CSS Grid Layout & Table Rendering: Interoperability of the 'gap' Property

Goal

The objective is to determine whether the CSS Grid Layout gap property should uniformly apply to table elements, enabling developers to use a single spacing mechanism across grid and tabular contexts.

Constraints

Current browsers (Chrome 96+, Firefox 91+, Safari 15+, Edge 96+) ignore gap when declared on a <table> element, treating it as non‑applicable. The CSS Grid spec allows the property on tables but does not mandate implementation, and no vendor has announced a change. Workarounds such as margin on <td> or pseudo‑elements add markup complexity and may affect performance.

Uncertainty

The specification’s wording on table support remains ambiguous, and it is unclear whether table‑gap support will be added as a separate feature or deferred until a broader CSS Table Layout standard is finalized.

Specific Questions

1. Should the gap property be implemented for table elements within the current CSS Grid Layout spec?
2. If not, what is the recommended approach for developers who require uniform spacing across grid and table layouts?
3. Does the spec foresee a distinct feature for table gaps, and what is the timeline for potential implementation?