---
layout: default
title: Getting started
slug: getting-started
lead: "An overview of Bootstrap, how to download and use, basic templates and examples, and more."
---
Download
Bootstrap has a few easy ways to quickly get started, each one appealing to a different skill level and use case. Read through to see what suits your particular needs.
Bootstrap
Compiled and minified CSS, JavaScript, and fonts. No docs or original source files are included.
Bootstrap is downloadable in two forms, within which you'll find the following directories and files, logically grouping common resources and providing both compiled and minified variations.
jQuery required
Please note that all JavaScript plugins require jQuery to be included, as shown in the starter template. Consult our bower.json to see which versions of jQuery are supported.
Precompiled Bootstrap
Once downloaded, unzip the compressed folder to see the structure of (the compiled) Bootstrap. You'll see something like this:
This is the most basic form of Bootstrap: precompiled files for quick drop-in usage in nearly any web project. We provide compiled CSS and JS (bootstrap.*), as well as compiled and minified CSS and JS (bootstrap.min.*). Fonts from Glyphicons are included, as is the optional Bootstrap theme.
Bootstrap source code
The Bootstrap source code download includes the precompiled CSS, JavaScript, and font assets, along with source Less, JavaScript, and documentation. More specifically, it includes the following and more:
The less/, js/, and fonts/ are the source code for our CSS, JS, and icon fonts (respectively). The dist/ folder includes everything listed in the precompiled download section above. The docs/ folder includes the source code for our documentation, and examples/ of Bootstrap usage. Beyond that, any other included file provides support for packages, license information, and development.
Basic template
Start with this basic HTML template, or modify these examples. We hope you'll customize our templates and examples, adapting them to suit your needs.
Copy the HTML below to begin working with a minimal Bootstrap document.
{% highlight html %}
Bootstrap 101 Template
Hello, world!
{% endhighlight %}
Examples
Build on the basic template above with Bootstrap's many components. See also Customizing Bootstrap for tips on maintaining your own Bootstrap variants.
Using the framework
Starter template
Nothing but the basics: compiled CSS and JavaScript along with a container.
Bootstrap theme
Load the optional Bootstrap theme for a visually enhanced experience.
Grids
Multiple examples of grid layouts with all four tiers, nesting, and more.
Jumbotron
Build around the jumbotron with a navbar and some basic grid columns.
Narrow jumbotron
Build a more custom page by narrowing the default container and jumbotron.
Navbars in action
Navbar
Super basic template that includes the navbar along with some additional content.
Static top navbar
Super basic template with a static top navbar along with some additional content.
Fixed navbar
Super basic template with a fixed top navbar along with some additional content.
Custom components
Cover
A one-page template for building simple and beautiful home pages.
Carousel
Customize the navbar and carousel, then add some new components.
Blog
Simple two-column blog layout with custom navigation, header, and type.
Dashboard
Basic structure for a admin dashboard with fixed sidebar and navbar.
Sign-in page
Custom form layout and design for a simple sign in form.
Bootstrap automatically adapts your pages for various screen sizes.
Here's how to disable this feature so your page works like in this non-responsive example.
Steps to disable page responsiveness
Omit the viewport <meta> mentioned in the CSS docs
Override the width on the .container for each grid tier with a single width, for example width: 970px !important; Be sure that this comes after the default Bootstrap CSS. You can optionally avoid the !important with media queries or some selector-fu.
If using navbars, remove all navbar collapsing and expanding behavior.
For grid layouts, use .col-xs-* classes in addition to, or in place of, the medium/large ones. Don't worry, the extra-small device grid scales to all resolutions.
You'll still need Respond.js for IE8 (since our media queries are still there and need to be processed).
This disables the "mobile site" aspects of Bootstrap.
Bootstrap template with responsiveness disabled
We've applied these steps to an example. Read its source code to see the specific changes implemented.
Looking to migrate from an older version of Bootstrap to v3.x? Check out our migration guide.
