LESS coding standard

This standard defines internal requirements for code formatting and style for teams that develop LESS and CSS code.

Some parts of the code might not comply with this coding standard yet, but we are working to gradually improve this.

This coding standard is optional for third-party developers.

General rules#

Indentation#

Use only spaces for indentation:

• Tab size: 4 spaces
• Indent size: 4 spaces
• Continuation indent: 4 spaces

Correct:

.nav {
    .nav-item {
        ...
    }
}
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1.nav {
2    .nav-item {
3        ...
4    }
5}

Formatting#

Braces#

Add one space before opening braces and a line break after. Add a line break before closing braces.

Correct:

.nav {
    color: @nav__color;
}
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1.nav {
2    color: @nav__color;
3}

Incorrect:

.nav{color: @nav__color;}
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.nav{color: @nav__color;}

Selector delimiters#

Add a line break after each selector delimiter. Do not add spaces before or after delimiters.

Correct:

.nav,
.bar {
    color: @color__base;
}
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1.nav,
2.bar {
3    color: @color__base;
4}

Incorrect:

.nav, .bar {
    color: @color__base;
}
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1.nav, .bar {
2    color: @color__base;
3}

Quotes#

Use single quotes.

Correct:

.nav {
    content: 'lorem ipsum';
}
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1.nav {
2    content: 'lorem ipsum';
3}

Incorrect:

.nav {
    content: "lorem ipsum";
}
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1.nav {
2    content: "lorem ipsum";
3}

Combinator indents#

Add spaces before and after combinators.

Correct:

.nav + .bar {
    color: @bar__color;
}
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1.nav + .bar {
2    color: @bar__color;
3}

Incorrect:

.nav+.bar {
    color: @bar__color;
}

.nav +.bar {
    color: @bar__color;
}

.nav+ .bar {
    color: @bar__color;
}
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1.nav+.bar {
2    color: @bar__color;
3}
4
5.nav +.bar {
6    color: @bar__color;
7}
8
9.nav+ .bar {
10    color: @bar__color;
11}

Properties line break#

Start each property declaration in a new line.

Correct:

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
    color: @nav__color;
}
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1.nav {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color;
3    color: @nav__color;
4}

Incorrect:

.nav {
    color: @nav__color; background-color: @nav__background-color;
}
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1.nav {
2    color: @nav__color; background-color: @nav__background-color;
3}

Properties colon indents#

Add space after but not before the colon that separates property names from values.

Correct:

.nav {
    color: @nav__color;
}
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1.nav {
2    color: @nav__color;
3}

Incorrect:

.nav {
    color : @nav__color;
}

.bar {
    color:@bar__color;
}

.item {
    color :@item__color;
}
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1.nav {
2    color : @nav__color;
3}
4
5.bar {
6    color:@bar__color;
7}
8
9.item {
10    color :@item__color;
11}

End of file#

Add a blank line at the end of file.

End of selector#

Add a blank line after a selector.

Correct:

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
}

.bar {
    background-color: @bar__background-color;
}
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1.nav {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color;
3}
4
5.bar {
6    background-color: @bar__background-color;
7}

Incorrect:

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
}
.bar {
    background-color: @bar__background-color;
}
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1.nav {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color;
3}
4.bar {
5    background-color: @bar__background-color;
6}

End of the property line#

Add a semicolon after property.

Correct:

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
}
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1.nav {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color;
3}

Incorrect:

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color
}
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1.nav {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color
3}

!important property#

Avoid using the !important property if possible. If it is required, add a space before the property.

Correct:

.jquery-ui-calendar-item {
    background-color: @nav__background-color !important;
}
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1.jquery-ui-calendar-item {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color !important;
3}

Incorrect:

.jquery-ui-calendar-item {
    background-color: @nav__background-color!important;
}
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1.jquery-ui-calendar-item {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color!important;
3}

Comments#

First and second level comments must be surrounded by empty lines. First, second and third level comments should have two spaces after "//". Inline comments should have one space after "//".

