{{_i}}Why LESS?{{/i}}

{{_i}}Bootstrap is made with LESS at it's core, a dynamic stylesheet language created by our good friend, Alexis Sellier. It makes developing systems-based CSS faster, easier, and more fun.{{/i}}

{{_i}}What's included?{{/i}}

{{_i}}As an extension of CSS, LESS includes variables, mixins for reusable snippets of code, operations for simple math, nesting, and even color functions.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Learn more{{/i}}

{{_i}}Visit the official website at http://lesscss.org to learn more.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Variables{{/i}}

{{_i}}Managing colors and pixel values in CSS can be a bit of a pain, usually full of copy and paste. Not with LESS though—assign colors or pixel values as variables and change them once.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Mixins{{/i}}

{{_i}}Those three border-radius declarations you need to make in regular ol' CSS? Now they're down to one line with the help of mixins, snippets of code you can reuse anywhere.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Operations{{/i}}

{{_i}}Make your grid, leading, and more super flexible by doing the math on the fly with operations. Multiple, divide, add, and subtract your way to CSS sanity.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Hyperlinks{{/i}}

{{_i}}Variable{{/i}}	{{_i}}Value{{/i}}	{{_i}}Usage{{/i}}
`@linkColor`	#08c	{{_i}}Default link text color{{/i}}
`@linkColorHover`	`darken(@linkColor, 15%)`	{{_i}}Default link text hover color{{/i}}

{{_i}}Grayscale colors{{/i}}

{{_i}}Variable{{/i}}	{{_i}}Value{{/i}}
`@black`	#000
`@grayDarker`	#222
`@grayDark`	#333
`@gray`	#555
`@grayLight`	#999
`@grayLighter`	#eee
`@white`	#fff

{{_i}}Accent colors{{/i}}

{{_i}}Variable{{/i}}	{{_i}}Value{{/i}}
`@blue`	#049cdb
`@green`	#46a546
`@red`	#9d261d
`@yellow`	#ffc40d
`@orange`	#f89406
`@pink`	#c3325f
`@purple`	#7a43b6

{{_i}}Grid system{{/i}}

{{_i}}Variable{{/i}}	{{_i}}Value{{/i}}
`@gridColumns`	12
`@gridColumnWidth`	60px
`@gridGutterWidth`	20px
`@siteWidth`	`(@gridColumns * @gridColumnWidth) + (@gridGutterWidth * (@gridColumns - 1))`

{{_i}}Typography{{/i}}

{{_i}}Variable{{/i}}	{{_i}}Value{{/i}}
`@baseFontSize`	13px
`@baseFontFamily`	`"Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif`
`@baseLineHeight`	18px

{{_i}}Components{{/i}}

Buttons

`@primaryButtonColor`	`@blue`

Forms

`@placeholderText`	`@grayLight`

Navbar

`@navbarHeight`	40px
`@navbarBackground`	`@grayDarker`
`@navbarBackgroundHighlight`	`@grayDark`

Form states and alerts

`@warningText`	#f3edd2
`@warningBackground`	#c09853
`@warningBorder`	#f3edd2
`@errorText`	#b94a48
`@errorBackground`	#f2dede
`@errorBorder`	#e9c7c7
`@successText`	#468847
`@successBackground`	#dff0d8
`@successBorder`	#cfe8c4
`@infoText`	#3a87ad
`@infoBackground`	#d9edf7
`@infoBorder`	#bfe1f2

About mixins

Basic mixins

A basic mixin is essentially an include or a partial for a snippet of CSS. They're written just like a CSS class and can be called anywhere.

  Coming soon!

Parametric mixins

A parametric mixin is just like a basic mixin, but it also accepts optional paramaters (hence the name).

  Coming soon!

Easily add your own

Nearly all of Bootstrap's mixins are stored in mixins.less, a wonderful utility .less file that enables you to use a mixin in any of the .less files in the toolkit.

So, go ahead and use the existing ones or feel free to add your own as you need.

