Tailwind Height

The Tailwind height utility gives you direct control over how tall an element is—from fixed units to full-screen layouts and responsive scaling. It provides a set of classes that enable you to set the height of elements to specific values, percentages, or use predefined height utilities for common use cases. They're essential for layout structure, containers, media, and interactive components.

How to set Tailwind Height

To set the Tailwind height of an element, you can use the h-{size} class, where {size} can be one of the following options:

• h-{value}: This sets the height to a specific value in pixels.

• h-screen: This sets the height to the full height of the viewport.

• h-full: This sets the height to 100% of the parent container.

• h-auto: This sets the height to automatically adjust based on the content.

Here's an example of how to use the height utility classes:

<div class="h-64">
  This div has a height of 64 pixels.
</div>

Preview

Percentage-based Tailwind Height

Tailwind CSS also provides utility classes for setting height as a percentage of the parent container's height. You can use the h-{percentage} class to achieve this. Here's an example:

<div class="h-50...">
  This div has a height of 50% of its parent container.
</div>

Preview

Responsive Tailwind Height

Tailwind CSS allows you to control the height of elements responsively at different breakpoints. To use responsive Tailwind height classes, you can append the breakpoint prefix to the height classes. For example, md:h-48 sets the height to 48 pixels starting from the medium breakpoint and above.

<div class="h-64 md:h-48">
  This div has a height of 64 pixels by default, and 48 pixels starting from the medium breakpoint.
</div>

Preview

In the above example, the h-64 class is applied by default, setting the height to 64 pixels. However, starting from the medium breakpoint and above, the md:h-36 class is applied, changing the height to 144 pixels.

🎯 Interaction State Use (hover/focus)

Height can change on hover/focus using transitions for interactive effects.

Example: Expandable card on hover

<div class="h-40 hover:h-64 transition-all duration-300 overflow-hidden bg-white shadow rounded">
  <p class="p-4">Hover to expand height</p>
</div>

Preview

This is useful for cards, dropdowns, or menus. Just be careful with layout shift and transitions that affect user focus.

✏️ Arbitrary Value Usage

Use any valid CSS unit when you need precision beyond the scale:

<div class="h-[72px]">Exact height</div>
<div class="h-[35vh]">35% of viewport height</div>
<div class="h-[clamp(200px,50vh,600px)]">Fluid height</div>

Preview

This is helpful when you're matching Figma specs or building dynamic/responsive layouts.

⚙️ Customization in tailwind.config.js

You can extend the height scale to match design tokens or custom layout needs:

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      height: {
        'header': '4.5rem',
        'hero': '80vh',
        'half': '50%',
      },
    },
  },
};

<header class="h-header bg-gray-50 text-gray-700 flex justify-between items-center p-4 font-bold">
  <a>Logo</a>
  <ul class="flex gap-4 m-2">
  <li>Home</li>
  <li>Product</li>
  <li>Contact</li>
</ul>
</header>
<section class="h-hero bg-gray-900 text-white flex justify-between items-center p-5 space-x-4">
<div class="text-center flex-col">
<h2 class="text-xl font-bold m-3">Running your business with AI faster</h2>
<p class="text-center p-4">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.</p>
<button class="text-center bg-white rounded-lg text-gray-800 p-3 cursor-pointer">Get Started</button>
</div>
</section>

Preview

🧩 Real UI Component Examples

📦 Scrollable Chat Panel

<div class="h-96 overflow-y-auto bg-white shadow-inner rounded p-4">
  <p class="mb-2">Chat message 1</p>
  <p class="mb-2">Chat message 2</p>
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Preview

Marian Anderson

online

Marian Anderson

online

📱 Responsive Hero Banner

<section class="h-screen flex items-center justify-center bg-gradient-to-r from-purple-600 to-indigo-600 text-white">
  <h1 class="text-4xl font-bold">Full-Screen Hero</h1>
</section>

Preview

🧭 Sticky Navbar

<header class="h-16 bg-white shadow-md fixed top-0 left-0 w-full z-50 flex justify-between items-center px-6">
  <span class="font-semibold text-lg">App Logo</span>
  <ul class="flex justify-between items-center gap-4">
    <li>Home</li>
    <li>Service</li>
    <li>Contact</li>
  </ul>
</header>

Preview

🎨 Image with Aspect Ratio

<div class="h-64 overflow-hidden rounded">
  <img src="/image.jpg" alt="Preview" class="h-full w-full object-cover" />
</div>

Preview

Use h-* with object-cover to fill containers cleanly.

✅ Best Practices for Devs & Designers

• Use h-screen for full viewport layouts, but test on mobile (where 100vh may be buggy).

• Combine h-full with flex containers for dynamic stretching.

• Prefer min-h-* for content sections that should grow but not collapse.

• Avoid setting fixed heights (h-64, h-[500px]) on text content unless scroll/overflow is handled.

• Custom tokens (like h-header, h-nav) help with maintainable design systems.

♿ Accessibility Notes

• Height itself doesn’t affect accessibility, but overflowing content must be handled properly.

• Avoid hiding important content via h-0, overflow-hidden, or display: none unless it’s intentional and accessible (e.g., with ARIA controls).

• Don’t animate height if it causes layout shift without accounting for keyboard or screen reader users.

Tailwind Height class Table

📏 Why Height Matters in Web Design

Controlling an element’s height is essential for:

• Visual balance: Tall vs. short elements influence layout symmetry

• Usability: Scrollable areas or fixed sections

• Responsiveness: Making sure elements adapt across screen sizes

Design integrity: Maintaining consistent sizing for headers, images, and cards

📚 Keep Exploring

• Tailwind min-Height

• Tailwind Max-Height

Windframe Tailwind blocks

blog