Anchor Positioning in CSS
From the CSS cheat sheet · Modern CSS Features · verified Jul 2026
Anchor Positioning
Position elements relative to other elements — no JS-based popper needed.
css
/* Step 1: name an anchor */
.button {
anchor-name: --trigger;
}
/* Step 2: position something relative to that anchor */
.tooltip {
position: absolute;
position-anchor: --trigger;
/* Place below the anchor, centered */
top: anchor(bottom);
left: anchor(center);
translate: -50%;
}
/* Or use the high-level shorthand */
.popover {
position: absolute;
position-anchor: --trigger;
position-area: bottom span-all; /* below, full width */
}💡 anchor-name declares the source; position-anchor + anchor() places relative to it
⚡ position-area is the easy mode — pick a region (bottom center, top left, etc.)
📌 position-try-fallbacks auto-flips to avoid overflow — kills the need for floating-ui
🔥 Pairs beautifully with native <dialog> and popover="" for tooltips/menus