grid-auto-flow

This is the property that controls how items are automatically placed in the grid when their positions are not specified.

row: (Default value) elements are placed in rows.
column: Elements are positioned in columns.
dense: tries to fill gaps by reordering later items.

Example

In this dynamic example, we can see how items are arranged according to the value of grid-auto-flow.

Select grid-auto-flow:

rowcolumndense

ResultLiveContainer width100%

html

<div class="container">
  <div class="child-big">1</div>
  <div class="child">2</div>
  <div class="child-big">3</div>
  <div class="child">4</div>
</div>

<div class="container">
  <div class="child-big">1</div>
  <div class="child">2</div>
  <div class="child-big">3</div>
  <div class="child">4</div>
</div>

css

.container {
  border: 1px solid #2b7de0;
  display: grid;
  gap: 1rem;
  grid-auto-flow: row;
  padding: 0.5rem;
}

.child {
  padding: 1rem;
}

.child-big {
  grid-column: span 2;
  padding: 1rem;
}

.container {
  border: 1px solid #2b7de0;
  display: grid;
  gap: 1rem;
  grid-auto-flow: row;
  padding: 0.5rem;
}

.child {
  padding: 1rem;
}

.child-big {
  grid-column: span 2;
  padding: 1rem;
}

Edit the code or use the selectors: the result updates instantly.