Layout / Added 2026-08-21 / Updated 2026-09-28 UPDATED
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.
- stats
- css-grid
- css-only
- hairline
- no-assets
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
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>
<!-- …three more tiles… -->
<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>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;
background: var(--border);
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 { grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr); } }
.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: .9rem 1rem; min-width: 0; }
.hss-label { font: 500 .8125rem/1.3 ui-monospace, monospace; text-transform: uppercase; color: var(--dim); overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
.hss-fig { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.hss-fig.missing { color: var(--dim); }
button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}
const tiles = document.querySelectorAll('[data-hss-filter] button');
tiles.forEach((tile) => tile.addEventListener('click', () => {
const wasOn = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
tiles.forEach((other) => other.setAttribute('aria-pressed', String(!wasOn && other === tile)));
const state = wasOn ? 'all' : tile.dataset.state;
document.querySelectorAll('.hss-list li').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 rather than letting auto-fit guess: one column, two from 21rem, four from 42rem. Each tile carries a mono uppercase label, the figure in bold tabular numerals, and a short qualifier underneath.
Two rules of honesty: render a missing value as a dimmed em dash, never a zero; and keep the unit with the number it belongs to.
In the filter form, each tile is a toggle button for the list beneath it. Compute every count from the unfiltered set, so pressing a tile never changes the other numbers, and use aria-pressed on the buttons rather than tab roles, because nothing is being switched between panels.
More layout patterns
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Annotated transcript
Conversation bubbles with a speaker-colored spine and a fixed metadata gutter.
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Column-flow wall
Cards flowing down columns instead of across rows, with the reading-order cost stated plainly.