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.

pattern hairline-stat-strip · category Layout · deps 0 · js optional

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

statscss-gridcss-onlyhairlineno-assets

Preview, source, prompt#

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 teardown Done
Kiln firing, part three Downloading
Field recording — marsh at dawn Queued
Lathe restoration, episode 12 Done
Sourdough hydration tests Failed
Bookbinding: the long stitch Queued

Showing all 6 downloads.

<p class="hss-cap">Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.</p>
<div class="hss-strip four">
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Documents</span><span class="f">1,482</span><span class="u">this period</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Median time</span><span class="f">3.2s</span><span class="u">last 24h</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Clean runs</span><span class="f">98.4%</span><span class="u">no retries</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Quality score</span><span class="f dim">—</span><span class="u">not rated yet</span></div>
</div>
<p class="hss-cap">Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.</p>
<div class="hss-strip filter" data-filter>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="all" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">All</span><span class="f">6</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="queued" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Queued</span><span class="f">2</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="downloading" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Downloading</span><span class="f">1</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="done" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Done</span><span class="f">2</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="failed" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Failed</span><span class="f">1</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
</div>
<ul class="hss-list">
  <li data-state="done">Bicycle drivetrain teardown <span class="muted">Done</span></li>
  <li data-state="downloading">Kiln firing, part three <span class="muted">Downloading</span></li>
  <li data-state="queued">Field recording — marsh at dawn <span class="muted">Queued</span></li>
  <li data-state="done">Lathe restoration, episode 12 <span class="muted">Done</span></li>
  <li data-state="failed">Sourdough hydration tests <span class="muted">Failed</span></li>
  <li data-state="queued">Bookbinding: the long stitch <span class="muted">Queued</span></li>
</ul>
<p class="hss-status" role="status">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, minmax(0, 1fr)); } }
@media (min-width: 42rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(4, minmax(0, 1fr)); } }

.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: .8rem 1rem; min-width: 0; }
.hss-label {
  font: 500 .8125rem/1.3 ui-monospace, monospace;
  text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .06em; color: var(--dim);
}
.hss-figure { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; color: var(--ink); }
.hss-figure.is-missing { color: var(--dim); font-weight: 500; }

button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}

const strip = document.querySelector('.hss-strip[data-filter]');
const rows = document.querySelectorAll('.hss-list li');

strip.addEventListener('click', (event) => {
  const tile = event.target.closest('button');
  if (!tile) return;
  const wasPressed = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
  const state = wasPressed ? 'all' : tile.dataset.state;
  strip.querySelectorAll('button').forEach((button) => {
    button.setAttribute('aria-pressed', String(button.dataset.state === state && state !== 'all'));
  });
  rows.forEach((row) => { row.hidden = state !== 'all' && row.dataset.state !== state; });
});

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 (1, then 2 from 21rem, then 4 from 42rem) rather than letting auto-fit choose, so a row never ends with one orphaned tile.

Two rules of honesty: render a missing value as a dimmed em dash, never a zero; and keep the unit with the number.

For the filter form, compute every count from the unfiltered set, and use aria-pressed on the tiles rather than tab roles, because pressing a tile filters a list, it does not swap a panel.

:root { --ground:#eef0f3; --surface:#ffffff; --border:#d2d8e0; --ink:#161b22; --dim:#56606e; --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, minmax(0, 1fr)); } }
@media (min-width: 42rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(4, minmax(0, 1fr)); } }

.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: .8rem 1rem; min-width: 0; }
.hss-label {
  font: 500 .8125rem/1.3 ui-monospace, monospace;
  text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .06em; color: var(--dim);
}
.hss-figure { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; color: var(--ink); }
.hss-figure.is-missing { color: var(--dim); font-weight: 500; }

button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}
<p class="hss-cap">Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.</p>
<div class="hss-strip four">
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Documents</span><span class="f">1,482</span><span class="u">this period</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Median time</span><span class="f">3.2s</span><span class="u">last 24h</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Clean runs</span><span class="f">98.4%</span><span class="u">no retries</span></div>
  <div class="hss-tile"><span class="l">Quality score</span><span class="f dim">—</span><span class="u">not rated yet</span></div>
</div>
<p class="hss-cap">Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.</p>
<div class="hss-strip filter" data-filter>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="all" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">All</span><span class="f">6</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="queued" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Queued</span><span class="f">2</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="downloading" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Downloading</span><span class="f">1</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="done" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Done</span><span class="f">2</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
  <button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-state="failed" aria-pressed="false"><span class="l">Failed</span><span class="f">1</span><span class="u">downloads</span></button>
</div>
<ul class="hss-list">
  <li data-state="done">Bicycle drivetrain teardown <span class="muted">Done</span></li>
  <li data-state="downloading">Kiln firing, part three <span class="muted">Downloading</span></li>
  <li data-state="queued">Field recording — marsh at dawn <span class="muted">Queued</span></li>
  <li data-state="done">Lathe restoration, episode 12 <span class="muted">Done</span></li>
  <li data-state="failed">Sourdough hydration tests <span class="muted">Failed</span></li>
  <li data-state="queued">Bookbinding: the long stitch <span class="muted">Queued</span></li>
</ul>
<p class="hss-status" role="status">Showing all 6 downloads.</p>

Tokens it reads#

Token	Light	Dark	Used for
`--border`	#d2d8e0	#2c3743	Container fill that shows through the 1px gap
`--surface`	#ffffff	#191f27	Tile fill
`--ink`	#161b22	#e6ecf3	Figures
`--dim`	#56606e	#97a4b4	Labels, units, missing values
`--accent`	#364f6a	#6f92bd	Pressed tile tint, 14% over surface
`--radius`	10px		Outer corners only

Gotchas#

Five tiles in a narrow column

A five-tile filter row pinned to five columns overflows its labels in a narrow container (“QUEUED 2 downloa…”). This page lets that row use repeat(auto-fit, minmax(7.5rem, 1fr)) instead, so it wraps before it clips.

Why a gap and not a border

Borders double where two tiles meet and leave a stray edge when the row wraps. A 1px gap over a border-colored container cannot do either.

← All patterns

Last updated 2026-09-29

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