--- layout: docs title: Reboot description: Reboot, a collection of element-specific CSS changes in a single file, kickstart Bootstrap to provide an elegant, consistent, and simple baseline to build upon. group: content aliases: "/docs/5.1/content/" toc: true --- ## Approach Reboot builds upon Normalize, providing many HTML elements with somewhat opinionated styles using only element selectors. Additional styling is done only with classes. For example, we reboot some `` styles for a simpler baseline and later provide `.table`, `.table-bordered`, and more. Here are our guidelines and reasons for choosing what to override in Reboot: - Update some browser default values to use `rem`s instead of `em`s for scalable component spacing. - Avoid `margin-top`. Vertical margins can collapse, yielding unexpected results. More importantly though, a single direction of `margin` is a simpler mental model. - For easier scaling across device sizes, block elements should use `rem`s for `margin`s. - Keep declarations of `font`-related properties to a minimum, using `inherit` whenever possible. ## CSS variables Added in v5.1.1 With v5.1.1, we standardized our required `@import`s across all our CSS bundles (including `bootstrap.css`, `bootstrap-reboot.css`, and `bootstrap-grid.css` to include `_root.scss` . This adds `:root` level CSS variables to all bundles, regardless of how many of them are used in that bundle. Ultimately Bootstrap 5 will continue to see more CSS variables added over time. ## Page defaults The `` and `` elements are updated to provide better page-wide defaults. More specifically: - The `box-sizing` is globally set on every element—including `*::before` and `*::after`, to `border-box`. This ensures that the declared width of element is never exceeded due to padding or border. - No base `font-size` is declared on the ``, but `16px` is assumed (the browser default). `font-size: 1rem` is applied on the `` for easy responsive type-scaling via media queries while respecting user preferences and ensuring a more accessible approach. This browser default can be overridden by modifying the `$font-size-root` variable. - The `` also sets a global `font-family`, `font-weight`, `line-height`, and `color`. This is inherited later by some form elements to prevent font inconsistencies. - For safety, the `` has a declared `background-color`, defaulting to `#fff`. ## Native font stack Bootstrap utilizes a "native font stack" or "system font stack" for optimum text rendering on every device and OS. These system fonts have been designed specifically with today's devices in mind, with improved rendering on screens, variable font support, and more. Read more about [native font stacks in this *Smashing Magazine* article](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/11/using-system-ui-fonts-practical-guide/). ```scss $font-family-sans-serif: // Cross-platform generic font family (default user interface font) system-ui, // Safari for macOS and iOS (San Francisco) -apple-system, // Windows "Segoe UI", // Android Roboto, // Basic web fallback "Helvetica Neue", Arial, // Linux "Noto Sans", "Liberation Sans", // Sans serif fallback sans-serif, // Emoji fonts "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Noto Color Emoji" !default; ``` Note that because the font stack includes emoji fonts, many common symbol/dingbat unicode characters will be rendered as multi-colored pictographs. Their appearance will vary, depending on the style used in the browser/platform's native emoji font, and they won't be affected by any CSS `color` styles. This `font-family` is applied to the `` and automatically inherited globally throughout Bootstrap. To switch the global `font-family`, update `$font-family-base` and recompile Bootstrap. ## CSS variables As Bootstrap 5 continues to mature, more and more styles will be built with [CSS variables]({{< docsref "/customize/css-variables" >}}) as a means to provide more real-time customization without the need to always recompile Sass. Our approach is to take our source Sass variables and transform them into CSS variables. That way, even if you don't use CSS variables, you still have all the power of Sass. **This is still in-progress and will take time to fully implement.** For example, consider these `:root` CSS variables for common `` styles: {{< scss-docs name="root-body-variables" file="scss/_root.scss" >}} In practice, those variables are then applied in Reboot like so: {{< scss-docs name="reboot-body-rules" file="scss/_reboot.scss" >}} Which allows you to make real-time customizations however you like: ```html ``` ## Headings and paragraphs All heading elements—e.g., `

`—and `

` are reset to have their `margin-top` removed. Headings have `margin-bottom: .5rem` added and paragraphs `margin-bottom: 1rem` for easy spacing.

Heading Example
{{< markdown >}}`

`{{< /markdown >}}
h1. Bootstrap heading
{{< markdown >}}`

`{{< /markdown >}}
h2. Bootstrap heading
{{< markdown >}}`

`{{< /markdown >}}
h3. Bootstrap heading
{{< markdown >}}`

`{{< /markdown >}}
h4. Bootstrap heading
{{< markdown >}}`
`{{< /markdown >}}
h5. Bootstrap heading
{{< markdown >}}`
`{{< /markdown >}}
h6. Bootstrap heading
## Lists All lists—`