text-shadow takes fewer values than box-shadow
box-shadow accepts five values, X, Y, blur, spread and color, while text-shadow has no spread and takes only four. Because the fourth slot holds the color, pasting box-shadow code across makes the color read as a spread and the declaration is dropped. This tool builds the shadow list in three different ways.
Multiple shadows and the faux outline
Shadows can be chained with commas, and the ones written first paint on top. Laying the same color in eight directions looks like a border, and that approach keeps the glyph weight but needs eight shadows with zero blur. Value order follows the W3C CSS Text Decoration specification (as of October 2026).
What it does not do
It does not write box-shadow for the element box, nor an inset variant, because text-shadow has no inset keyword. Outlines are generated up to 10px; for thicker edges SVG or an outline font gives a cleaner result.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The fourth value of box-shadow is the spread, while the fourth value of text-shadow is the color. Pasting it across makes the declaration invalid and it is dropped.
Lay the same color in eight directions with zero blur and it reads as a border. The outline mode here writes those eight parts in one go.
It does. Earlier shadows paint on top and later ones sit underneath, so with different colors the order changes the look.