Tailwindcss 4 2 4

Tailwind CSS 4.2

Overview

Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces. It works by scanning all HTML files, JavaScript components, and templates for class names, then generating the corresponding styles into a static CSS file — fast, flexible, reliable, with zero runtime.

Version 4.x introduces a ground-up rewrite with CSS-based configuration (no tailwind.config.js), Lightning CSS as the engine, OKLCH color space by default, cascade layer support (@layer), and significantly improved performance. The framework targets modern browsers: Safari 16.4+, Chrome 111+, Firefox 128+.

When to Use

• Building responsive web interfaces with utility-first CSS classes
• Customizing design systems through CSS-based @theme tokens
• Adding hover, focus, and state-based styling directly in HTML
• Migrating projects from Tailwind v3 to v4
• Creating dark mode variants with the dark: prefix
• Using arbitrary values for one-off styles without leaving HTML
• Integrating Tailwind with Vite, PostCSS, or CLI build tools

Core Concepts

Utility-First Approach

Style elements by combining many single-purpose presentational classes directly in markup:

<div class="mx-auto flex max-w-sm items-center gap-x-4 rounded-xl bg-white p-6 shadow-lg">
  <img class="size-12 shrink-0" src="/logo.svg" alt="Logo" />
  <div>
    <h3 class="text-xl font-medium text-black">You have a new message!</h3>
  </div>
</div>

Benefits over traditional CSS: faster development, safer changes (each utility affects only its element), easier maintenance, more portable code, and bounded CSS file growth.

Theme Variables

Design tokens are defined as CSS variables using the @theme directive — not in a JavaScript config file:

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --font-display: "Satoshi", sans-serif;
  --color-mint-500: oklch(0.72 0.11 178);
  --breakpoint-3xl: 120rem;
}

Theme variables in the --font-* namespace generate font-* utilities, --color-* generates color utilities, --breakpoint-* adds responsive breakpoints, and so on. They also expose as regular CSS variables for use in arbitrary values or inline styles.

State Variants

Every utility can be applied conditionally by prefixing with a variant:

<button class="bg-sky-500 hover:bg-sky-700 focus:ring-2 active:bg-sky-800">
  Save changes
</button>

Variants include pseudo-classes (:hover, :focus, :first-child), pseudo-elements (::before, ::after), media queries (responsive breakpoints, dark mode), attribute selectors ([dir="rtl"]), and child selectors. Variants stack: dark:md:hover:bg-fuchsia-600.

Responsive Design

Mobile-first breakpoint system with five defaults:

• sm: — @media (width >= 40rem) (640px)
• md: — @media (width >= 48rem) (768px)
• lg: — @media (width >= 64rem) (1024px)
• xl: — @media (width >= 80rem) (1280px)
• 2xl: — @media (width >= 96rem) (1536px)

Unprefixed utilities apply to all screen sizes. Prefixed utilities apply at that breakpoint and above.

<div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3">
  <!-- ... -->
</div>

Arbitrary Values

Use square bracket notation for one-off values without defining theme tokens:

<div class="top-[117px] bg-[#bada55] text-[22px]">...</div>
<div class="[mask-type:luminance] hover:[mask-type:alpha]">...</div>
<div class="fill-(--my-brand-color)">...</div>

CSS variable shorthand: (--my-var) expands to var(--my-var).

Installation / Setup

Vite (Recommended)

npm create vite@latest my-project
cd my-project
npm install tailwindcss @tailwindcss/vite

Add the plugin to vite.config.js:

import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import tailwindcss from '@tailwindcss/vite'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [tailwindcss()],
})

Import in your CSS entry file:

@import "tailwindcss";

PostCSS

npm install tailwindcss @tailwindcss/postcss

// postcss.config.js
export default {
  plugins: {
    "@tailwindcss/postcss": {},
  },
}

CLI

npx @tailwindcss/cli -i input.css -o output.css

CDN (Prototyping)

Use the Play CDN for rapid prototyping without a build step:

<script src="https://cdn.tailwindcss.com"></script>

Usage Examples

Responsive Card Component

<div class="mx-auto max-w-md overflow-hidden rounded-xl bg-white shadow-md md:max-w-2xl">
  <div class="md:flex">
    <div class="md:shrink-0">
      <img class="h-48 w-full object-cover md:h-full md:w-48" src="building.jpg" alt="Building" />
    </div>
    <div class="p-8">
      <h2 class="text-lg font-bold text-gray-900">Modern Architecture</h2>
      <p class="mt-2 text-sm text-gray-500">Clean lines and natural materials.</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Dark Mode Support

<div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg px-6 py-8 shadow-xl ring ring-gray-900/5">
  <span class="inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-md bg-indigo-500 p-2">
    <!-- icon -->
  </span>
  <h3 class="mt-4 text-lg font-semibold text-gray-900 dark:text-white">Title</h3>
  <p class="mt-2 text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">Description text.</p>
</div>

Toggle dark mode with a custom variant:

@import "tailwindcss";
@custom-variant dark (&:where(.dark, .dark *));

Custom Theme with OKLCH Colors

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --font-display: "Satoshi", sans-serif;
  --breakpoint-3xl: 120rem;
  --color-avocado-100: oklch(0.99 0 0);
  --color-avocado-500: oklch(0.84 0.18 117.09);
  --color-avocado-900: oklch(0.26 0.05 112.46);
  --shadow-float: 0 0 0 1px oklch(0 0 0 / 0.05), 0 20px 40px oklch(0 0 0 / 0.15);
}

Then use font-display, bg-avocado-500, and shadow-float as utility classes.

Color Opacity

<div class="bg-sky-500/10"></div>
<div class="bg-sky-500/75"></div>
<div class="bg-pink-500/[71.37%]"></div>
<div class="bg-cyan-400/(--my-alpha-value)"></div>

Custom Utilities

@utility tab-4 {
  tab-size: 4;
}

@utility scrollbar-hide {
  -ms-overflow-style: none;
  scrollbar-width: none;
}

Advanced Topics

Functions and Directives: Complete reference for @theme, @layer, @utility, @variant, @custom-variant, @apply, @source → Functions and Directives

Utility Reference: Full listing of all utility categories — spacing, layout, typography, colors, backgrounds, borders, effects, filters, transforms, transitions, animations, interactivity, SVG, and accessibility → Utility Reference

Migration from v3 to v4: Breaking changes, config migration, PostCSS to Vite plugin, CLI package rename, color palette updates → Upgrade Guide