Hairline stat strip
Stat tiles joined by hairlines that are grid gap, not borders.
Added 21 August 2026
Updated 28 September 2026
stats, css-grid, css-only, hairline, no-assetsA 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
Below: the pattern live, then its markup, styles, behaviour, and the prompt that rebuilds it.The live site clips labels at the five-column filter row (“QUEUED 2 downloa…”). Here the columns are pinned to the container width with a container query and labels wrap with overflow-wrap: anywhere, so nothing is cut. This handout restyles it into its own palette; the source uses the library’s shared tokens.
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.
- 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.
<div class="hss-strip">
<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">Quality score</span>
<span class="hss-fig missing" aria-label="not rated">—</span>
<span class="hss-sub">not rated yet</span>
</div>
<!-- … -->
</div>
<div class="hss-strip" data-filter-for="downloads">
<button type="button" class="hss-tile" aria-pressed="true" data-status="all">
<span class="hss-label">All</span>
<span class="hss-fig">6</span>
<span class="hss-sub">downloads</span>
</button>
<!-- one button per status -->
</div>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-stage { container-type: inline-size; }
.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;
}
@container (min-width: 21rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr)); } }
@container (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;
overflow-wrap: anywhere; /* long labels wrap instead of clipping */
}
.hss-fig { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.hss-fig.missing { color: var(--dim); font-weight: 400; }
.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}document.querySelectorAll('[data-filter-for]').forEach((strip) => {
const list = document.getElementById(strip.dataset.filterFor);
const tiles = [...strip.querySelectorAll('button.hss-tile')];
tiles.forEach((tile) => tile.addEventListener('click', () => {
const wasOn = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
const value = wasOn ? 'all' : tile.dataset.status;
tiles.forEach((other) =>
other.setAttribute('aria-pressed', String(other.dataset.status === value)));
list.querySelectorAll('li').forEach((item) => {
item.hidden = value !== 'all' && item.dataset.status !== value;
});
}));
});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.
Nearby in the library
- Benchmark progress bar — places a raw figure on a scale of external benchmarks instead of printing it plain.
- Shape-mark sequence — a sequence compressed into a row of small marks whose shape carries the state.
- Partitioned stage bar — progress for work with several possible endings, drawn as a census rather than a fraction.