LayoutUpdatedAdded Aug 21, 2026 · Updated Sep 28, 2026

Hairline stat strip

A row of stat tiles joined by hairlines that are grid gap, not borders — the container paints the border color and the tiles paint the surface, so separators never double up or break when the row wraps — in a reporting form and in a second form where each tile is the filter for the list beneath it.

Reach for it when building

summary strip at the top of a detail page
dashboard KPI row
account usage overview
report header figures
profile stats band

stats
css-grid
css-only
hairline
no-assets

Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.

Documents1,482this period

Median time3.2slast 24h

Clean runs98.4%no retries

Quality score—not rated yet

Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.

Bicycle drivetrain teardownDone
Kiln firing, part threeDownloading
Field recording — marsh at dawnQueued
Lathe restoration, episode 12Done
Sourdough hydration testsFailed
Bookbinding: the long stitchQueued

Showing all 6 downloads.

<p class="cap">Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.</p>
<div class="hss-strip four">
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="hss-label">Documents</span><span class="hss-fig">1,482</span><span class="hss-sub">this period</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="hss-label">Median time</span><span class="hss-fig">3.2s</span><span class="hss-sub">last 24h</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="hss-label">Clean runs</span><span class="hss-fig">98.4%</span><span class="hss-sub">no retries</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="hss-label">Quality score</span><span class="hss-fig none" aria-label="No value">—</span><span class="hss-sub">not rated yet</span></div>
</div>
<p class="cap">Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.</p>
<div class="hss-strip five" id="hss-filter">
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="All" aria-pressed="true"><span class="hss-label">All</span><span class="hss-fig">6</span><span class="hss-sub">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="Queued" aria-pressed="false"><span class="hss-label">Queued</span><span class="hss-fig">2</span><span class="hss-sub">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="Downloading" aria-pressed="false"><span class="hss-label">Downloading</span><span class="hss-fig">1</span><span class="hss-sub">download</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="Done" aria-pressed="false"><span class="hss-label">Done</span><span class="hss-fig">2</span><span class="hss-sub">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="Failed" aria-pressed="false"><span class="hss-label">Failed</span><span class="hss-fig">1</span><span class="hss-sub">download</span></button>
</div>
<ul class="hss-list" id="hss-list">
  <li data-state="Done"><span>Bicycle drivetrain teardown</span><span class="st">Done</span></li>
  <li data-state="Downloading"><span>Kiln firing, part three</span><span class="st">Downloading</span></li>
  <li data-state="Queued"><span>Field recording — marsh at dawn</span><span class="st">Queued</span></li>
  <li data-state="Done"><span>Lathe restoration, episode 12</span><span class="st">Done</span></li>
  <li data-state="Failed"><span>Sourdough hydration tests</span><span class="st">Failed</span></li>
  <li data-state="Queued"><span>Bookbinding: the long stitch</span><span class="st">Queued</span></li>
</ul>
<p class="hss-status" id="hss-status" aria-live="polite">Showing all 6 downloads.</p>

Colors come from shared theme tokens — --surface, --ink, --border, --accent and friends — so this CSS carries no palette of its own. Use Runnable file to copy the tokens along with it.

.hss-strip {
  display: grid;
  gap: 1px;                         /* the hairline */
  background: var(--border);        /* shows through the gap */
  border: 1px solid var(--border);
  border-radius: var(--radius);
  overflow: hidden;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
}
@media (min-width: 21rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr); } }
@media (min-width: 42rem) { .hss-strip.four { grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr); } }
@media (min-width: 56rem) { .hss-strip.five { grid-template-columns: repeat(5, 1fr); } }

.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: .9rem 1rem; display: grid; gap: .2rem; min-width: 0; }
.hss-label { font: .8125rem/1.3 ui-monospace, monospace; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .06em; color: var(--dim); overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
.hss-fig { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.hss-fig.none { color: var(--dim); }
button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface)); }

const tiles = document.querySelectorAll('#hss-filter button');
const rows = document.querySelectorAll('#hss-list li');
const status = document.getElementById('hss-status');

tiles.forEach((tile) => tile.addEventListener('click', () => {
  const alreadyOn = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
  const state = alreadyOn || tile.dataset.state === 'All' ? 'All' : tile.dataset.state;
  tiles.forEach((other) => other.setAttribute('aria-pressed', String(other.dataset.state === state)));
  let shown = 0;
  rows.forEach((row) => {
    row.hidden = state !== 'All' && row.dataset.state !== state;
    if (!row.hidden) shown += 1;
  });
  status.textContent = state === 'All'
    ? 'Showing all 6 downloads.'
    : `Filtered to ${state}: ${shown} of 6. Press the lit tile again to clear.`;
}));

Build a strip of statistic tiles that reads as one joined instrument panel rather than a row of floating cards.

The separators between tiles must not be borders. Make the container a CSS grid with gap: 1px and give the container itself the border color as its background; each tile then paints the surface color on top. The 1px of container showing through the gap is the hairline. This is the entire pattern: real borders double where two tiles meet and leave a stray edge when auto-fit wraps the row, and a gap physically cannot do either.

Pin the column counts instead of using auto-fit: one column, then two from 21rem, then four from 42rem. A five-tile filter row gets its own step so its labels never have to squeeze below a readable width.

Tile anatomy, top to bottom: a mono uppercase label, the figure large and in tabular numerals, and a short qualifier underneath.

Two rules of honesty. Render a missing value as a dimmed em dash, never as zero. Keep units with the number, so the figure means the same thing when it is copied out on its own.

The filter form: each tile is a button with aria-pressed, not a tab. Compute every count from the unfiltered set, so pressing a tile never changes the numbers on its neighbours. Pressing the lit tile again clears the filter, and a polite live region states what the list now shows.

Excerpt. The full prompt continues with the complete tile spec and the accessibility contract.

Fixed here: the five-tile filter row gets its own breakpoint, so "Downloading" never clips.

Hairline stat strip

Reach for it when building

More from Layout

Adaptive tile mosaic

Cork notice board

Column-flow wall