Every line break is a layout decision.

A heading leaves one small word on the last line. A paragraph ends with a weak fragment. A translated label suddenly occupies two rows. Nothing is technically broken, yet the interface feels less resolved.

Designers often repair these moments with a manual <br> or a non-breaking space. The result looks correct at one width, with one font, in one language. Then the container changes.

A line break that survives only one screenshot is not typesetting. It is hard-coded coincidence.

Normal wrapping fills each line in sequence. balance asks the browser to consider a short block as a whole and reduce the uneven space left across its lines.

This makes it a good first choice for page titles, card headings, pull quotes, and concise calls to action. It should improve the silhouette, not force every line to be identical.

pretty has a different job. It asks the browser to spend more effort on typographic quality: a calmer rag, fewer awkward endings, and better decisions around short final lines.

Use it for prose, captions, and descriptions. The change can be subtle—and that is the point. Reading should feel easier without the reader noticing the property that helped.

A manual break knows nothing about a new language, a fallback font, browser zoom, or a narrower container. A wrapping preference can react because it leaves the decision until layout time.

Change the language below. The left version keeps an art-directed break embedded in the sentence; the right version keeps only the intent.

The exact algorithm is deliberately browser-defined. Two engines can choose different breaks, and an unsupported browser simply keeps normal wrapping. That makes these values useful progressive enhancements, but poor dependencies for correctness.

Wrapping also selects only from breaks that are already legal. A long URL will not become safe because pretty is present. Language, direction, hyphenation dictionaries, font metrics, weight, zoom, and container width all participate in the result.

• Short displayStart with balance; keep it when the shape improves across every wrap transition.
• ProseStart with pretty; make sure ordinary wrapping is still a correct fallback.
• Editable textPrefer auto or stable so earlier lines do not jump while someone types.
• User contentAdd overflow-wrap: anywhere when unbroken strings must never escape.

Give the browser a preference, a sensible measure, and enough room to adapt.

.display-heading {
  max-inline-size: 24ch;
  text-wrap: balance;
}

.editorial-copy {
  max-inline-size: 64ch;
  text-wrap: pretty;
}

.user-content {
  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
}

A manual <br> is still right when the break carries meaning—an address, a poem, or fixed art direction. It is fragile when it only repairs one viewport.

Good wrapping is almost invisible. The title reads as one thought. The paragraph ends without calling attention to itself. The component survives a smaller screen, a longer translation, and a different browser.

The browser already has more context than a manual line break ever will. Give it a preference, preserve its ability to adapt, and test the moments where that preference stops helping.