🚨 This plugin is deprecated.

Most of what this plugin does can now be replicated in CSS using custom properties and calc(). See this gist for an example.

@mgsisk/postcss-modular-rhythm

PostCSS plugin that adds modular scale and vertical rhythm units to CSS.

@mgsisk/postcss-modular-rhythm is a PostCSS plugin that adds modular scale and vertical rhythm units to CSS.

• mfs – Modular Font Size, converted to a scaled value appropriate for font-size.
• mlh – Modular Line Height, converted to a unitless value appropriate for line-height that will maintain vertical rhythm for an equal mfs value.
• msu – Modular Scale Unit, converted to a unitless scaled value.
• vrl – Vertical Rhythm Line, converted to a multiple of the base line height appropriate for line-height that will fit an equal mfs value.
• vru – Vertical Rhythm Unit, converted to a multiple of the base line height, appropriate for use with a variety of sizing properties (height, margin, padding, etc.)
• xlh - Line Height Multiplier, converted to a unitless value equal to the multiples of the base line height required to comfortably fit an equal mfs value.

Installation

npm install --save-dev @mgsisk/postcss-modular-rhythm

Usage

// postcss.config.js

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    …
    require('@mgsisk/postcss-modular-rhythm'),
    …
  ]
}

/* input.css */

body {
  font: 0mfs/0mlh sans-serif;
}
 
h1 {
  font-size: 5mfs;
  line-height: 5mlh;
  margin: 0.5vru 1vru 2vru;
}
 
small {
  font: -1mfs/-1mlh serif;
}

/* output.css */

body {
  font: 1em/1.5 sans-serif;
}
 
h1 {
  font-size: 2.48832em;
  line-height: 1.20563;
  margin: 0.75rem 1.5rem 3rem;
}
 
small {
  font: 0.83333em/1.8 sans-serif;
}

Support resources are available if you need help with this project.

Options

Set plugin options inside the :root pseudo-class:

:root {
  --font-size: 12px;
  --line-height: 24px;
  --modular-scale: 1.68 1.1 1.4;
}

--font-size

Set the base font size and unit used for mfs values; defaults to 1em. Mapped to the fontSize and fontUnit properties in the JavaScript API.

--line-height

Set the base line height and vertical rhythm unit for mlh, vrl, and vru values; defaults to 1.5rem. Mapped to the lineHeight and rhythmUnit properties in the JavaScript API.

--modular-scale

Set the ratio and bases used to calculate mfs, mlh, and msu values; defaults to 1.2 1. The first number sets the scale ratio; following numbers set optional bases. Use msu values to get the scale value for a given step in the defined scale. For example, on the default scale - which looks something like this - 2msu would produce a value of 1.44. Mapped to the ratio, bases, and lineMin properties in the JavaScript API.

lineMin

You can set a specific minimum line height in the JavaScript API using the lineMin option; defaults to ratio. This affects mlh, vrl, and xlh values, with a larger lineMin resulting in larger line-heights as you move up the scale. An example assuming the default options:

xlh	lineMin: 1	lineMin: 1.2 (default)	lineMin: 1.5
0	1	1	1
1	1	1	2
2	1	2	2
3	2	2	2
4	2	2	3
5	2	2	3
6	2	3	3
7	3	3	4
8	3	4	5
9	4	5	6

round

You can set the number of decimal places to round to in the JavaScript API using the round option; defaults to 5.

// postcss.config.js

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    …
    require('@mgsisk/postcss-modular-rhythm')({
      lineMin: 1,
      round: 2,
    }),
    …
  ]
}

Line Height and Vertical Rhythm

To maintain vertical rhythm, elements should have the same mfs and either mlh or vrl values (e.g. font-size: 3mfs should have line-height: 3mlh or line-height: 3vrl). mlh returns a unitless value, but this may cause inconsistent or imperfect rendering across browsers. If you need exact rendering or don't care about unitless line-heights, use vrl.

Calculated line-heights get more complicated, and may require the xlh value. Given the following (using default options and assuming a viewport 320px wide):

body {
  font-size: calc(0mfs + 1vw);
  line-height: calc(0mlh * 1em + 2vw);
}

h1 {
  font-size: 5mfs;
  line-height: 5mlh;
}

The calculated root line height will be 35.2px, but h1 will have a calculated line height of about 57px. Changing the h1 line height to calc(5mlh * 1em + 2vw) will help, but won't fully correct the issue because 5mlh is a multiple of the base line height. This is where the xlh value comes in; changing the h1 line height to calc(5mlh * 1em + 2vw * 5xlh) will get the correct line height.

Contributing

Contributions are always welcome; please read the code of conduct before you begin. See the changelog for notable project changes, and report any security concerns you find.

Thanks

To the contributors that help to build, fund, and maintain this project; the other works that have contributed to and inspired this project; and anyone that has found this project useful.

License

ISC