Guide for implementing Tailwind CSS - a utility-first CSS framework for rapid UI development...
Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that enables rapid UI development by providing pre-built utility classes. It generates optimized CSS at build-time by scanning your project files, resulting in zero runtime overhead and minimal production bundles.
Use this skill when:
Tailwind provides low-level utility classes that you apply directly to HTML elements instead of writing custom CSS:
<!-- Traditional CSS approach -->
<div class="card">
<h2 class="card-title">Title</h2>
</div>
<!-- Tailwind utility-first approach -->
<div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6">
<h2 class="text-2xl font-bold text-gray-900">Title</h2>
</div>
Benefits:
Tailwind scans your source files at build-time and generates only the CSS classes you actually use:
// Tailwind analyzes these files
content: [
"./src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}",
"./app/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}",
"./components/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}"
]
Result: Optimized production bundles with zero runtime overhead.
Step 1: Install dependencies
npm install -D tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite
# or
pnpm add -D tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite
# or
yarn add -D tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite
Step 2: Configure Vite
// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import tailwindcss from '@tailwindcss/vite'
export default defineConfig({
plugins: [tailwindcss()]
})
Step 3: Import in CSS
/* src/index.css */
@import "tailwindcss";
Step 4: Reference stylesheet in HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="./src/index.css">
</head>
<body>
<div class="bg-blue-500 text-white p-4">Hello Tailwind!</div>
</body>
</html>
Next.js (App Router):
npx create-next-app@latest --tailwind
Next.js (Manual):
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
content: [
"./app/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
"./components/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}"
]
}
React with Vite:
npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template react
npm install -D tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite
Vue:
npm install -D tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite
Svelte:
npm install -D tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite
Astro:
npx astro add tailwind
npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
npx tailwindcss init -p
// postcss.config.js
export default {
plugins: {
tailwindcss: {},
autoprefixer: {}
}
}
Tailwind includes a comprehensive default design system:
Use the @theme directive in CSS:
@import "tailwindcss";
@theme {
/* Custom colors */
--color-brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.02 264);
--color-brand-500: oklch(0.55 0.22 264);
--color-brand-900: oklch(0.25 0.15 264);
/* Custom fonts */
--font-display: "Satoshi", "Inter", sans-serif;
--font-body: "Inter", system-ui, sans-serif;
/* Custom spacing */
--spacing-18: calc(var(--spacing) * 18);
--spacing-navbar: 4.5rem;
/* Custom breakpoints */
--breakpoint-3xl: 120rem;
--breakpoint-4xl: 160rem;
/* Custom shadows */
--shadow-glow: 0 0 20px rgba(139, 92, 246, 0.3);
}
Usage:
<div class="bg-brand-500 font-display shadow-glow">
Custom themed element
</div>
Using default colors:
<div class="bg-blue-500">Background</div>
<p class="text-red-600">Text</p>
<div class="border-green-400">Border</div>
Color scale:
Color opacity modifiers:
<div class="bg-black/75">75% opacity</div>
<div class="text-blue-500/30">30% opacity</div>
<div class="bg-purple-500/[0.87]">87% opacity</div>
Display:
<div class="block">Block</div>
<div class="inline-block">Inline Block</div>
<div class="flex">Flex</div>
<div class="inline-flex">Inline Flex</div>
<div class="grid">Grid</div>
<div class="hidden">Hidden</div>
Flexbox:
<div class="flex items-center justify-between gap-4">
<div>Item 1</div>
<div>Item 2</div>
</div>
<div class="flex flex-col items-start">
<div>Vertical stack</div>
</div>
Grid:
<div class="grid grid-cols-3 gap-4">
