`scroll-behavior` CSS property

The scroll-behavior CSS property sets the behavior for a scrolling box when scrolling is triggered by the navigation or CSSOM scrolling APIs.

scroll-behavior: auto;

scroll-behavior: smooth;

<section id="default-example">
  <div class="container">
    <p class="nav">
      Scroll to:
      <a href="#pageA">A</a>
      <a href="#pageB">B</a>
      <a href="#pageC">C</a>
    </p>
    <scroll-container id="example-element">
      <scroll-page id="pageA">A</scroll-page>
      <scroll-page id="pageB">B</scroll-page>
      <scroll-page id="pageC">C</scroll-page>
    </scroll-container>
  </div>
</section>

.container {
  flex-direction: column;
}

.nav a {
  color: #009e5f;
}

scroll-container {
  border: 1px solid black;
  display: block;
  height: 200px;
  overflow-y: scroll;
  width: 200px;
}

scroll-page {
  align-items: center;
  display: flex;
  font-size: 5em;
  height: 100%;
  justify-content: center;
}

Note that any other scrolls, such as those performed by the user, are not affected by this property. When this property is specified on the root element, it applies to the viewport instead. This property specified on the body element will not propagate to the viewport.

User agents are allowed to ignore this property.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
scroll-behavior: auto;
scroll-behavior: smooth;

/* Global values */
scroll-behavior: inherit;
scroll-behavior: initial;
scroll-behavior: revert;
scroll-behavior: revert-layer;
scroll-behavior: unset;

Values

This property is specified as one of the following keyword values:

• auto
  • : The scrolling box scrolls instantly.
• smooth
  • : The scrolling box scrolls in a smooth fashion using a user-agent-defined easing function over a user-agent-defined period of time. User agents should follow platform conventions, if any.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

Examples

Setting smooth scroll behavior

HTML

<nav>
  <a href="#page-1">1</a>
  <a href="#page-2">2</a>
  <a href="#page-3">3</a>
</nav>
<div class="scroll-container">
  <div class="scroll-page" id="page-1">1</div>
  <div class="scroll-page" id="page-2">2</div>
  <div class="scroll-page" id="page-3">3</div>
</div>

CSS

a {
  display: inline-block;
  width: 50px;
  text-decoration: none;
}
nav,
.scroll-container {
  display: block;
  margin: 0 auto;
  text-align: center;
}
nav {
  width: 339px;
  padding: 5px;
  border: 1px solid black;
}
.scroll-container {
  width: 350px;
  height: 200px;
  overflow-y: scroll;
  scroll-behavior: smooth;
}
.scroll-page {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  height: 100%;
  font-size: 5em;
}

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility