CSS Text Shadow Generator

Design text shadows with multiple layers, blur, and color controls plus CSS output.

How to Use CSS Text Shadow Generator

1

Set shadow offsets

Adjust horizontal and vertical offset values for the text shadow.
2

Configure blur and color

Set the blur radius and pick the shadow color.
3

Preview the effect

See the text shadow applied to sample text in real time.
4

Copy the CSS

Click copy to grab the text-shadow CSS property.

Tested tool guide Tested browser tools Checked August 16, 2026

What CSS Text Shadow Generator does, with a checked example

Text-shadow layers are built from a horizontal offset, vertical offset, blur radius, and color. The generator combines those settings into a comma-separated CSS value, with one item for each layer. Adding layers can produce outlines, raised lettering, or separate highlights and shadows. The ordering is easy to misread: CSS paints the first listed shadow on top of later shadows, so reversing the list can visibly change overlaps.

Worked example

A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.

Input

Layer 1: horizontal 2px, vertical 3px, blur 4px, color #000000
Layer 2: horizontal -1px, vertical 0px, blur 0px, color #ff0000

Expected output

text-shadow: 2px 3px 4px #000000, -1px 0px 0px #ff0000;

Each comma-separated item defines one shadow. The first is offset 2px right and 3px down with a 4px blur; the second is offset 1px left and has no vertical offset or blur.

How the result is produced

Layer values

Every layer contributes two offsets. A positive horizontal offset moves the shadow right, while a negative value moves it left. A positive vertical offset moves it down, while a negative value moves it up. The blur radius must be non-negative: zero gives the shadow a hard edge, and larger values produce a softer shadow.

Layer ordering

The generator writes the layers into one text-shadow declaration separated by commas. Shadows are painted front to back, meaning the first layer overlays later layers where they intersect. Multiple effects therefore belong in one property value. Separate text-shadow declarations in the same CSS rule would normally result in only the last declaration taking effect.

Good uses

Building a crisp highlight and soft dark shadow for raised or retro display lettering.
Simulating a small text outline with several hard-edged shadows placed around each glyph.
Producing a single copyable CSS declaration for a heading that needs several colored shadow layers.

Limits and checks

Text-shadow has no spread-radius position; a fourth length used with box-shadow is not valid here.
The chosen color belongs to the shadow, not the text fill, which must be styled separately.
A zero blur radius creates a hard-edged shadow rather than disabling that shadow layer.

Common questions

Can this generator make a true outline around text?

Only approximately. Several zero-blur shadows positioned around the glyphs can imitate a narrow outline, and the generator can assemble those layers. It is not a continuous stroke, so diagonal gaps or uneven corners may become visible at larger widths. Use a stroke-specific technique when the outline must be geometrically consistent.

Does the generated shadow reserve space around the text?

No. Text shadows are visual effects and do not enlarge the line box or push neighboring content away. Large offsets and blur radii can consequently overlap nearby content or be clipped by an ancestor. Spacing and overflow behavior must be handled separately in the surrounding layout.

References and verification

The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.