Correct:

//
//  First level comment
//  _____________________________________________

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
}

//
//  Second level comment
//  ---------------------------------------------

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
}

//  Comment
.nav {
    //  New line comment
    background-color: @nav__background-color; // ToDo UI: todo inline comment
    color: @nav__color; // inline comment
}
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1//
2//  First level comment
3//  _____________________________________________
4
5.nav {
6    background-color: @nav__background-color;
7}
8
9//
10//  Second level comment
11//  ---------------------------------------------
12
13.nav {
14    background-color: @nav__background-color;
15}
16
17//  Comment
18.nav {
19    //  New line comment
20    background-color: @nav__background-color; // ToDo UI: todo inline comment
21    color: @nav__color; // inline comment
22}

Selectors#

Types#

Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source support the two most recent versions of all major browsers. Internet Explorer is supported from version 9 and later.

You can use almost all CSS3 selectors: descendants, attributes, pseudo classes, structural, pseudo elements, and so on.

Exception: Avoid the id selector.

Correct:

.nav {
    ...
}

.nav + bar {
    ...
}

.nav:not(.bar) {
    ...
}
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1.nav {
2    ...
3}
4
5.nav + bar {
6    ...
7}
8
9.nav:not(.bar) {
10    ...
11}

Incorrect:

#foo {
    ...
}
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1#foo {
2    ...
3}

Classes Naming#

Standard classes#

Class names should be lowercase, start with a letter (except helper classes), words should be separated with dash '-'.

Correct:

.nav-bar {
    ...
}
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1.nav-bar {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect:

.navBar {
    ...
}
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1.navBar {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect: underscore separation

.nav_bar {
    ...
}
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1.nav_bar {
2    ...
3}

Helper classes#

Helper class names should be lowercase and start with underscore ("_").

Some parts of the code might not comply with this standard yet. You might still find helper names with no underscores. We are working to gradually remove the inconsistency.

Example:

._active {
    ...
}
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1._active {
2    ...
3}

Size#

Use class names that are as short as possible, but as long as necessary. Try to convey what class is about while being as brief as possible.

Correct:

.nav-bar {
    ...
}
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1.nav-bar {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect: too long

.navigation-panel-in-footer {
    ...
}
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1.navigation-panel-in-footer {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect: too short

.nvpf {
    ...
}
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1.nvpf {
2    ...
3}

Meaning#

Use meaningful, specific class names that reflect the purpose of the element. Class names should not be presentational or cryptic.

Correct: specific

.category {
    ...
}
.category-title {
    ...
}
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1.category {
2    ...
3}
4.category-title {
5    ...
6}

Incorrect: cryptic

.foo-1901 {
    ...
}
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1.foo-1901 {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect: presentational

.button-green {
    ...
}

.clear {
    ...
}
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1.button-green {
2    ...
3}
4
5.clear {
6    ...
7}

Selectors naming#

Type selectors#

Avoid qualifying class names with type selectors.

Unless necessary (for example with helper classes), do not use element names in conjunction with IDs or classes.

Correct:

.error {
    ...
}
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1.error {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect:

div.error {
    ...
}
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1div.error {
2    ...
3}

Type selectors must be lowercase.

Correct:

.nav > li {
    ...
}
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1.nav > li {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect:

.nav > LI {
    ...
}
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1.nav > LI {
2    ...
3}

Formatting#

Write selector in one line, do not use concatenation.

Correct:

.product-list-item {
    ...
}
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1.product-list-item {
2    ...
3}

Incorrect:

.product {
    ...
    &-list {
        ...
        &-item {
            ...
        }
    }
}
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1.product {
2    ...
3    &-list {
4        ...
5        &-item {
6            ...
7        }
8    }
9}

Nesting#

Avoid using more than three levels of nesting.

Exceptions are pseudo elements and states.

Correct:

.footer {
    ...
    .nav {
        ...
    }
    .nav-list {
        ...
        .nav-list-item {
            ...
        }
    }
}
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1.footer {
2    ...
3    .nav {
4        ...
5    }
6    .nav-list {
7        ...
8        .nav-list-item {
9            ...
10        }
11    }
12}

Incorrect:

.footer {
    ...
    .nav {
        ...
        .nav-list {
            ...
            .nav-list-item {
                ...
            }
        }
    }
}
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1.footer {
2    ...
3    .nav {
4        ...
5        .nav-list {
6            ...
7            .nav-list-item {
8                ...
9            }
10        }
11    }
12}

Properties#

Sorting#

Sort all properties in the alphabetical order. Mixins, variables, and so on should go first.

Correct:

.nav {
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
    color: @nav__color;
    text-align: center;
}
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1.nav {
2    background-color: @nav__background-color;
3    color: @nav__color;
4    text-align: center;
5}

Incorrect:

.nav {
    color: @nav__color;
    text-align: center;
    background-color: @nav__background-color;
}
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1.nav {
2    color: @nav__color;
3    text-align: center;
4    background-color: @nav__background-color;
5}

Shorthand#

Use shorthand properties where possible.

CSS offers a variety of shorthand properties that should be used whenever possible, even in cases where only one value is explicitly set.

Correct:

border-top: 0;
padding: 0 1em 2em;
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1border-top: 0;
2padding: 0 1em 2em;

Incorrect:

border-top-style: none;
padding-bottom: 2rem;
padding-left: 1rem;
padding-right: 1rem;
padding-top: 0;
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1border-top-style: none;
2padding-bottom: 2rem;
3padding-left: 1rem;
4padding-right: 1rem;
5padding-top: 0;

0 and units#

Do not specify units "0" value.

Correct:

border-width: 0;
margin: 0;
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1border-width: 0;
2margin: 0;

Incorrect:

border-width: 0px;
margin: 0rem;
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1border-width: 0px;
2margin: 0rem;

Floating values#

Omit leading "0"s in values, use dot instead.

Correct:

margin-left: .5rem;
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margin-left: .5rem;

Incorrect:

margin-left: 0.5rem;
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margin-left: 0.5rem;

Hexadecimal notation#

• Use lowercase only.
• Use three-character hexadecimal notation where possible.
• Avoid using hexadecimal values for color in properties, use only variables instead.

Correct:

@nav__color: #fafafa;
@nav-item__color: #f00;
...
color: @nav-item__color;
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1@nav__color: #fafafa;
2@nav-item__color: #f00;
3...
4color: @nav-item__color;

Incorrect:

color: #ff0000;
@nav__color: #FAFAFA;
@nav-item__color: red;
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1color: #ff0000;
2@nav__color: #FAFAFA;
3@nav-item__color: red;

Variables#

Location#

Local variables#

If variables are local and used only in a module scope, they should be located in the module file, in the beginning of the general comment.

Example: _module.less:

...

//
//  Variables
//  _____________________________________________

    //  Colors
@btn__color: @color-brownie;
@btn-primary__color: @color-white;
@btn-secondary__color: @color-white;
...
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1...
2
3//
4//  Variables
5//  _____________________________________________
6
7    //  Colors
8@btn__color: @color-brownie;
9@btn-primary__color: @color-white;
10@btn-secondary__color: @color-white;
11...

Theme variables#

If variables are common for several modules they should be specified in the _theme.less file.

Naming#

All variable names must be lowercase.

Value variables#

General model is the following:

@property-name
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@property-name

Examples:

@primary__color: @color-phoenix;
@indent__base: 2rem;
@border-radius-round: 100%;
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1@primary__color: @color-phoenix;
2@indent__base: 2rem;
3@border-radius-round: 100%;

Parameter variables#

General model is the following:

@component-element__state__property__modifier
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@component-element__state__property__modifier

Component name must meaningful. It can contain the primary, secondary, tertiary names.

base is a modifier.

Examples:

@color-orange: '';

@link__hover__color: '';

@nav-element__background-color: '';

@secondary__color: '';

@side-nav__indent__s: '';

@side-nav-el__background-color: '';

@side-nav-el__active__background-color: '';

@side-nav-el__active-focus__background-color: '';

@side-nav-el__active-focus__font-size__xl: '';

@text__color__base: '';
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1@color-orange: '';
2
3@link__hover__color: '';
4
5@nav-element__background-color: '';
6
7@secondary__color: '';
8
9@side-nav__indent__s: '';
10
11@side-nav-el__background-color: '';
12
13@side-nav-el__active__background-color: '';
14
15@side-nav-el__active-focus__background-color: '';
16
17@side-nav-el__active-focus__font-size__xl: '';
18
19@text__color__base: '';

Mixins#

Location#

Theme mixins (except extends) should be located in the web/css/source directory. For more details, refer to Include CSS.

