CSS Style Syntax

Stylus transparently supports a regular CSS-style syntax. This means you don’t need an alternative parser, or specify that a certain file uses a specific style.

Example

Below is a small style using the indented approach:

 border-radius()
   -webkit-border-radius arguments
   -moz-border-radius arguments
   border-radius arguments

 body a
   font 12px/1.4 "Lucida Grande", Arial, sans-serif
   background black
   color #ccc

 form input
   padding 5px
   border 1px solid
   border-radius 5px

Since braces, colons, and semi-colons are optional, we could write this example just as we would with normal CSS:

 border-radius() {
   -webkit-border-radius: arguments;
   -moz-border-radius: arguments;
   border-radius: arguments;
 }

 body a {
   font: 12px/1.4 "Lucida Grande", Arial, sans-serif;
   background: black;
   color: #ccc;
 }

 form input {
   padding: 5px;
   border: 1px solid;
   border-radius: 5px;
 }

While Stylus don’t support every possible CSS-like syntax, if can understand even such code:

    border-radius() {
      -webkit-border-radius: arguments;
      -moz-border-radius: arguments;
      border-radius: arguments;
    }

body a
{
  font: 12px/1.4 "Lucida Grande", Arial, sans-serif;
    background: black;
  color: #ccc;
}

    form input {
      padding: 5px;
  border: 1px solid;
      border-radius: 5px;
      }

Since we may mix and match the two variants, the following is valid as well:

 border-radius()
   -webkit-border-radius: arguments;
   -moz-border-radius: arguments;
   border-radius: arguments;

 body a {
   font: 12px/1.4 "Lucida Grande", Arial, sans-serif;
   background: black;
   color: #ccc;
 }

 form input
   padding: 5px;
   border: 1px solid;
   border-radius: 5px;

Variables, functions, mixins, and all the other features provided by Stylus still work as expected:

 main-color = white
 main-hover-color = black

 body a {
   color: main-color;
   &:hover { color: main-hover-color; }
 }

 body a { color: main-color; &:hover { color: main-hover-color; }}

There are a few caveats to this rule: since the two styles may be mixed and matched, some indentation rules still apply. So although not every plain-CSS stylesheet will work with zero modification, this feature allows those who prefer CSS syntax to continue doing so while leveraging Stylus’ other powerful features.