css - Issue when centering vertically with flexbox when heights are unknown

Question

My layout has a container flex-container and a child.

HTML:

<div class="flex-container">
  <div>text</div>
</div>

The container and the child have an unknown height. And the goal is:

• If the child has a lower height than the container, it appears centered horizontally and vertically.
• If the child has a greater height than the container, it adjusts to the top and the bottom and we can do scroll.

Scheme:

The fastest way for centering a element with flexbox is the follow:

.flex-container
{
  display: flex;
  align-items: center; /* vertical */
  justify-content: center; /* horizontal */

  width: 100%;
  height: 300px; /* for example purposes */
  overflow-y: scroll;
  background: #2a4;
}

.flex-container > div
{
  background: #E77E23;
  width: 400px;
}

<div class="flex-container">
  <div>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Iure fugit voluptas eius nemo similique aperiam quis ut! Ipsa aspernatur rem nesciunt est sed hic culpa nisi delectus error explicabo reprehenderit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Iure fugit voluptas eius nemo similique aperiam quis ut! Ipsa aspernatur rem nesciunt est sed hic culpa nisi delectus error explicabo reprehenderit. </div>
</div>

Answer 1

I found the solution:

.flex-container {
    display: flex; /* only */
    overflow-y: scroll;
}

.flex-container > div {
    margin: auto; /* horizontal and vertical align */
}

html, body {
    height: 100%;
    width: 100%;
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
}

.flex-container {
    display: flex;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100px; /* change height to 300px */
    overflow-y: scroll;
    background: #2a4;
}

.flex-container > div {
    padding: 1em 1.5em;
    margin: auto;
    background: #E77E23;
    width: 400px;
}

<div class="flex-container">
  <div>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Iure fugit voluptas eius nemo similique aperiam quis ut! Ipsa aspernatur rem nesciunt est sed hic culpa nisi delectus error explicabo reprehenderit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Iure fugit voluptas eius nemo similique aperiam quis ut! Ipsa aspernatur rem nesciunt est sed hic culpa nisi delectus error explicabo reprehenderit. </div>
</div>