Tailwind CSS v4

Expert guidance for Tailwind CSS v4, CSS-first configuration, modern utility patterns, and type-safe component styling with tailwind-variants.

CSS-First Configuration

Tailwind CSS v4 eliminates tailwind.config.ts in favor of CSS-only configuration. All configuration lives in CSS files using special directives.

Core Directives:

• @import "tailwindcss" - Entry point that loads Tailwind
• @theme { } - Define or extend design tokens
• @theme static { } - Define tokens that should not generate utilities
• @utility - Create custom utilities
• @custom-variant - Define custom variants

Minimal Example:

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-brand: oklch(0.72 0.11 178);
  --font-display: "Inter", sans-serif;
  --spacing-edge: 1.5rem;
}

All theme tokens defined with @theme automatically become available as utility classes. For example, --color-brand can be used as bg-brand, text-brand, border-brand, etc.

ESLint Integration

Use eslint-plugin-better-tailwindcss for Tailwind CSS v4 class validation and style enforcement.

Correctness Rules (errors):

• no-conflicting-classes - Detect classes that override each other
• no-unknown-classes - Flag classes not registered with Tailwind

Stylistic Rules (warnings):

• enforce-canonical-classes - Use standard v4 class names
• enforce-shorthand-classes - Use abbreviated class versions
• no-deprecated-classes - Remove outdated class names
• no-duplicate-classes - Eliminate redundant declarations
• no-unnecessary-whitespace - Clean up extra spacing

Examples:

// ❌ Bad: separate padding
<div className="px-6 py-6">

// ✅ Good: shorthand
<div className="p-6">

// ❌ Bad: separate width/height
<div className="w-6 h-6">

// ✅ Good: size utility
<div className="size-6">

Run the project's ESLint check after modifying Tailwind classes to validate all changes across the codebase.

Coding Preferences

For detailed coding patterns covering layout, spacing, typography, colors, borders, gradients, arbitrary values, class merging, image sizing, z-index, and dark mode, see references/coding-preferences.md.

CSS Modules

Use CSS Modules only as a last resort for complex CSS that cannot be easily written with Tailwind classes.

All .module.css files must include @reference "#tailwind"; at the top to enable Tailwind utilities and theme tokens inside the module.

Example:

/* component.module.css */
@reference "#tailwind";

.component {
  /* Complex CSS that can't be expressed with Tailwind utilities */
  /* Can still use Tailwind utilities and theme tokens */
}

Common Tasks

Adding a Component with Variants

1. Read references/tailwind-variants.md for patterns
2. Check the project's @theme configuration for available tokens
3. Use tv() from tailwind-variants for type-safe variants

Example:

import { tv } from "tailwind-variants";

const button = tv({
  base: "rounded-lg px-4 py-2 font-medium",
  variants: {
    color: {
      primary: "bg-blue-600 text-white",
      secondary: "bg-gray-600 text-white",
    },
    size: {
      sm: "text-sm",
      md: "text-base",
      lg: "text-lg",
    },
  },
});

Debugging Styles

1. Check references/tailwind-v4-rules.md for breaking changes
2. Verify gradient syntax (bg-linear-*, not bg-gradient-*)
3. Verify CSS variable syntax (bg-my-color, not bg-[--var-my-color])
4. Check if arbitrary value exists in the project's @theme configuration

Working with Colors

1. Check the project's @theme configuration first to see available colors
2. Use semantic color names when available
3. Use opacity modifiers for transparency (/20, /50, etc.)
4. Avoid arbitrary colors unless absolutely necessary

Example:

// ✅ Good: theme token with opacity
<div className="bg-brand/20 text-brand">

// ❌ Avoid: arbitrary hex
<div className="bg-[#4f46e5]/20 text-[#4f46e5]">

Adding Animations

1. Read references/tw-animate-css.md for available animations
2. Combine a base class (animate-in or animate-out) with effect classes
3. Note decimal spacing gotcha: use [0.625rem] syntax, not 2.5

Example:

// Enter: fade + slide up
<div className="fade-in slide-in-from-bottom-4 duration-300 animate-in">

// Exit: fade + slide down
<div className="fade-out slide-out-to-bottom-4 duration-200 animate-out">

Quick Reference Table

Aspect	Pattern
Configuration	CSS-only: @theme, @utility, @custom-variant
Gradients	bg-linear-*, bg-radial, bg-conic
Opacity	Modifier syntax: bg-black/50
Line Height	Modifier syntax: text-base/7
Font Features	font-features-zero, font-features-ss01, etc.
CSS Variables	bg-my-color (auto-created from @theme)
CSS Modules	@reference "#tailwind"; at top
Class Merging	cn() for conditionals; plain string for static
Viewport	min-h-dvh (not min-h-screen)
Component Variants	references/tailwind-variants.md
Animations	references/tw-animate-css.md
V4 Rules	references/tailwind-v4-rules.md

Reference Documentation

• Tailwind v4 Rules & Best Practices: references/tailwind-v4-rules.md — Breaking changes, removed/renamed utilities, layout rules, typography, gradients, CSS variables, new v4 features, common pitfalls
• tailwind-variants Patterns: references/tailwind-variants.md — Component variants, slots API, composition, TypeScript integration, responsive variants
• tw-animate-css Reference: references/tw-animate-css.md — Enter/exit animations, slide/fade/zoom utilities, spacing gotchas