Re: [csswg-drafts] [css-grid-3] if using `display` we should provide examples for `inline grid-lanes`, and include the `inline-grid-lanes` legacy fallback (#10961)

So I think a lot of the people that are in support of adding legacy variants of display keywords weren't on the call when this was discussed unfortunately.

Broadly speaking the majority developers don't know that the syntax `display: inline flex` exists.

A search on github:
`display: inline grid` : https://github.com/search?q=%22display%3A+inline+grid%22&type=code ~1k results
`display: inline-grid` : https://github.com/search?q=%22display%3A+inline-grid%22&type=code ~134k results

`display: inline flex` : https://github.com/search?q=%22display%3A+inline+flex%22&type=code ~2.5k results
`display: inline-flex` : https://github.com/search?q=%22display%3A+inline-flex%22&type=code ~2.7M results

I suspect that a HTTP archive search will reveal similar results, broadly speaking there is a 2-3 *orders of magnitude* difference in usage. Put differently a developer has a 0.1-0.01% change that they'll see this, and due to how the human mind reads, they may not even notice the difference while reading source code.

As another data-point lots of developers use LLMs for answering questions, I tested 2 of the top LLM engines with the query:
"In CSS, how do I make a flexbox sit on the same line as some text?"
And both responded to use `display: inline-flex`, with no mention of the `inline` keyword variant.
 
It is entirely reasonable for a developer who has used `display: inline-flex` to place a flexbox on a while to expect `display: inline-grid-lanes` to work. They've done this their whole career so far! And its just worked!

Breaking this convenience for spec purity is a large disservice to web developers. It costs browser engines nothing[1] to add this feature, and doesn't harm CSS as a language going forward.

Ian

[1] Relatively speaking


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Received on Friday, 23 January 2026 19:33:35 UTC