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The most popular HTML, CSS, and JavaScript framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.
Modern CSS framework based on Flexbox
Visual primitives for the component age. Use the best bits of ES6 and CSS to style your apps without stress 💅
👩🎤 CSS-in-JS library designed for high performance style composition
Sass makes CSS fun!
A modern alternative to CSS resets
Quick Overview
Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that provides low-level utility classes to build custom designs quickly and efficiently. It allows developers to rapidly create responsive and customizable user interfaces without writing custom CSS, promoting a more maintainable and scalable approach to styling web applications.
Pros
- Highly customizable and flexible, allowing for unique designs without fighting the framework
- Promotes faster development with pre-built utility classes
- Excellent documentation and community support
- Reduces overall CSS file size through purging unused styles in production
Cons
- Steep learning curve for developers accustomed to traditional CSS frameworks
- Can lead to cluttered HTML with multiple utility classes
- Requires additional tooling for optimal performance (e.g., PurgeCSS)
- May not be suitable for projects requiring a high level of design consistency across multiple developers
Code Examples
- Styling a button with Tailwind CSS:
<button class="bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded">
Click me
</button>
- Creating a responsive grid layout:
<div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4">
<div class="bg-gray-200 p-4">Item 1</div>
<div class="bg-gray-200 p-4">Item 2</div>
<div class="bg-gray-200 p-4">Item 3</div>
</div>
- Applying custom styles using @apply directive:
@layer components {
.btn-primary {
@apply py-2 px-4 bg-blue-500 text-white font-semibold rounded-lg shadow-md hover:bg-blue-700 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-400 focus:ring-opacity-75;
}
}
Getting Started
- Install Tailwind CSS via npm:
npm install tailwindcss
- Create a Tailwind CSS configuration file:
npx tailwindcss init
- Add Tailwind to your CSS file:
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;
- Build your CSS file:
npx tailwindcss -i ./src/input.css -o ./dist/output.css --watch
- Include the built CSS file in your HTML:
<link href="/dist/output.css" rel="stylesheet">
Competitor Comparisons
The most popular HTML, CSS, and JavaScript framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.
Pros of Bootstrap
- More comprehensive out-of-the-box components and JavaScript functionality
- Extensive documentation and large community support
- Easier learning curve for beginners
Cons of Bootstrap
- Larger file size and potential performance impact
- Less flexibility in customization without overriding styles
- Websites may look similar due to default styling
Code Comparison
Bootstrap:
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6">
<button class="btn btn-primary">Click me</button>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Tailwind CSS:
<div class="container mx-auto">
<div class="flex flex-wrap">
<div class="w-full md:w-1/2">
<button class="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded">Click me</button>
</div>
</div>
</div>
The code comparison shows that Bootstrap uses predefined classes for layout and components, while Tailwind CSS uses utility classes to build custom designs. Tailwind's approach offers more flexibility but requires more class names in the HTML. Bootstrap's classes are more semantic and easier to read at a glance, but may be less adaptable to unique designs.
Modern CSS framework based on Flexbox
Pros of Bulma
- Pre-designed components and layout system for faster development
- Easier learning curve for beginners
- Modular structure allows for importing only needed components
Cons of Bulma
- Less flexibility for custom designs compared to utility-first approach
- Larger file size if not optimized
- Potential for class name conflicts in complex projects
Code Comparison
Bulma:
<div class="columns">
<div class="column is-half">
<div class="card">
<div class="card-content">
<p class="title">Card title</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Tailwind CSS:
<div class="flex">
<div class="w-1/2">
<div class="bg-white shadow rounded-lg">
<div class="p-4">
<p class="text-2xl font-bold">Card title</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Bulma uses semantic class names for pre-designed components, while Tailwind CSS employs utility classes for granular control over styling. Bulma's approach may be more intuitive for beginners, but Tailwind offers greater flexibility for custom designs.
