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Does CSS background-repeat Work in HTML Email?

Defines whether and how a background image repeats across the element.

Quick Answer

Does background-repeat work in HTML email?

The CSS background-repeat property is supported in Gmail, Outlook (Mac / Web), Apple Mail, Yahoo! Mail, and others. It is NOT supported in Outlook (Windows). Always include a safe fallback for unsupported clients.

Which Email Clients Support CSS background-repeat?

CSS support for background-repeat across email clients

Email ClientDesktopMobile / WebNotes
Gmail✓ Yes✓ Yes
Outlook (Windows)✗ No?
Outlook (Mac / Web)✓ Yes✓ Yes
Apple Mail✓ Yes✓ Yes
Yahoo! Mail✓ Yes✓ Yes
Samsung Email?✓ Yes
Thunderbird✓ Yes?
ProtonMail✓ Yes✓ Yes
Fastmail✓ Yes?

Notes

  • #1 Partial. Does not support multiple values. The comma between two values is removed.
  • #2 Background images repetition can be used in VML with the `type="tile"` or `type="frame"` attribute. See [VML documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/vml/type-attribute--fill--vml).

Frequently Asked Questions

Related CSS Properties

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