesh-offset, .mesh-pull & .mesh-push classes. These components are necessary to transform a column within your grid and should be added to a column component only. Using transform components you can reorder your columns.

Container

The container is the most outer component of a grid instance. It sets up the maximum width of the grid and should not be nested.

  • <div class="mesh-container"></div>

Void

The void component is the equivalent to Bootstrap's row component and voids its parent's gutter. The only immediate child of a void component should be a column.

  • <div class="mesh-void"></div>

Column

The column component is where you can put your content. All columns should be an immediate child of a void component. Replace x with a number between 1 and your given column-count.

  • <!--

    For breakpoint specific column widths include your

    breakpoint's ID in the class, e.g. 'mesh-column-lg-6'.

    -->

    <div class="mesh-column-x"></div>

Offset

The offset component will add a margin to the respective column to create an even bigger gap between two columns. Using the component like below will offset the column about the width of a single column.

  • <!--

    For breakpoint specific column offsets include your

    breakpoint's ID in the class, e.g. 'mesh-offset-lg-1'.

    -->

    <div class="mesh-offset-1"></div>

Pull

The pull component will reposition the respective column from the right. Using the component like below will pull the column about the width of a single column to the left.

  • <!--

    For breakpoint specific column pulls include your

    breakpoint's ID in the class, e.g. 'mesh-pull-lg-1'.

    -->

    <div class="mesh-pull-1"></div>

Push

The push component will reposition the respective column from the left. Using the component like below will push the column about the width of a single column to the right.

  • <!--

    For breakpoint specific column pushes include your

    breakpoint's ID in the class, e.g. 'mesh-push-lg-1'.

    -->

    <div class="mesh-push-1"></div>

Nesting

Of course you can also nest your columns.

  • <!--

    This is how you can nest columns within columns.

    If using "responsive-gutter" you can only go one

    level deep keeping the roots gutter size.

    -->

    <div class="mesh-container">

    <div class="mesh-void">

    <div class="mesh-column-6"></div>

    <div class="mesh-column-6">

    <div class="mesh-void">

    <div class="mesh-column-6"></div>

    <div class="mesh-column-6"></div>

    </div>

    </div>

    </div>

    </div>

Ordering

Sometimes you have to switch position of certain columns breakpoint wise. Using push and pull components you can shift your columns.

  • <!--

    This markup moves the first column by the width of

    three columns to the right and the second column

    by the width of nine columns to the left.

    -->

    <div class="mesh-container">

    <div class="mesh-void">

    <div class="mesh-column-9 mesh-push-3"></div>

    <div class="mesh-column-3 mesh-pull-9"></div>

    </div>

    </div>

Properties

Mesh is based on a bunch of properties you can adjust to your needs. Some of them are overwriteable in each defined breakpoint. See the table below to get an overview of what Mesh is offering.

Property Description Options Overwrite
column-align Aligns all columns at the top, middle or bottom of a void. top || middle || bottom
column-count Defines how many columns fit in one void. number
compile If set to false Mesh won't compile classes of the current grid. true || false
container-base-width-unit Defines the container's width unit. % or vw
container-width Defines the container's max-width property for current viewport. px or %
debug If set to true Mesh generates excluded classes and extends the style with debug-property of debug-value true || false
debug-property A valid CSS Property for debug style extension. e.g. border
debug-value A value for the given debug-property e.g. 1px dotted red
display-type Defines if the grid is inline-block, float or flex based. inline-block || float || flex
exclude-columns Given integers define spans to exclude from column classes. int, int
exclude-offsets Given integers define spans to exclude from offset classes. int, int
exclude-pulls Given integers define spans to exclude from pull classes. int, int
exclude-pushes Given integers define spans to exclude from push classes. int, int
gutter Sets the gap between columns. px
gutter-on-outside If set to false the container won't have a padding. true || false
name Sets the grid's name and adjusts the component's class prefix. string
naming-column Given string replaces column in all generated selectors. string
naming-container Given string replaces container in all generated selectors. string
naming-offset Given string replaces offset in all generated selectors. string
naming-pull Given string replaces pull in all generated selectors. string
naming-push Given string replaces push in all generated selectors. string
naming-void Given string replaces void in all generated selectors. string
query-condition Using this property you can decide if you want the compiled styles to be mobile first or desktop first. min-width || max-width
responsive-gutter If set to true the gutter scales as the container grows. true || false
use-name-prefix If set to false Mesh won't use the grid's name as a class prefix. true || false
viewport Defines the screen's width at which a new media-query should be initiated. px

column-align only works using inline-block or flex as display-type.

If you set display-type to inline-block the void component gets font-size: 0; to remove the little default gap between inline-block elements.