Visual primitives for the component age. Use the best bits of ES6 and CSS to style your apps without stress 💅
Pros of styled-components
- Allows for dynamic styling based on props and state
- Scoped styles prevent global CSS conflicts
- Seamless integration with JavaScript for complex logic
Cons of styled-components
- Steeper learning curve for developers new to CSS-in-JS
- Potential performance overhead due to runtime style generation
- Requires additional setup and dependencies
Code Comparison
styled-components:
const Button = styled.button`
background-color: ${props => props.primary ? 'blue' : 'white'};
color: ${props => props.primary ? 'white' : 'blue'};
padding: 10px 20px;
border: 2px solid blue;
`;
Tailwind CSS:
<button class="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 py-2 border-2 border-blue-500">
Click me
</button>
styled-components offers more flexibility in dynamic styling and component-based CSS, while Tailwind CSS provides a utility-first approach with pre-defined classes. The choice between the two depends on project requirements, team preferences, and performance considerations. styled-components excels in complex, component-driven applications, while Tailwind CSS shines in rapid prototyping and projects with consistent design systems.
👩🎤 CSS-in-JS library designed for high performance style composition
Pros of emotion
- More flexible and customizable styling approach
- Better integration with JavaScript and dynamic styles
- Smaller bundle size for complex applications
Cons of emotion
- Steeper learning curve for developers new to CSS-in-JS
- Less intuitive for designers used to traditional CSS
- Potential performance overhead for runtime style generation
Code Comparison
emotion:
import { css } from '@emotion/react'
const style = css`
background-color: hotpink;
&:hover {
color: ${props => props.color};
}
`
Tailwind CSS:
<div class="bg-pink-500 hover:text-blue-500">
<!-- Content -->
</div>
emotion offers more programmatic control over styles, allowing for dynamic values and complex logic within style definitions. Tailwind CSS provides a utility-first approach with pre-defined classes, making it easier to quickly style elements without writing custom CSS.
Both libraries have their strengths, with emotion excelling in flexibility and JavaScript integration, while Tailwind CSS shines in rapid development and consistency across projects. The choice between them often depends on project requirements and team preferences.
Sass makes CSS fun!
Pros of Sass
- More powerful and flexible with features like mixins, functions, and nesting
- Established ecosystem with extensive libraries and tools
- Better suited for complex, large-scale projects
Cons of Sass
- Requires compilation step, which can slow down development
- Steeper learning curve, especially for beginners
- Can lead to bloated CSS if not used carefully
Code Comparison
Sass:
$primary-color: #3498db;
@mixin button-styles {
padding: 10px 15px;
border-radius: 5px;
}
.button {
@include button-styles;
background-color: $primary-color;
}
Tailwind CSS:
<button class="bg-blue-500 py-2 px-4 rounded">
Click me
</button>
Sass offers more programmatic features and reusability through variables and mixins, while Tailwind CSS provides a utility-first approach with pre-defined classes. Sass requires separate compilation, whereas Tailwind CSS is applied directly in HTML. The choice between the two depends on project requirements, team preferences, and scalability needs.
A modern alternative to CSS resets
Pros of normalize.css
- Lightweight and focused solely on normalizing browser styles
- Easy to integrate into existing projects without major changes
- Provides a consistent baseline across browsers without opinionated styling
Cons of normalize.css
- Limited in scope, only addressing browser inconsistencies
- Requires additional CSS for layout and design
- Less suitable for rapid prototyping or building complete UI systems
Code Comparison
normalize.css:
html {
line-height: 1.15;
-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;
}
body {
margin: 0;
}
Tailwind CSS:
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;
.btn {
@apply font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded;
}
normalize.css focuses on resetting browser defaults, while Tailwind CSS provides a comprehensive utility-first framework for building custom designs. normalize.css is ideal for projects that require a clean slate without additional styling, whereas Tailwind CSS offers a more robust solution for rapidly developing complex user interfaces with consistent design patterns.
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A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.
Documentation
For full documentation, visit tailwindcss.com.
Community
For help, discussion about best practices, or any other conversation that would benefit from being searchable:
Discuss Tailwind CSS on GitHub
For chatting with others using the framework:
Join the Tailwind CSS Discord Server
Contributing
If you're interested in contributing to Tailwind CSS, please read our contributing docs before submitting a pull request.
Top Related Projects
The most popular HTML, CSS, and JavaScript framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.
Modern CSS framework based on Flexbox
Visual primitives for the component age. Use the best bits of ES6 and CSS to style your apps without stress 💅
👩🎤 CSS-in-JS library designed for high performance style composition
Sass makes CSS fun!
A modern alternative to CSS resets
Convert designs to code with AI
Introducing Visual Copilot: A new AI model to turn Figma designs to high quality code using your components.
Try Visual Copilot