rotateX() - CSS

rotateX() - CSS | MDN

Try it

transform: rotateX(45deg);

transform: rotateX(-0.2turn);

transform: rotateX(3.142rad);

<section id="default-example">
  <img
    class="transition-all"
    id="example-element"
    src="/shared-assets/images/examples/firefox-logo.svg"
    width="200" />
</section>

The axis of rotation passes through an origin, defined by the transform-origin CSS property.

Note: rotateX(a) is equivalent to rotate3d(1, 0, 0, a).

Note: Unlike rotations in the 2D plane, the composition of 3D rotations is usually not commutative. In other words, the order in which the rotations are applied impacts the result.

Syntax

Values

a: Is an <angle> representing the angle of the rotation. A positive angle denotes a clockwise rotation, a negative angle a counter-clockwise one.

Cartesian coordinates on ℝ^2	Homogeneous coordinates on ℝℙ^2	Cartesian coordinates on ℝ^3	Homogeneous coordinates on ℝℙ^3
This transformation applies to the 3D space and can't be represented on the plane.		$\left( \begin{array}{ccc} 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & \cos(a) & -\sin(a) \\ 0 & \sin(a) & \cos(a) \end{array} \right)$	$\left( \begin{array}{cccc} 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & \cos(a) & -\sin(a) & 0 \\ 0 & \sin(a) & \cos(a) & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \end{array} \right)$

Formal syntax

<rotateX()> = 
  rotateX( [ <angle> | <zero> ] )

Examples

HTML

html

<div>Normal</div>
<div class="rotated">Rotated</div>

CSS

css

div {
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
  background-color: skyblue;
}

.rotated {
  transform: rotateX(45deg);
  background-color: pink;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Transforms Module Level 2 # funcdef-rotatex

Browser compatibility

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This page was last modified on Nov 6, 2025 by MDN contributors.