Browser and device support
Bootstrap is built to work best in the latest desktop and mobile browsers, meaning older browsers might display differently styled, though fully functional, renderings of certain components.
Supported browsers
Specifically, we support the latest versions of the following browsers and platforms:
Chrome
Firefox
Internet Explorer
Opera
Safari
Android
Supported
Not Supported
N/A
Not Supported
N/A
iOS
Supported
N/A
Not Supported
Supported
Mac OS X
Supported
Supported
Supported
Supported
Windows
Supported
Supported
Supported
Supported
Not Supported
Unofficially, Bootstrap should look and behave well enough in Chromium and Chrome for Linux, Firefox for Linux, and Internet Explorer 7, though they are not officially supported.
Internet Explorer 8 and 9
Internet Explorer 8 and 9 are also supported, however, please be aware that some CSS3 properties and HTML5 elements are not fully supported by these browsers. In addition, Internet Explorer 8 requires the use of Respond.js to enable media query support.
Feature
Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 9
border-radius
Not supported
Supported
box-shadow
Not supported
Supported
transform
Not supported
Supported, with -ms prefix
transition
Not supported
placeholder
Not supported
Visit Can I use... for details on browser support of CSS3 and HTML5 features.
Internet Explorer 8 and Respond.js
Beware of the following caveats when using Respond.js in your development and production environments for Internet Explorer 8.
Respond.js and cross-domain CSS
Using Respond.js with CSS hosted on a different (sub)domain (for example, on a CDN) requires some additional setup. See the Respond.js docs for details.
Respond.js and file://
Due to browser security rules, Respond.js doesn't work with pages viewed via the file:// protocol (like when opening a local HTML file). To test responsive features in IE8, view your pages over HTTP(S). See the Respond.js docs for details.
Respond.js and @import
Respond.js doesn't work with CSS that's referenced via @import. In particular, some Drupal configurations are known to use @import. See the Respond.js docs for details.
Internet Explorer 8 and box-sizing
IE8 does not fully support box-sizing: border-box; when combined with min-width, max-width, min-height, or max-height. For that reason, as of v3.0.1, we no longer use max-width on .containers.
IE Compatibility modes
Bootstrap is not supported in the old Internet Explorer compatibility modes. To be sure you're using the latest rendering mode for IE, consider including the appropriate <meta> tag in your pages:
{% highlight html %}
{% endhighlight %}
Confirm the document mode by opening the debugging tools: press F12 and check the "Document Mode".
This tag is included in all Bootstrap's documentation and examples to ensure the best rendering possible in each supported version of Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8
Internet Explorer 10 doesn't differentiate device width from viewport width, and thus doesn't properly apply the media queries in Bootstrap's CSS. Normally you'd just add a quick snippet of CSS to fix this:
However, this doesn't work as it causes Windows Phone 8 devices to show a mostly desktop view instead of narrow "phone" view. To address this, you'll need to include the following CSS and JavaScript to work around the bug until Microsoft issues a fix.
As a heads up, we include this in the Bootstrap docs as an example.
Safari percent rounding
As of Safari v6.1 for OS X and Safari for iOS v7.0.1, Safari's rendering engine has some trouble with the number of decimal places used in our .col-*-1 grid classes. So if you have 12 individual grid columns, you'll notice that they come up short compared to other rows of columns. We can't do much here (see #9282) but you do have some options:
Add .pull-right to your last grid column to get the hard-right alignment
Tweak your percentages manually to get the perfect rounding for Safari (more difficult than the first option)
We'll keep an eye on this though and update our code if we have an easy solution.
Modals, navbars, and virtual keyboards
Overflow and scrolling
Support for overflow: hidden on the <body> element is quite limited in iOS and Android. To that end, when you scroll past the top or bottom of a modal in either of those devices' browsers, the <body> content will begin to scroll.
Virtual keyboards
Also, note that if you're using inputs in your modal or navbar, iOS has a rendering bug that doesn't update the position of fixed elements when the virtual keyboard is triggered. A few workarounds for this include transforming your elements to position: absolute or invoking a timer on focus to try to correct the positioning manually. This is not handled by Bootstrap, so it is up to you to decide which solution is best for your application.