Naming#

For mixin naming apply the class naming rules.

For mixins grouping use the double underscore "__" prefix.

There are common situations when different elements use a similar set of CSS properties.

In a .css file, properties are duplicated for each element. In a .less file, it is done by reusing the CSS rule - using mixins.

For example, many elements on the page use the same animation. For this, create an .animation-1 class with a set of animation properties:

Example:

.extend__clearfix(...) {
    ...
}

.vendor-prefix__flex-direction(...) {
    ...
}
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1.extend__clearfix(...) {
2    ...
3}
4
5.vendor-prefix__flex-direction(...) {
6    ...
7}

.animation-1 {
    transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
    -moz-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
    -webkit-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
    -o-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
}
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1.animation-1 {
2    transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
3    -moz-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
4    -webkit-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
5    -o-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
6}

And then apply this mixin where necessary:

.example-1 {
   .animation-1();
   width: 100%;
}
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1.example-1 {
2   .animation-1();
3   width: 100%;
4}

After compiling the .less file into a .css file, the .example-1 element has the following:

.animation-1 {
   transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
   -moz-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
   -webkit-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
   -o-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
}
.example-1 {
   transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
   -moz-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
   -webkit-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
   -o-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
   width: 100%;
}
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1.animation-1 {
2   transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
3   -moz-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
4   -webkit-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
5   -o-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
6}
7.example-1 {
8   transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
9   -moz-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
10   -webkit-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
11   -o-transition: 300ms ease-in-out;
12   width: 100%;
13}

Mixins with parameters#

Mixins also accept parameters. When calling these mixins, these parameter values are passed in. When creating this type of mixin, always set default values, since issues may occur when calling the mixin without specifying the parameter value. The example below shows how to create a mixin with parameters based on the example above and shows how to call it:

.animation-1 (
    @animation-speed: 300ms,
    @animation-type: ease-in-out
) {
    transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
    -moz-transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
    -webkit-transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
    -o-transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
}
.example-1 {
    .animation-1(
        @animation-speed: 1500ms
    );
}
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1.animation-1 (
2    @animation-speed: 300ms,
3    @animation-type: ease-in-out
4) {
5    transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
6    -moz-transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
7    -webkit-transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
8    -o-transition: @animation-speed @animation-type;
9}
10.example-1 {
11    .animation-1(
12        @animation-speed: 1500ms
13    );
14}

Mixin parameters are set in parentheses with default values.

When calling a mixin in parentheses, set the required value of the mixin parameters, if they differ from the default values.

After compiling the .less file into a .css file, the .example-1 element will have the following:

.example-1 {
   transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
   -moz-transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
   -webkit-transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
   -o-transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
}
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1.example-1 {
2   transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
3   -moz-transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
4   -webkit-transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
5   -o-transition: 1500ms ease-in-out;
6}

Extends#

Location#

Local extends used only in one file, should be specified in this file. Extends that are used in several files should be specified in the theme's source/_extend.less file.

Naming#

Extend names should start with the .abs- prefix.

@import directive#

Always add the file extension of the imported resource.

Correct:

@import 'source/lib/_lib.less';
@import (css) 'styles.css';
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1@import 'source/lib/_lib.less';
2@import (css) 'styles.css';

Incorrect:

@import 'source/lib/_lib';
@import (css) 'styles';
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1@import 'source/lib/_lib';
2@import (css) 'styles';

Use single quotes.

Correct:

@import 'source/lib/_lib.less';
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@import 'source/lib/_lib.less';

Incorrect:

@import "source/lib/_lib.less";
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@import "source/lib/_lib.less";

Last updated 5/20/2022

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