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Tailwindmarkup~5 mins

Z-index stacking control in Tailwind

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Introduction

Z-index helps decide which item appears on top when things overlap. It controls the stack order.

When you want a popup to appear above other page content.
When dropdown menus should show over other elements.
When tooltips need to be visible on top of images or text.
When layering multiple images or cards and controlling which is front.
When fixing headers or footers that should stay above scrolling content.
Syntax
Tailwind
class="z-{value}"

// where {value} is a number like 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50

Higher numbers appear on top of lower numbers.

Tailwind provides default z-index values like z-0, z-10, z-20, etc.

Examples
Content B will appear above Content A because 20 > 10.
Tailwind
<div class="z-10">Content A</div>
<div class="z-20">Content B</div>
Popup will be on top of Background because 50 > 0.
Tailwind
<div class="z-0">Background</div>
<div class="z-50">Popup</div>
Both have same z-index, so order in HTML decides stacking.
Tailwind
<div class="z-10">Layer 1</div>
<div class="z-10">Layer 2</div>
Sample Program

This example shows three overlapping colored boxes. Box 2 with z-20 appears on top, Box 1 with z-10 is below it, and Box 3 with z-0 is at the bottom.

Tailwind
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
  <title>Z-index Example</title>
  <script src="https://cdn.tailwindcss.com"></script>
</head>
<body class="relative h-64">
  <div class="absolute top-10 left-10 w-32 h-32 bg-blue-500 z-10 text-white flex items-center justify-center">
    Box 1 (z-10)
  </div>
  <div class="absolute top-20 left-20 w-32 h-32 bg-red-500 z-20 text-white flex items-center justify-center">
    Box 2 (z-20)
  </div>
  <div class="absolute top-32 left-32 w-32 h-32 bg-green-500 z-0 text-white flex items-center justify-center">
    Box 3 (z-0)
  </div>
</body>
</html>
OutputSuccess
Important Notes

Z-index only works on positioned elements (relative, absolute, fixed, sticky).

Time complexity is not applicable as this is a styling property.

Common mistake: forgetting to set position, so z-index has no effect.

Use z-index to control layering instead of changing HTML order when possible.

Summary

Z-index controls which element appears on top when overlapping.

Higher z-index values stack above lower ones.

Works only on elements with position set (relative, absolute, fixed, sticky).