<div>Column 1</div>
<div>Column 2</div>
<div>Column 3</div>
</div>
<div class="grid grid-cols-[1fr_500px_2fr] gap-6">
<div>Flexible</div>
<div>Fixed 500px</div>
<div>More flexible</div>
</div>
Positioning:
<div class="relative">
<div class="absolute top-0 right-0">Positioned</div>
</div>
<div class="fixed bottom-4 right-4">Fixed</div>
<div class="sticky top-0">Sticky header</div>
Padding & Margin:
<div class="p-4">Padding all sides</div>
<div class="px-6 py-3">Padding X and Y</div>
<div class="pt-8 pb-4">Padding top/bottom</div>
<div class="m-4">Margin all sides</div>
<div class="mx-auto">Center horizontally</div>
<div class="-mt-4">Negative margin</div>
Gap (Flexbox/Grid):
<div class="flex gap-4">Flex with gap</div>
<div class="grid grid-cols-3 gap-x-6 gap-y-4">Grid with X/Y gap</div>
Font Size:
<p class="text-xs">Extra small</p>
<p class="text-sm">Small</p>
<p class="text-base">Base (16px)</p>
<p class="text-lg">Large</p>
<p class="text-xl">Extra large</p>
<p class="text-2xl">2XL</p>
<h1 class="text-4xl font-bold">Heading</h1>
Font Weight:
<p class="font-light">Light (300)</p>
<p class="font-normal">Normal (400)</p>
<p class="font-medium">Medium (500)</p>
<p class="font-semibold">Semibold (600)</p>
<p class="font-bold">Bold (700)</p>
Text Alignment:
<p class="text-left">Left aligned</p>
<p class="text-center">Center aligned</p>
<p class="text-right">Right aligned</p>
<p class="text-justify">Justified</p>
Line Height:
<p class="leading-tight">Tight line height</p>
<p class="leading-normal">Normal line height</p>
<p class="leading-relaxed">Relaxed line height</p>
Combining font utilities:
<h1 class="text-4xl/tight font-bold">
Font size 4xl with tight line-height
</h1>
Background colors:
<div class="bg-white">White background</div>
<div class="bg-gray-100">Gray background</div>
<div class="bg-gradient-to-r from-blue-500 to-purple-600">
Gradient background
</div>
Text colors:
<p class="text-gray-900">Dark text</p>
<p class="text-blue-600">Blue text</p>
<a class="text-blue-500 hover:text-blue-700">Link</a>
<div class="border">Default border</div>
<div class="border-2 border-gray-300">2px border</div>
<div class="border-t border-b-2">Top and bottom borders</div>
<div class="rounded">Rounded corners</div>
<div class="rounded-lg">Large rounded</div>
<div class="rounded-full">Fully rounded</div>
<div class="border border-red-500 rounded-md">Combined</div>
<div class="shadow">Small shadow</div>
<div class="shadow-md">Medium shadow</div>
<div class="shadow-lg">Large shadow</div>
<div class="shadow-xl">Extra large shadow</div>
<div class="shadow-none">No shadow</div>
Tailwind uses a mobile-first approach. Base styles apply to all screen sizes, then use breakpoint prefixes to override at larger sizes:
Breakpoints:
sm: - 640px and upmd: - 768px and uplg: - 1024px and upxl: - 1280px and up2xl: - 1536px and upExample:
<!-- Mobile: 1 column, Tablet: 2 columns, Desktop: 4 columns -->
<div class="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-4 gap-4">
<div>Item 1</div>
<div>Item 2</div>
<div>Item 3</div>
<div>Item 4</div>
</div>
<!-- Hide on mobile, show on desktop -->
<div class="hidden lg:block">Desktop only content</div>
<!-- Show on mobile, hide on desktop -->
<div class="block lg:hidden">Mobile only content</div>
<!-- Responsive text sizes -->
<h1 class="text-2xl md:text-4xl lg:text-6xl">
Responsive heading
</h1>
@theme {
--breakpoint-3xl: 120rem;
--breakpoint-tablet: 48rem;
}
<div class="tablet:grid-cols-2 3xl:grid-cols-6">
Custom breakpoints
</div>
<!-- Only apply styles below 768px -->
<div class="flex max-md:hidden">Hidden on mobile</div>
<!-- Between breakpoints -->
<div class="md:block lg:hidden">Only visible on tablets</div>
Style elements based on parent container width:
<div class="@container">
<div class="@md:grid-cols-2 @lg:grid-cols-3">
Responds to parent width
</div>
</div>
<button class="bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white">
Hover me
</button>
<a class="text-blue-600 hover:underline">
Hover link
</a>
<div class="scale-100 hover:scale-105 transition-transform">
Scale on hover
</div>
<input class="border focus:border-blue-500 focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-200" />
