Tailwind CSS
The skill is based on Tailwind CSS v4.1.18, generated at 2026-01-28.
Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces. Instead of writing custom CSS, you compose designs using utility classes directly in your markup. Tailwind v4 introduces CSS-first configuration with theme variables, making it easier to customize your design system.
Core References
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Installation | Vite, PostCSS, CLI, and CDN setup | core-installation |
| Utility Classes | Understanding Tailwind's utility-first approach and styling elements | core-utility-classes |
| Theme Variables | Design tokens, customizing theme, and theme variable namespaces | core-theme |
| Responsive Design | Mobile-first breakpoints, responsive variants, and container queries | core-responsive |
| Variants | Applying utilities conditionally with state, pseudo-class, and media query variants | core-variants |
| Preflight | Tailwind's base styles and how to extend or disable them | core-preflight |
Layout
Display & Flexbox & Grid
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Display | flex, grid, block, inline, hidden, sr-only, flow-root, contents | layout-display |
| Flexbox | flex-direction, justify, items, gap, grow, shrink, wrap, order | layout-flexbox |
| Grid | grid-cols, grid-rows, gap, place-items, col-span, row-span, subgrid | layout-grid |
| Aspect Ratio | Controlling element aspect ratio for responsive media | layout-aspect-ratio |
| Columns | Multi-column layout for magazine-style or masonry layouts | layout-columns |
Positioning
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Position | Controlling element positioning with static, relative, absolute, fixed, and sticky | layout-position |
| Inset | Controlling placement of positioned elements with top, right, bottom, left, and inset utilities | layout-inset |
Sizing
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Width | Setting element width with spacing scale, fractions, container sizes, and viewport units | layout-width |
| Height | Setting element height with spacing scale, fractions, viewport units, and content-based sizing | layout-height |
| Min & Max Sizing | min-width, max-width, min-height, max-height constraints | layout-min-max-sizing |
Spacing
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Margin | Controlling element margins with spacing scale, negative values, logical properties, and space utilities | layout-margin |
| Padding | Controlling element padding with spacing scale, logical properties, and directional utilities | layout-padding |
Overflow
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Overflow | Controlling how elements handle content that overflows their container | layout-overflow |
Images & Replaced Elements
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Object Fit & Position | Controlling how images and video are resized and positioned | layout-object-fit-position |
Tables
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Table Layout | border-collapse, table-auto, table-fixed | layout-tables |
Transforms
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Transform Base | Base transform utilities for enabling transforms, hardware acceleration, and custom transform values | transform-base |
| Translate | Translating elements on x, y, and z axes with spacing scale, percentages, and custom values | transform-translate |
| Rotate | Rotating elements in 2D and 3D space with degree values and custom rotations | transform-rotate |
| Scale | Scaling elements uniformly or on specific axes with percentage values | transform-scale |
| Skew | Skewing elements on x and y axes with degree values | transform-skew |
Typography
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Font & Text | Font size, weight, color, line-height, letter-spacing, decoration, truncate | typography-font-text |
| Text Align | Controlling text alignment with left, center, right, justify, and logical properties | typography-text-align |
| List Style | list-style-type, list-style-position for bullets and markers | typography-list-style |
Visual
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Background | Background color, gradient, image, size, position | visual-background |
| Border | Border width, color, radius, divide, ring | visual-border |
| Effects | Box shadow, opacity, mix-blend, backdrop-blur, filter | visual-effects |
| SVG | fill, stroke, stroke-width for SVG and icon styling | visual-svg |
Effects & Interactivity
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Transition & Animation | CSS transitions, animation keyframes, reduced motion | effects-transition-animation |
| Visibility & Interactivity | Visibility, cursor, pointer-events, user-select, z-index | effects-visibility-interactivity |
| Form Controls | accent-color, appearance, caret-color, resize | effects-form-controls |
| Scroll Snap | scroll-snap-type, scroll-snap-align for carousels | effects-scroll-snap |
Features
Dark Mode
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Dark Mode | Implementing dark mode with the dark variant and custom strategies | features-dark-mode |
Migration
| Topic | Description | Reference |
|---|
| Upgrade Guide | Migrating from v3 to v4, breaking changes, rename mappings | features-upgrade |
Customization
Best Practices
Key Recommendations
- Use utility classes directly in markup - Compose designs by combining utilities
- Customize with theme variables - Use
@theme directive to define design tokens
- Mobile-first responsive design - Use unprefixed utilities for mobile, prefixed for breakpoints
- Use complete class names - Never construct classes dynamically with string interpolation
- Leverage variants - Stack variants for complex conditional styling
- Prefer CSS-first configuration - Use
@theme, @utility, and @custom-variant over JavaScript configs