Navbar Dropdowns
The .dropdown-backdrop element isn't used on iOS in the nav because of the complexity of z-indexing. Thus, to close dropdowns in navbars, you must directly click the dropdown element (or any other element which will fire a click event in iOS).
Browser zooming
Page zooming inevitably presents rendering artifacts in some components, both in Bootstrap and the rest of the web. Depending on the issue, we may be able to fix it (search first and then open an issue if need be). However, we tend to ignore these as they often have no direct solution other than hacky workarounds.
Android stock browser
Out of the box, Android 4.1 (and even some newer releases apparently) ship with the Browser app as the default web browser of choice (as opposed to Chrome). Unfortunately, the Browser app has lots of bugs and inconsistencies with CSS in general.
Select menus
On <select> elements, the Android stock browser will not display the side controls if there is a border-radius and/or border applied. Use the snippet of code below to remove the offending CSS and render the <select> as an unstyled element on the Android stock broswer. The useragent sniffing avoids interference with Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla browsers.
While we don't officially support any third party plugins or add-ons, we do offer some useful advice to help avoid potential issues in your projects.
Box-sizing
Some third party software, including Google Maps and Google Custom Search Engine, conflict with Bootstrap due to * { box-sizing: border-box; }, a rule which makes it so padding does not affect the final computed width of an element. Learn more about box model and sizing at CSS Tricks.
Depending on the context, you may override as-needed (Option 1) or reset the box-sizing for entire regions (Option 2).
{% highlight css %}
/* Box-sizing resets
*
* Reset individual elements or override regions to avoid conflicts due to
* global box model settings of Bootstrap. Two options, individual overrides and
* region resets, are available as plain CSS and uncompiled Less formats.
*/
/* Option 1A: Override a single element's box model via CSS */
.element {
-webkit-box-sizing: content-box;
-moz-box-sizing: content-box;
box-sizing: content-box;
}
/* Option 1B: Override a single element's box model by using a Bootstrap Less mixin */
.element {
.box-sizing(content-box);
}
/* Option 2A: Reset an entire region via CSS */
.reset-box-sizing,
.reset-box-sizing *,
.reset-box-sizing *:before,
.reset-box-sizing *:after {
-webkit-box-sizing: content-box;
-moz-box-sizing: content-box;
box-sizing: content-box;
}
/* Option 2B: Reset an entire region with a custom Less mixin */
.reset-box-sizing {
&,
*,
*:before,
*:after {
.box-sizing(content-box);
}
}
.element {
.reset-box-sizing();
}
{% endhighlight %}
Accessibility
Bootstrap follows common web standards, and with minimal extra effort, can be used to create sites that are accessible to those using AT.
Skip navigation
If your navigation contains many links and comes before the main content in the DOM, add a Skip to main content link immediately after your opening <body> tag. (read why)
When nesting headings (<h1> - <h6>), your primary document header should be an <h1>. Subsequent headings should make logical use of <h2> - <h6> such that screen readers can construct a table of contents for your pages.
Bootstrap is released under the MIT license and is copyright {{ site.time | date: "%Y" }} Twitter. Boiled down to smaller chunks, it can be described with the following conditions.
It requires you to:
Include the license and copyright notice in your works
It permits you to:
Freely download and use Bootstrap, in whole or in part, for personal, private, company internal, or commercial purposes
Use Bootstrap in packages or distributions that you create
Modify the source code
Grant a sublicense to modify and distribute Bootstrap to third parties not included in the license
It forbids you to:
Hold the authors and license owners liable for damages as Bootstrap is provided without warranty
Hold the creators or copyright holders of Bootstrap liable
Redistribute any piece of Bootstrap without proper attribution
Use any marks owned by Twitter in any way that might state or imply that Twitter endorses your distribution
Use any marks owned by Twitter in any way that might state or imply that you created the Twitter software in question
It does not require you to:
Include the source of Bootstrap itself, or of any modifications you may have made to it, in any redistribution you may assemble that includes it
Submit changes that you make to Bootstrap back to the Bootstrap project (though such feedback is encouraged)
Bootstrap is best maintained when you treat it as a separate and independently-versioned dependency in your development environment. Doing this makes upgrading Bootstrap easier in the future.
