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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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