CSS3 Border Images

Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Numbers followed by -webkit-, -moz-, or -o- specify the first version that worked with a prefix.



CSS3 border-image Property
The CSS3 border-image property allows you to specify an image to be used instead of the normal border around an element.

The property has three parts:

• The image to use as the border
• Where to slice the image
• Define whether the middle sections should be repeated or stretched

We will use the following image (called "border.png"):



The border-image property takes the image and slices it into nine sections, like a tic-tac-toe board. It then places the corners at the corners, and the middle sections are repeated or stretched as you specify.

Note: For border-image to work, the element also needs the border property set!

Here, the middle sections of the image are repeated to create the border:



Here is the code:

Example

#borderimg {
    border: 10px solid transparent;
    padding: 15px;
    -webkit-border-image: url(border.png) 30 round; /* Safari 3.1-5 */
    -o-border-image: url(border.png) 30 round; /* Opera 11-12.1 */
    border-image: url(border.png) 30 round;
}

Try it Yourself »

Here, the middle sections of the image are stretched to create the border:



Here is the code:

Example

#borderimg {
    border: 10px solid transparent;
    padding: 15px;
    -webkit-border-image: url(border.png) 30 stretch; /* Safari 3.1-5 */
    -o-border-image: url(border.png) 30 stretch; /* Opera 11-12.1 */
    border-image: url(border.png) 30 stretch;
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS3 border-image - Different Slice Values
Different slice values completely changes the look of the border:

Example 1:



Example 2:



Example 3:



Here is the code:

Example

#borderimg1 {
    border: 10px solid transparent;
    padding: 15px;
    -webkit-border-image: url(border.png) 50 round; /* Safari 3.1-5 */
    -o-border-image: url(border.png) 50 round; /* Opera 11-12.1 */
    border-image: url(border.png) 50 round;
}
#borderimg2 {
    border: 10px solid transparent;
    padding: 15px;
    -webkit-border-image: url(border.png) 20% round; /* Safari 3.1-5 */
    -o-border-image: url(border.png) 20% round; /* Opera 11-12.1 */
    border-image: url(border.png) 20% round;
}
#borderimg3 {
    border: 10px solid transparent;
    padding: 15px;
    -webkit-border-image: url(border.png) 30% round; /* Safari 3.1-5 */
    -o-border-image: url(border.png) 30% round; /* Opera 11-12.1 */
    border-image: url(border.png) 30% round;
}

Try it Yourself »

CSS3 Border Properties

Property	Description
border-image	A shorthand property for setting all the border-image-* properties
border-image-source	Specifies the path to the image to be used as a border
border-image-slice	Specifies how to slice the border image
border-image-width	Specifies the widths of the border image
border-image-outset	Specifies the amount by which the border image area extends beyond the border box
border-image-repeat	Specifies whether the border image should be repeated, rounded or stretched