Adaptive tile mosaic
A container with no artwork draws one from up to four member tiles, grid tracks following tile count.
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
Tags
This page's preview renders the pattern in this site's own soft-surface tokens; the filter strip wraps 5 → 3 columns so labels never clip.
Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.
Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.
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="lab">Documents</span><span class="fig">1,482</span><span class="sub">this period</span></div>
<div class="hss-tile"><span class="lab">Median time</span><span class="fig">3.2s</span><span class="sub">last 24h</span></div>
<div class="hss-tile"><span class="lab">Clean runs</span><span class="fig">98.4%</span><span class="sub">no retries</span></div>
<div class="hss-tile"><span class="lab">Quality score</span><span class="fig none">—</span><span class="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" role="group" aria-label="Filter downloads by state">
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="all" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">All</span><span class="fig">6</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="queued" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Queued</span><span class="fig">2</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="downloading" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Downloading</span><span class="fig">1</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="done" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Done</span><span class="fig">2</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="failed" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Failed</span><span class="fig">1</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
</div>
<ul class="hss-list" id="hss-list">
<li data-state="done"><span>Bicycle drivetrain teardown</span><strong>Done</strong></li>
<li data-state="downloading"><span>Kiln firing, part three</span><strong>Downloading</strong></li>
<li data-state="queued"><span>Field recording — marsh at dawn</span><strong>Queued</strong></li>
<li data-state="done"><span>Lathe restoration, episode 12</span><strong>Done</strong></li>
<li data-state="failed"><span>Sourdough hydration tests</span><strong>Failed</strong></li>
<li data-state="queued"><span>Bookbinding: the long stitch</span><strong>Queued</strong></li>
</ul>
<p class="hss-status" id="hss-status" role="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); } }
/* five filter tiles need more room than four: 3 columns, then 5 */
@media (min-width: 42rem) { .hss-strip.five { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); } }
@media (min-width: 64rem) { .hss-strip.five { grid-template-columns: repeat(5, 1fr); } }
.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: 1rem 1.1rem; min-width: 0; }
.hss-tile .lab { font: 500 0.8125rem/1.3 ui-monospace, monospace; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .06em; color: var(--dim); }
.hss-tile .fig { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.hss-tile .fig.none { color: var(--dim); } /* a missing value is a dimmed em dash, never 0 */
button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}const strip = document.getElementById('hss-filter');
const items = [...document.querySelectorAll('#hss-list li')];
const status = document.getElementById('hss-status');
strip.addEventListener('click', (event) => {
const tile = event.target.closest('button');
if (!tile) return;
const wasOn = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
const value = wasOn || tile.dataset.state === 'all' ? 'all' : tile.dataset.state;
strip.querySelectorAll('button').forEach((other) =>
other.setAttribute('aria-pressed', String(value !== 'all' && other === tile)));
let shown = 0;
items.forEach((item) => {
item.hidden = value !== 'all' && item.dataset.state !== value;
if (!item.hidden) shown += 1;
});
status.textContent = value === 'all'
? 'Showing all 6 downloads.'
: `Filtered to ${tile.querySelector('.lab').textContent}: ${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.
The full prompt continues with sections on pinning column counts, tile anatomy, two rules of honesty (render a missing value as a dimmed em dash; keep units with the number), the filter form, computing counts from the unfiltered set, and using aria-pressed rather than tab roles.
:root { --surface:#ffffff; --ink:#161b22; --dim:#56606e; --border:#d2d8e0; --accent:#364f6a; --radius:10px; }
.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); } }
/* five filter tiles need more room than four: 3 columns, then 5 */
@media (min-width: 42rem) { .hss-strip.five { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); } }
@media (min-width: 64rem) { .hss-strip.five { grid-template-columns: repeat(5, 1fr); } }
.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: 1rem 1.1rem; min-width: 0; }
.hss-tile .lab { font: 500 0.8125rem/1.3 ui-monospace, monospace; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .06em; color: var(--dim); }
.hss-tile .fig { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.hss-tile .fig.none { color: var(--dim); } /* a missing value is a dimmed em dash, never 0 */
button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}
<p class="cap">Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.</p>
<div class="hss-strip four">
<div class="hss-tile"><span class="lab">Documents</span><span class="fig">1,482</span><span class="sub">this period</span></div>
<div class="hss-tile"><span class="lab">Median time</span><span class="fig">3.2s</span><span class="sub">last 24h</span></div>
<div class="hss-tile"><span class="lab">Clean runs</span><span class="fig">98.4%</span><span class="sub">no retries</span></div>
<div class="hss-tile"><span class="lab">Quality score</span><span class="fig none">—</span><span class="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" role="group" aria-label="Filter downloads by state">
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="all" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">All</span><span class="fig">6</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="queued" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Queued</span><span class="fig">2</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="downloading" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Downloading</span><span class="fig">1</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="done" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Done</span><span class="fig">2</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="failed" aria-pressed="false"><span class="lab">Failed</span><span class="fig">1</span><span class="sub">downloads</span></button>
</div>
<ul class="hss-list" id="hss-list">
<li data-state="done"><span>Bicycle drivetrain teardown</span><strong>Done</strong></li>
<li data-state="downloading"><span>Kiln firing, part three</span><strong>Downloading</strong></li>
<li data-state="queued"><span>Field recording — marsh at dawn</span><strong>Queued</strong></li>
<li data-state="done"><span>Lathe restoration, episode 12</span><strong>Done</strong></li>
<li data-state="failed"><span>Sourdough hydration tests</span><strong>Failed</strong></li>
<li data-state="queued"><span>Bookbinding: the long stitch</span><strong>Queued</strong></li>
</ul>
<p class="hss-status" id="hss-status" role="status" aria-live="polite">Showing all 6 downloads.</p>
<script>
const strip = document.getElementById('hss-filter');
const items = [...document.querySelectorAll('#hss-list li')];
const status = document.getElementById('hss-status');
strip.addEventListener('click', (event) => {
const tile = event.target.closest('button');
if (!tile) return;
const wasOn = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
const value = wasOn || tile.dataset.state === 'all' ? 'all' : tile.dataset.state;
strip.querySelectorAll('button').forEach((other) =>
other.setAttribute('aria-pressed', String(value !== 'all' && other === tile)));
let shown = 0;
items.forEach((item) => {
item.hidden = value !== 'all' && item.dataset.state !== value;
if (!item.hidden) shown += 1;
});
status.textContent = value === 'all'
? 'Showing all 6 downloads.'
: `Filtered to ${tile.querySelector('.lab').textContent}: ${shown} of 6. Press the lit tile again to clear.`;
});
</script>
More in Layout
A container with no artwork draws one from up to four member tiles, grid tracks following tile count.
Conversation bubbles with a speaker-colored spine and a fixed metadata gutter.
Cards flowing down columns instead of across rows, with the reading-order cost stated plainly.