A Basic look at Tailwind css

By CybroTron

Published 7/5/2024

Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that allows you to build custom designs without leaving your HTML. Here’s a basic tutorial to get you started with Tailwind CSS:

1. Installation First, you need to install Tailwind CSS in your project. You can do this using npm or yarn:

npm install tailwindcss
# or
yarn add tailwindcss

2. Configuration After installation, create a tailwind.config.js file in your project root to customize your design system:

JavaScript

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {},
  },
  variants: {},
  plugins: [],
}

3. Including Tailwind in Your CSS Create a CSS file if you don’t have one and use the @tailwind directive to inject Tailwind’s base, components, and utilities styles into your CSS:

CSS

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

4. Building Your Design Now, you can start building your design directly in your HTML by adding Tailwind’s utility classes:

HTML

<button class="bg-blue-500 text-white font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded">
  Click me
</button>

5. Customizing Styles Tailwind’s configuration file allows you to customize your design system. For example, you can add new colors or font sizes:

JavaScript

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        'custom-blue': '#243c5a',
      },
      fontSize: {
        'xl': '1.25rem',
      },
    },
  },
}

6. Responsive Design Tailwind uses a mobile-first breakpoint system. You can add responsive variants to your classes by prefixing them with the breakpoint name:

HTML

<div class="text-base md:text-xl lg:text-2xl">
  Responsive text size
</div>

7. Compiling Your CSS Finally, compile your CSS using Tailwind CLI or by integrating it into your build process:

npx tailwindcss -o output.css

For more detailed information and advanced topics, you can refer to the official Tailwind CSS documentation or explore beginner-friendly guides like freeCodeCamp’s article on Tailwind CSS. Additionally, there are many video tutorials available that can help you learn how to design with Tailwind CSS.

Happy coding! 🚀