<button class="bg-blue-500 focus:outline-none focus:ring-4 focus:ring-blue-300">
Accessible button
</button>
<button class="bg-blue-500 active:bg-blue-800">
Click me
</button>
<button class="bg-blue-500 disabled:opacity-50 disabled:cursor-not-allowed" disabled>
Disabled button
</button>
<input class="disabled:bg-gray-100" disabled />
<input class="invalid:border-red-500 focus:invalid:ring-red-200" required />
<input class="placeholder:text-gray-400 placeholder:italic" placeholder="Search..." />
<input type="checkbox" class="checked:bg-blue-500" />
<div class="group hover:bg-gray-100">
<p class="group-hover:text-blue-600">
Text changes when parent is hovered
</p>
<img class="group-hover:opacity-50" src="..." />
</div>
<input type="checkbox" class="peer" id="terms" />
<label for="terms" class="peer-checked:text-blue-600">
I accept terms
</label>
<input type="email" class="peer" required />
<p class="hidden peer-invalid:block text-red-600">
Invalid email
</p>
Media query approach (automatic):
<div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
Auto switches based on system preference
</div>
Class-based approach (manual toggle):
// Add .dark class to <html> element
document.documentElement.classList.toggle('dark')
<!-- Colors -->
<div class="bg-white dark:bg-slate-900">Background</div>
<p class="text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100">Text</p>
<!-- Borders -->
<div class="border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700">Border</div>
<!-- Complete example -->
<div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 rounded-lg p-6">
<h2 class="text-2xl font-bold text-gray-900 dark:text-white">
Dark mode card
</h2>
<p class="text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300">
Content adapts to theme
</p>
</div>
// Store preference
function toggleDarkMode() {
const isDark = document.documentElement.classList.toggle('dark')
localStorage.setItem('theme', isDark ? 'dark' : 'light')
}
// Initialize on load
if (localStorage.theme === 'dark' ||
(!('theme' in localStorage) &&
window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches)) {
document.documentElement.classList.add('dark')
}
Use square brackets for one-off custom values:
Pixel values:
<div class="top-[117px]">Custom position</div>
<p class="text-[22px]">Custom font size</p>
<div class="w-[500px]">Custom width</div>
Colors:
<div class="bg-[#bada55]">Custom hex color</div>
<div class="text-[rgb(123,45,67)]">RGB color</div>
<div class="bg-[oklch(0.55_0.22_264)]">OKLCH color</div>
CSS variables:
<div class="bg-[var(--my-brand-color)]">CSS variable</div>
<div class="text-[length:var(--my-font-size)]">Type hint</div>
Complex values:
<div class="grid-cols-[1fr_500px_2fr]">Custom grid</div>
<div class="content-['>']">Custom content</div>
<div class="[mask-type:luminance]">Custom property</div>
<button class="bg-blue-500 transition-colors hover:bg-blue-700">
Smooth color transition
</button>
<div class="transform transition-transform hover:scale-110">
Scale with transition
</div>
<div class="transition-all duration-300 ease-in-out hover:shadow-lg">
Multiple transitions
</div>
<!-- Duration options -->
<div class="transition duration-150">Fast</div>
<div class="transition duration-300">Normal</div>
<div class="transition duration-500">Slow</div>
<!-- Scale -->
<div class="scale-95 hover:scale-100">Scale</div>
<!-- Rotate -->
<div class="rotate-45">Rotate 45deg</div>
<div class="hover:rotate-6">Slight rotation</div>
<!-- Translate -->
<div class="translate-x-4 translate-y-2">Move</div>
<!-- Skew -->
<div class="skew-x-12">Skew</div>
<!-- Combined -->
<div class="transform scale-110 rotate-3 translate-x-2">
Multiple transforms
</div>
<div class="animate-spin">Spinning</div>
<div class="animate-ping">Pinging</div>
<div class="animate-pulse">Pulsing</div>
<div class="animate-bounce">Bouncing</div>
@theme {
--animate-slide-in: slide-in 0.5s ease-out;
}
@keyframes slide-in {
from {
transform: translateX(-100%);
}
to {
transform: translateX(0);
}
}
<div class="animate-slide-in">Custom animation</div>
Create reusable utility classes:
@utility content-auto {
content-visibility: auto;
}