Included mixins

Utilities

Mixin	Paramaters	Usage
`.clearfix()`
`.center-block()`
`.ie7-inline-block()`
`.size()`
`.square()`
`.opacity()`
`.reset-filter()`

Forms

Mixin	Paramaters	Usage
`.placeholder()`

Typography

Mixin	Paramaters	Usage
`#font > #family > .serif()`
`#font > #family > .sans-serif()`
`#font > #family > .monospace()`
`#font > .shorthand()`
`#font > .serif()`
`#font > .sans-serif()`
`#font > .monospace()`

Grid system

Mixin	Paramaters	Usage
`.fixed-container()`
`.columns()`
`.offset()`
`.gridColumn()`

CSS3 properties

Mixin	Paramaters	Usage
`.border-radius()`
`.border-radius-custom()`
`.box-shadow()`
`.transition()`
`.rotate()`
`.scale()`
`.translate()`
`.background-clip()`
`.background-size()`
`.box-sizing()`
`.user-select()`
`.resizable()`
`.content-columns()`

Backgrounds and gradients

Mixin	Paramaters	Usage
`.#translucent > .background()`
`.#translucent > .border()`
`.#gradient > .vertical()`
`.#gradient > .horizontal()`
`.#gradient > .directional()`
`.#gradient > .vertical-three-colors()`
`.#gradient > .radial()`
`.#gradient > .striped()`
`.#gradientBar()`

{{_i}}Note: If you're submitting a pull request to GitHub with modified CSS, you must recompile the CSS via any of these methods.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Tools for compiling{{/i}}

{{_i}}Node with makefile{{/i}}

{{_i}}Install the LESS command line compiler with npm by running the following command:{{/i}}

$ npm install less

{{_i}}Once installed just run make from the root of your bootstrap directory and you're all set.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Additionally, if you have watchr installed, you may run make watch to have bootstrap automatically rebuilt every time you edit a file in the bootstrap lib (this isn't required, just a convenience method).{{/i}}

{{_i}}Command line{{/i}}

{{_i}}Install the LESS command line tool via Node and run the following command:{{/i}}

$ lessc ./lib/bootstrap.less > bootstrap.css

{{_i}}Be sure to include --compress in that command if you're trying to save some bytes!{{/i}}

{{_i}}Javascript{{/i}}

{{_i}}Download the latest Less.js and include the path to it (and Bootstrap) in the <head>.{{/i}}

<link rel="stylesheet/less" href="/path/to/bootstrap.less">
<script src="/path/to/less.js"></script>

{{_i}}To recompile the .less files, just save them and reload your page. Less.js compiles them and stores them in local storage.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Unofficial Mac app{{/i}}

{{_i}}The unofficial Mac app watches directories of .less files and compiles the code to local files after every save of a watched .less file.{{/i}}

{{_i}}If you like, you can toggle preferences in the app for automatic minifying and which directory the compiled files end up in.{{/i}}

{{_i}}Built with LESS{{/i}}

{{_i}}Why LESS?{{/i}}

{{_i}}What's included?{{/i}}

{{_i}}Learn more{{/i}}

{{_i}}Variables{{/i}}

{{_i}}Mixins{{/i}}

{{_i}}Operations{{/i}}

{{_i}}Bootstrap variables {{/i}}

{{_i}}Hyperlinks{{/i}}

{{_i}}Grayscale colors{{/i}}

{{_i}}Accent colors{{/i}}

{{_i}}Grid system{{/i}}

{{_i}}Typography{{/i}}

{{_i}}Components{{/i}}

Buttons

Forms

Navbar

Form states and alerts

{{_i}}Bootstrap mixins {{/i}}

About mixins

Basic mixins

Parametric mixins

Easily add your own

Included mixins

Utilities

Forms

Typography

Grid system

CSS3 properties

Backgrounds and gradients

{{_i}}Compiling Bootstrap with LESS{{/i}}

{{_i}}Tools for compiling{{/i}}

{{_i}}Node with makefile{{/i}}

{{_i}}Command line{{/i}}

{{_i}}Javascript{{/i}}

{{_i}}Unofficial Mac app{{/i}}

{{_i}}More Mac apps{{/i}}

Crunch

CodeKit

Simpless