Media Queries, with Style

mq() is a Sass mixin that helps manipulating media queries in an elegant way.

As developers and designers we think in pixels and device families, so the mq() mixin accepts pixels, ems, keywords… and compiles into ems.

We use mq() at the Guardian to effortlessly support older browsers and elegantly abstract media queries, as illustrated in this article posted on the Guardian's developer blog: Mobile-first Responsive Web Design and IE8.

How to Use It

Install with Bower: bower install sass-mq --save-dev OR Download _mq.scss to your Sass project.

Import the partial in your Sass files and override default settings with your own preferences before the file is imported:

// To enable support for browsers that do not support @media queries,
// (IE <= 8, Firefox <= 3, Opera <= 9) set $mq-responsive to false
// Create a separate stylesheet served exclusively to these browsers,
// meaning @media queries will be rasterized, relying on the cascade itself
$mq-responsive: true;

// Name your breakpoints in a way that creates a ubiquitous language
// across team members. It will improve communication between
// stakeholders, designers, developers, and testers.
$mq-breakpoints: (
    mobile:  320px,
    tablet:  740px,
    desktop: 980px,
    wide:    1300px,

    // Tweakpoints
    desktopAd: 810px,
    mobileLandscape: 480px
);

// Define the breakpoint from the $mq-breakpoints list that should
// be used as the target width when outputting a static stylesheet
// (i.e. when $mq-responsive is set to 'false').
$mq-static-breakpoint: desktop;

// If you want to display the currently active breakpoint in the top
// right corner of your site during development, add the breakpoints
// to this list, ordered by width, e.g. (mobile, tablet, desktop).
$mq-show-breakpoints: (mobile, mobileLandscape, tablet, desktop, wide);

@import 'path/to/mq';

Play around with mq() (see below)

Responsive mode ON (default)

mq() takes up to three optional parameters:

$from: inclusive min-width boundary
$to: exclusive max-width boundary
$and: additional custom directives

Note that $to as a keyword is a hard limit. It's not applying styles to the device (see examples below).

.responsive {
    // Apply styling to mobile and upwards
    @include mq($from: mobile) {
        color: red;
    }
    // Apply styling up to devices smaller than tablets (exclude tablets)
    @include mq($to: tablet) {
        color: blue;
    }
    // Same thing, in landscape orientation
    @include mq($to: tablet, $and: '(orientation: landscape)') {
        color: hotpink;
    }
    // Apply styling to tablets up to desktop (exclude desktop)
    @include mq(tablet, desktop) {
        color: green;
    }
}

Responsive mode OFF

To enable support for browsers that do not support @media queries, (IE <= 8, Firefox <= 3, Opera <= 9) set $mq-responsive: false.

Tip: create a separate stylesheet served exclusively to these browsers, for example with conditional comments.

When @media queries are rasterized, browsers rely on the cascade itself. Learn more about this technique on Jake’s blog.

To avoid rasterizing styles intended for displays larger than what those older browsers typically run on, set $mq-static-breakpoint to match a breakpoint from the $mq-breakpoints list. The default is desktop.

The static output will only include @media queries that start at or span this breakpoint and which have no custom $and directives:

$mq-responsive:        false;
$mq-static-breakpoint: desktop;

.static {
    // Queries that span or start at desktop are compiled:
    @include mq($from: mobile) {
        color: lawngreen;
    }
    @include mq(tablet, wide) {
        color: seagreen;
    }
    @include mq($from: desktop) {
        color: forestgreen;
    }

    // But these queries won’t be compiled:
    @include mq($to: tablet) {
        color: indianred;
    }
    @include mq($to: tablet, $and: '(orientation: landscape)') {
        color: crimson;
    }
    @include mq(mobile, desktop) {
        color: firebrick;
    }
}

Adding custom breakpoints

$mq-breakpoints: mq-add-breakpoint(tvscreen, 1920px);

.hide-on-tv {
    @include mq(tvscreen) {
        display: none;
    }
}

Seeing the currently active breakpoint

While developing, it can be nice to always know which breakpoint is active. To achieve this, set the $mq-show-breakpoints variable to be a list of the breakpoints you want to debug, ordered by width. The name of the active breakpoint and its pixel and em values will then be shown in the top right corner of the viewport.

Test

cd into the test folder
run sass test.scss test.css --force

there should be a couple of warnings like this one, this is normal:

 WARNING: Assuming 640 to be in pixels, attempting to convert it into pixels for you
          on line 25 of ../_mq.scss

if test.css hasn’t changed (run a git diff on it), tests pass

trueitalic/sass-mq