How can I integrate Tailwind CSS into my project?

Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that lets you rapidly build custom user interfaces without having to leave your HTML. There are multiple ways to integrate Tailwind into your project, depending on your needs:

Quick Demo via CDN

For experimenting or quick demos, you can include Tailwind via a CDN by adding this in your HTML:

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<link href="https://unpkg.com/tailwindcss@^2/dist/tailwind.min.css" rel="stylesheet">

Note: This CDN version is great for learning or prototyping, but it isn’t optimized for production.

Using Tailwind as a PostCSS Plugin

For full customization and to take advantage of Tailwind's advanced features, install it as a PostCSS plugin. Create a CSS file (or use an existing one) and include the following directives:

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/* ./your-css-folder/styles.css */
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

Tailwind will replace these directives at build-time with all the necessary styles based on your configuration.

Importing in JavaScript Frameworks

If you're using a JavaScript framework such as React or Vue, you can also import the precompiled CSS directly into your JavaScript file:

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// app.js
import "tailwindcss/tailwind.css";

This method allows you to skip creating a separate CSS file and integrates Tailwind smoothly with your framework.

Using postcss-import

If you use a tool like postcss-import (or a similar tool such as Webpacker for Rails), it’s recommended to import Tailwind's CSS files instead of using the @tailwind directive. This helps avoid conflicts when importing additional files:

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@import "tailwindcss/base";
@import "tailwindcss/components";
@import "tailwindcss/utilities";

Each of these methods is designed to help you get started with Tailwind CSS in a way that best fits your project’s setup. For further details, you can check the Tailwind CSS installation documentation.