Once you've downloaded and included Bootstrap's styles and scripts, you can customize its components. Just create a new stylesheet (Less, if you like, or just plain CSS) to house your customizations.
Compiled or minified?
Unless you plan on reading the CSS, go with minified stylesheets. It's the same code, just compacted. Minified styles use less bandwidth, which is good, especially in production environments.
From there, include whatever Bootstrap components and HTML content you need to create templates for your site's pages.
Customizing components
You can customize components to varying degrees, but most fall into two camps: light customizations and overhauls. Plenty examples of both are available from third parties.
We define light customizations as superficial changes, for example, color and font changes to existing Bootstrap components. A light customization example is the Twitter Translation Center (coded by @mdo). Let's look at how to implement the custom button we wrote for this site, .btn-ttc.
The stock Bootstrap buttons require just one class, .btn, to start. Here we extend the .btn style with a new modifier class, .btn-ttc, that we will create. This gives us a distinct custom look with minimal effort.
Our customized button will be coded like this:
{% highlight html %}
{% endhighlight %}
Note how .btn-ttc is added to the standard .btn class.
To implement this, in the custom stylesheet, add the following CSS:
{% highlight css %}
/* Custom button
-------------------------------------------------- */
/* Override base .btn styles */
/* Apply text and background changes to three key states: default, hover, and active (click). */
.btn-ttc,
.btn-ttc:hover,
.btn-ttc:active {
color: white;
text-shadow: 0 -1px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25);
background-color: #007da7;
}
/* Apply the custom-colored gradients */
/* Note: you'll need to include all the appropriate gradients for various browsers and standards. */
.btn-ttc {
background-repeat: repeat-x;
background-image: linear-gradient(top, #009ED2 0%, #007DA7 100%);
...
}
/* Set the hover state */
/* An easy hover state is just to move the gradient up a small amount. Add other embellishments as you see fit. */
.btn-ttc:hover {
background-position: 0 -15px;
}
{% endhighlight %}
In short: Look to the style source and duplicate the selectors you need for your modifications.
In summary, here's the basic workflow:
For each element you want to customize, find its code in the compiled Bootstrap CSS.
Copy the component's selector and styles and paste them in your custom stylesheet. For instance, to customize the navbar background, just copy the .navbar style specification.
In your custom stylesheet, edit the CSS you just copied from the Bootstrap source. No need for prepending additional classes, or appending !important here. Keep it simple.
Rinse and repeat until you're happy with your customizations.
Once you are comfortable performing light customizations, visual overhauls are just as straightforward. For a site like Karma, which uses Bootstrap as a CSS reset with heavy modifications, more extensive work is involved. But the same principle applies: include Bootstrap's default stylesheet first, then apply your custom stylesheet.
Alternate customization methods
While not recommended for folks new to Bootstrap, you may use one of two alternate methods for customization. The first is modifying the source .less files (making upgrades super difficult), and the second is mapping source Less code to your own classes via mixins. For the time being, neither of those options are documented here.
Removing potential bloat
Not all sites and applications need to make use of everything Bootstrap has to offer, especially in production environments where optimizing bandwidth is an issue. We encourage you to remove whatever is unused with our Customizer.
Using the Customizer, simply uncheck any component, feature, or asset you don't need. Hit download and swap out the default Bootstrap files with these newly customized ones. You'll get vanilla Bootstrap, but without the features *you* deem unnecessary. All custom builds include compiled and minified versions, so use whichever works for you.
Translations
Community members have translated Bootstrap's documentation into various languages. None are officially supported and they may not always be up to date.
