building-responsive-layouts

name	building-responsive-layouts
description	Claude builds responsive web layouts with mobile-first CSS, fluid typography, and container queries. Use when creating adaptive UIs that work across all device sizes.

Building Responsive Layouts

Quick Start

// Responsive grid with auto-fit
export function ResponsiveGrid({ children, minWidth = '300px' }: GridProps) {
  return (
    <div style={{
      display: 'grid',
      gridTemplateColumns: `repeat(auto-fit, minmax(min(${minWidth}, 100%), 1fr))`,
      gap: '1.5rem'
    }}>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

// With Tailwind
<div className="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 xl:grid-cols-4 gap-4 md:gap-6">
  {items.map(item => <Card key={item.id} {...item} />)}
</div>

Features

Feature	Description	Guide
Mobile-First Breakpoints	sm(640), md(768), lg(1024), xl(1280), 2xl(1536)	ref/breakpoints.md
Fluid Typography	clamp() for responsive font sizes	ref/fluid-type.md
Container Queries	Component-level responsive design	ref/container-queries.md
Responsive Images	srcset, sizes, and art direction	ref/images.md
Touch-Friendly	44px minimum targets, hover vs touch handling	ref/touch.md
Safe Areas	Handle notched devices and dynamic viewports	ref/safe-areas.md

Common Patterns

useMediaQuery Hook

export function useMediaQuery(query: string): boolean {
  const [matches, setMatches] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => {
    const media = window.matchMedia(query);
    setMatches(media.matches);
    const listener = (e: MediaQueryListEvent) => setMatches(e.matches);
    media.addEventListener('change', listener);
    return () => media.removeEventListener('change', listener);
  }, [query]);

  return matches;
}

// Usage
const isMobile = useMediaQuery('(max-width: 639px)');
const prefersReducedMotion = useMediaQuery('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)');

Container Query Component

.card-container {
  container-type: inline-size;
}

.card {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}

@container (min-width: 400px) {
  .card {
    flex-direction: row;
    gap: 1rem;
  }
  .card-image { width: 40%; }
}

export function ResponsiveCard({ image, title, content }: CardProps) {
  return (
    <div className="card-container">
      <article className="card">
        <img src={image} alt="" className="card-image" />
        <div className="card-content">
          <h3>{title}</h3>
          <p>{content}</p>
        </div>
      </article>
    </div>
  );
}

Responsive Navigation

export function ResponsiveNav() {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);

  return (
    <nav className="relative">
      <div className="flex justify-between items-center h-16 px-4">
        <Logo />
        {/* Desktop nav */}
        <div className="hidden md:flex items-center space-x-8">
          <NavLink href="/">Home</NavLink>
          <NavLink href="/about">About</NavLink>
        </div>
        {/* Mobile menu button */}
        <button
          className="md:hidden p-2 min-h-[44px] min-w-[44px]"
          onClick={() => setIsOpen(!isOpen)}
          aria-expanded={isOpen}
        >
          <span className="sr-only">{isOpen ? 'Close' : 'Open'} menu</span>
          {isOpen ? <XIcon /> : <MenuIcon />}
        </button>
      
      {/* Mobile nav */}
      {isOpen && (
        
           setIsOpen(false)}>Home
           setIsOpen(false)}>About
        
      )}
    
  );
}

Best Practices

Do	Avoid
Start with mobile-first CSS	Hiding essential content on mobile
Use relative units (rem, %, vw)	Fixed pixel widths
Test on real devices	Relying only on hover states
Use 44px minimum touch targets	Small touch targets on mobile
Consider reduced motion preferences	Ignoring landscape orientation
Use CSS logical properties (inline, block)	Device-specific breakpoints
Handle safe-area-inset for notched devices	Assuming mouse input