@utility tab-* {
tab-size: var(--tab-size-*);
}
<div class="content-auto">Custom utility</div>
<pre class="tab-4">Custom tab size</pre>
@custom-variant theme-midnight (&:where([data-theme="midnight"] *));
@custom-variant aria-checked (&[aria-checked="true"]);
<div theme-midnight:bg-navy-900>
Applies when data-theme="midnight"
</div>
@layer base {
h1 {
@apply text-4xl font-bold;
}
body {
@apply bg-white text-gray-900;
}
}
@layer components {
.btn {
@apply px-4 py-2 rounded bg-blue-500 text-white hover:bg-blue-700;
}
.card {
@apply bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6;
}
}
Extract repeated utilities into CSS classes:
.btn-primary {
@apply bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded;
}
.input-field {
@apply border border-gray-300 rounded-md px-3 py-2 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500;
}
<!-- Primary button -->
<button class="bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 active:bg-blue-800 text-white font-semibold px-6 py-3 rounded-lg shadow-md hover:shadow-lg transform hover:scale-105 transition-all duration-200 focus:outline-none focus:ring-4 focus:ring-blue-300 disabled:opacity-50 disabled:cursor-not-allowed">
Click me
</button>
<!-- Secondary button -->
<button class="bg-white hover:bg-gray-50 border-2 border-gray-300 text-gray-700 font-semibold px-6 py-3 rounded-lg">
Secondary
</button>
<!-- Icon button -->
<button class="p-2 rounded-full hover:bg-gray-100 transition-colors">
<svg class="w-6 h-6">...</svg>
</button>
<div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-xl shadow-lg hover:shadow-xl transition-shadow overflow-hidden">
<img class="w-full h-48 object-cover" src="..." alt="Card image" />
<div class="p-6">
<h3 class="text-2xl font-bold text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-2">
Card Title
</h3>
<p class="text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 mb-4">
Card description text goes here
</p>
<button class="bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-semibold px-4 py-2 rounded-lg">
Learn More
</button>
</div>
</div>
<form class="max-w-md mx-auto bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg shadow-md p-8">
<div class="mb-6">
<label class="block text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 font-semibold mb-2" for="email">
Email
</label>
<input
type="email"
id="email"
class="w-full px-4 py-2 border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 rounded-lg focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 focus:border-transparent dark:bg-gray-700 dark:text-white"
placeholder="you@example.com"
/>
</div>
<div class="mb-6">
<label class="block text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 font-semibold mb-2" for="password">
Password
</label>
<input
type="password"
id="password"
class="w-full px-4 py-2 border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 rounded-lg focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 invalid:border-red-500 dark:bg-gray-700 dark:text-white"
/>
</div>
<button type="submit" class="w-full bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-bold py-3 rounded-lg transition-colors">
Sign In
</button>
</form>
<nav class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 shadow-md sticky top-0 z-50">
<div class="container mx-auto px-4">
<div class="flex items-center justify-between h-16">
<div class="flex items-center gap-8">
<a href="/" class="text-2xl font-bold text-blue-600">Logo</a>
<div class="hidden md:flex gap-6">
<a href="#" class="text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 hover:text-blue-600 transition-colors">Home</a>
<a href="#" class="text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 hover:text-blue-600 transition-colors">About</a>
<a href="#" class="text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300 hover:text-blue-600 transition-colors">Services</a>
</div>
</div>
<button class="md:hidden p-2 rounded hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-800">
<svg class="w-6 h-6">...</svg>
</button>
</div>
</div>
</nav>
<div class="container mx-auto px-4 py-8">
<div class="grid grid-cols-1 sm:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 xl:grid-cols-4 gap-6">
