Make div width scale to width of content - html

Question

I was looking at this example: https://www.w3schools.com/howto/tryit.asp?filename=tryhow_css_chat
and was interested in changing it so the maximum width of a message container is that of it's inner content (the length of the text). Currently the message container fills up the width of the body.
I have been trying many display methods etc however I've been unable to get the desired result.

Answer 1

body {
margin: 0 auto;
max-width: 800px;
padding: 0 20px;
}
.container {
border: 2px solid #dedede;
background-color: #f1f1f1;
border-radius: 5px;
padding: 10px;
margin: 10px 0;
}
.darker {
border-color: #ccc;
background-color: #ddd;
}
.container::after {
content: "";
clear: both;
display: table;
}
.container img {
float: left;
max-width: 60px;
width: 100%;
margin-right: 20px;
border-radius: 50%;
}
.container img.right {
float: right;
margin-left: 20px;
margin-right:0;
}
.time-right {
float: right;
color: #aaa;
}
.time-left {
float: left;
color: #999;
}
.section {
padding: 20px;
background-color: #fafafa;
display: flex;
flex-direction: column;
}
.container {
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: auto;
}
.container.darker {
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: 0;
}
<section class="section">
<div class="container">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/bandmember.jpg" alt="Avatar" style="width:100%;">
<p>Hello. How are you today?</p>
<span class="time-right">11:00</span>
</div>
<div class="container darker">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/avatar_g2.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="right" style="width:100%;">
<p>Hey! I'm fine. Thanks for asking!</p>
<span class="time-left">11:01</span>
</div>
<div class="container">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/bandmember.jpg" alt="Avatar" style="width:100%;">
<p>Sweet! So, what do you wanna do today?</p>
<span class="time-right">11:02</span>
</div>
<div class="container darker">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/avatar_g2.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="right" style="width:100%;">
<p>Nah, I dunno. Play soccer.. or learn more coding perhaps?</p>
<span class="time-left">11:05</span>
</div>
</section>

Answer 2

just adding display:inline-flex solves your problem but you may still need to add clearfix div at end of every container here is working example to help you out.Hope that helps
body {
margin: 0 auto;
max-width: 800px;
padding: 0 20px;
}
.container {
border: 2px solid #dedede;
background-color: #f1f1f1;
border-radius: 5px;
padding: 10px;
margin: 10px 0;
display:inline-flex;
}
.darker {
border-color: #ccc;
background-color: #ddd;
direction:rtl;
}
.container::after {
content: "";
clear: both;
display: table;
}
.container img {
float: left;
max-width: 60px;
width: 100%;
margin-right: 20px;
border-radius: 50%;
}
.container img.right {
float: right;
margin-left: 20px;
margin-right:0;
}
.time-right {
float: right;
color: #aaa;
}
.time-left {
float: left;
color: #999;
}
.clearfix::after {
content: "";
clear: both;
display: table;
}
<h2>Chat Messages</h2>
<div class="container clearfix">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/bandmember.jpg" alt="Avatar" style="width:100%;">
<p>Hello. How are you today?</p>
<span class="time-right">11:00</span>
</div>
<div id="clearfix"></div>
<div class="container darker clearfix">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/bandmember.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="right" style="width:100%;">
<p>Hey! I'm fine. Thanks for asking!</p>
<span class="time-left">11:01</span>
</div>
<div id="clearfix"></div>
<div class="container clearfix">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/bandmember.jpg" alt="Avatar" style="width:100%;">
<p>Sweet! So, what do you wanna do today?</p>
<span class="time-right">11:02</span>
</div>
<div id="clearfix"></div>
<div class="container darker clearfix">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/w3images/bandmember.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="right" style="width:100%;">
<p>Nah, I dunno. Play soccer.. or learn more coding perhaps?</p>
<span class="time-left">11:05</span>
</div>
<div id="clearfix"></div>