Tailwind CSS

Utility-first CSS for responsive UIs with composable classes and configuration.

When to Use

Use when:

Styling with utility-first CSS
Responsive designs with breakpoints
Theme config (colors, spacing, typography)
Custom utilities/plugins

Don't use for: MUI (use mui skill), plain CSS (use css skill), complex animations (use css skill).

Critical Patterns

✅ REQUIRED: Use Utility Classes

<!-- CORRECT -->
<button class="bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded">
  Click Me
</button>

<!-- WRONG: custom CSS for basic styling -->
<button class="custom-button">Click Me</button>
<style>.custom-button { background: blue; padding: 8px 16px; }</style>

✅ REQUIRED: Configure Theme (Tailwind 3)

// CORRECT: extend theme
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: { brand: '#1976d2' },
    },
  },
};

// WRONG: hardcoding hex in classes
// <div class="bg-[#1976d2]"> — use theme colors instead

✅ REQUIRED: Define Themes with @theme (Tailwind 4+)

/* CORRECT */
@theme {
  --color-primary: #4f46e5;
  --color-secondary: #9333ea;
  --font-sans: "Inter", sans-serif;
  --radius-md: 0.375rem;
}
/* Use: <div class="bg-primary text-secondary"> */

/* WRONG in Tailwind 4+: using tailwind.config.js for theme tokens */

❌ NEVER: @apply Overuse

/* WRONG: defeats utility-first purpose */
.btn {
  @apply bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded;
}

/* CORRECT: use utilities directly in HTML */

✅ REQUIRED: @apply for Shared Component Patterns Only

/* CORRECT: reusable patterns shared across multiple components */
.card-base {
  @apply rounded-lg shadow-md p-6 bg-white;
}

/* WRONG: single-use classes — use utilities directly */

Conventions

Token Hierarchy

Three layers:

1. Brand: Raw OKLCH (--color-brand-blue: oklch(45% 0.2 260))

2. Semantic: Purpose names (--color-primary, --color-destructive)

3. Component: Implementations (.btn-primary { @apply bg-primary; })

See design-system.md for token architecture, CVA patterns, dark mode.

Tailwind v4

CSS-first config with @theme blocks and OKLCH.

Changes: @import 'tailwindcss' replaces @tailwind; @theme replaces config; @custom-variant dark replaces darkMode: "class"

New: size-* shorthand, improved spacing, tree-shakeable animations

See tailwind-v4.md for migration, breaking changes, OKLCH syntax.

Decision Tree

Building a design system?
  → See design-system.md for token hierarchy, semantic naming, CVA patterns

Migrating to Tailwind v4?
  → See tailwind-v4.md for migration checklist, breaking changes, new utilities

Component with variants (size/color/state)?
  → Use CVA (Class Variance Authority) from design-system.md

Tailwind class exists?
  → Use utility class directly (e.g. bg-blue-500)

Dynamic value?
  → Inline style for computed values or arbitrary class (e.g. w-[137px])

Conditional styles?
  → Use clsx/cn: cn("base", condition && "variant")

Reusable component style?
  → Create component with utilities; avoid @apply

Custom color/spacing?
  → Add to theme.extend in config (v3) or @theme block (v4+)

Responsive?
  → Breakpoint prefixes: md:flex lg:grid

Dark mode?
  → v3: Enable in config. v4: Use @custom-variant dark (see tailwind-v4.md)

Production build?
  → Ensure all template paths in content array or classes get purged

Custom animations?
  → v3: Extend theme.animation. v4: Use @keyframes in @theme (see tailwind-v4.md)

Example

<div class="max-w-4xl mx-auto p-6">
  <h1 class="text-3xl font-bold text-gray-900 mb-4">Title</h1>
  <button
    class="bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500"
  >
    Click Me
  </button>
</div>

// tailwind.config.js (v3)
module.exports = {
  content: ["./src/**/*.{astro,html,js,jsx,ts,tsx,vue,svelte}"],
  darkMode: "class",
  theme: {
    extend: { colors: { brand: "#1976d2" } },
  },
};

Dark Mode

<html class="dark">
  <div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-900 text-black dark:text-white">
    Content adapts to dark mode
  </div>
</html>

Edge Cases

Arbitrary values: w-[137px] — avoid; extend theme
Specificity: Utilities same specificity; HTML order matters; use ! sparingly
Purge config: All paths in content or classes removed in prod
Third-party: Inline styles override; use !important or wrappers
@layer: @layer components for components, @layer utilities for custom

Checklist

Resources

design-system.md — Token hierarchy, semantic naming, CVA patterns, dark mode, color mixing
tailwind-v4.md — v4 migration guide, OKLCH colors, @theme blocks, new utilities
https://tailwindcss.com/docs — Official documentation
https://cva.style/docs — Class Variance Authority (CVA) for type-safe variants
https://oklch.com/ — OKLCH color picker and converter

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