<div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6">Item 1</div>
<div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6">Item 2</div>
<div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6">Item 3</div>
<div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6">Item 4</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Good: Use spacing scale -->
<div class="p-4 mb-6">
<!-- Avoid: Arbitrary values unless necessary -->
<div class="p-[17px] mb-[23px]">
<!-- Good: Use semantic color names -->
<button class="bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700">
<!-- Avoid: One-off colors -->
<button class="bg-[#3B82F6] hover:bg-[#2563EB]">
<!-- Good: Mobile first, then scale up -->
<div class="text-base md:text-lg lg:text-xl">
<!-- Avoid: Desktop first -->
<div class="text-xl lg:text-base">
// React component with Tailwind
function Button({ children, variant = 'primary' }) {
const baseClasses = "font-semibold px-6 py-3 rounded-lg transition-colors"
const variants = {
primary: "bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white",
secondary: "bg-gray-200 hover:bg-gray-300 text-gray-900"
}
return (
<button className={`${baseClasses} ${variants[variant]}`}>
{children}
</button>
)
}
/* Only use @apply for truly repeated patterns */
@layer components {
.card {
@apply bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6 hover:shadow-lg transition-shadow;
}
}
<button class="focus:outline-none focus:ring-4 focus:ring-blue-300">
Accessible button
</button>
<a class="text-blue-600 hover:underline focus:outline-2 focus:outline-offset-2">
Accessible link
</a>
class={text-${color}-500} won't work<!-- Ensure all elements have dark mode variants -->
<div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 text-gray-900 dark:text-white border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700">
Complete dark mode support
</div>
<!-- Horizontal center -->
<div class="flex justify-center">Content</div>
<div class="mx-auto w-fit">Content</div>
<!-- Vertical center -->
<div class="flex items-center h-screen">Content</div>
<!-- Center both axes -->
<div class="flex items-center justify-center h-screen">
Centered content
</div>
<div class="container mx-auto px-4 max-w-7xl">
Content with consistent max width
</div>
<div class="aspect-square">Square</div>
<div class="aspect-video">16:9 video</div>
<div class="aspect-[4/3]">4:3 ratio</div>
<p class="truncate">Long text that will be truncated with ellipsis...</p>
<p class="line-clamp-3">
Long text that will be truncated after 3 lines with ellipsis...
</p>
<html class="scroll-smooth">
<a href="#section">Smooth scroll to section</a>
</html>
// tailwind.config.js
content: [
"./src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}",
// Add all file paths where you use Tailwind
]
// ❌ Won't work
const color = 'blue'
<div className={`text-${color}-500`} />
// ✅ Works
<div className={color === 'blue' ? 'text-blue-500' : 'text-red-500'} />
/* Use !important sparingly */
<div class="!text-red-500">Overrides other styles</div>
# Clear cache and rebuild
rm -rf .next node_modules/.cache
npm run dev
Install official extension:
.vscode/settings.json:{
"tailwindCSS.experimental.classRegex": [
["cva\\(([^)]*)\\)", "[\"'`]([^\"'`]*).*?[\"'`]"]
]
}
export function Card({ title, description }) {
return (
<div className="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6 hover:shadow-lg transition-shadow">
<h3 className="text-2xl font-bold mb-2">{title}</h3>
<p className="text-gray-600">{description}</p>
</div>
)
}
<template>
<div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6 hover:shadow-lg transition-shadow">
<h3 class="text-2xl font-bold mb-2">{{ title }}</h3>
<p class="text-gray-600">{{ description }}</p>
</div>
</template>
<script setup>
defineProps(['title', 'description'])
</script>
<script>
export let title
export let description
</script>
<div class="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md p-6 hover:shadow-lg transition-shadow">
<h3 class="text-2xl font-bold mb-2">{title}</h3>
<p class="text-gray-600">{description}</p>
</div>
When implementing Tailwind CSS:
tailwindcss and framework-specific plugin