# CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
Confidence: high
Last verified: 2026-05-22
Generation: human_only


## TL;DR

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a stylesheet language developed by the W3C that describes the presentation of HTML documents. First proposed by Håkon Wium Lie in 1994, CSS has evolved from basic text styling to a powerful layout and animation engine. Modern CSS (2024+) supports container queries, cascade layers, native nesting, `has()` selector, view transitions, and scroll-driven animations — capabilities that previously required JavaScript.

## Core Concepts

- **Selectors**: Target elements — class (`.`), ID (`#`), attribute, pseudo-class (`:hover`, `:has()`)
- **Box Model**: Content → Padding → Border → Margin
- **Cascade + Specificity**: Rules are applied based on origin, specificity, and source order
- **Layout**: Flexbox (1D), Grid (2D), normal flow, positioning
- **Responsive Design**: Media queries, container queries, `clamp()`, viewport units
- **Custom Properties**: `--my-var: value; var(--my-var)` — native CSS variables

## Key Modern Features

| Feature | Browser Support | Description |
|---------|:--------------:|------------|
| Container Queries | Universal (2023+) | Style based on parent container size, not viewport |
| `:has()` selector | Universal (2023+) | "Parent selector" — `div:has(> img)` |
| CSS Nesting | Universal (2024+) | Native nesting without preprocessors |
| Cascade Layers (`@layer`) | Universal (2023+) | Explicit cascade ordering between stylesheets |
| View Transitions | Universal (2024+) | Animated transitions between pages/views |
| Scroll-Driven Animations | Universal (2024+) | Animations driven by scroll position |

## Further Reading

- [MDN CSS](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS): Comprehensive reference
- [CSS Spec (W3C)](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-2024/): Official specification