[v4] Standalone cli doesn't bundle tailwindcss js library

[leifmetcalf]

What version of Tailwind CSS are you using?

v4.0.0-beta.3

What build tool (or framework if it abstracts the build tool) are you using?

None

What version of Node.js are you using?

v22.8.0

What browser are you using?

N/A

What operating system are you using?

Ubuntu 24.10

Reproduction URL

https://github.com/leifmetcalf/tailwind-repro/tree/8cfa9c2b2b13a3d3e87cc115000ee553ea0a11df

Describe your issue

Run this command in the reproduction repo above

tailwindcss-linux-x64 --input app.css --output out.css

The command returns error code 1 with no message. Installing tailwind with npm install tailwindcss fixes the problem and the output file is created as expected.

[treddy73]

This problem still exists on v4.0.1. I'm using the standalone CLI tool (via homebrew) because I'm developing a site entirely in Go. It worked wonderfully prior to v4.0.0.

My v3 tailwind.config.js is extremely simple:

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
module.exports = {
  content: [
      './internal/server/component/*.templ'
  ],
  theme: {
    extend: {},
  },
  plugins: [],
}

Likewise my v4 tailwind.css is extremely simple:

@import 'tailwindcss';
@config './tailwind.config.js'

tailwindcss -i tailwind.css -o output.css --minify produces the following error:

Error: Can't resolve 'tailwindcss' in '<project path>'

In order to unblock my development, I've had to npm install the tailwind dependencies and the above command works.

[axzilla]

This problem still exists on v4.0.1. I'm using the standalone CLI tool (via homebrew) because I'm developing a site entirely in Go. It worked wonderfully prior to v4.0.0.

My v3 tailwind.config.js is extremely simple:

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
module.exports = {
  content: [
      './internal/server/component/*.templ'
  ],
  theme: {
    extend: {},
  },
  plugins: [],
}

Likewise my v4 tailwind.css is extremely simple:

@import 'tailwindcss';
@config './tailwind.config.js'

tailwindcss -i tailwind.css -o output.css --minify produces the following error:

Error: Can't resolve 'tailwindcss' in '<project path>'

In order to unblock my development, I've had to npm install the tailwind dependencies and the above command works.

Same here!

[stefanchrobot]

Similar issue with plugins. Adding custom plugins seems to crash Tailwind:

/* app.css */
@import "tailwindcss";
@plugin "./myplugin.js";

// myplugin.js, https://v3.tailwindcss.com/docs/plugins#adding-components
const plugin = require('tailwindcss/plugin')

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    plugin(function({ addComponents }) {
      addComponents({
        '.btn': {
          padding: '.5rem 1rem',
          borderRadius: '.25rem',
          fontWeight: '600',
        },
      })
    })
  ]
}

tailwindcss --input app.css --output styles.css

No output is produced.

[Flo0807]

Hey!

I have the same error with the plugin. No output is generated if I try to add a custom plugin.

I noticed that the root cause of the error might be the following line inside my plugin file:

const plugin = require('tailwindcss/plugin')

Unfortunately, you don't need this because you can just export a basic function (no need to wrap it into plugin). I don't know if this is something Tailwind changed with v4 (?)

So instead of this:

const plugin = require('tailwindcss/plugin')

module.exports = plugin(function() {
  // your plugin code
})

try this

module.exports = function() {
  // your plugin code
}

This solves the problem for me and an output is generated (the plugin also works fine)

[pehbehbeh]

@Flo0807

I don't know if this is something Tailwind changed with v4 (?)

Yeah, the docs on this are really lacking atm...

you don't need this because you can just export a basic function

Good to know!

Unfortunately this does not work for 3rd party plugins like this one (because the import is done in the plugin code):

const { addIconSelectors } = require('@iconify/tailwind')

module.exports = addIconSelectors({
  prefixes: ["tabler"],
  scale: 1.75
})

Works perfectly fine when adding tailwindcss to node_modules.

[axzilla]

Does anyone have updates/workarounds on this topic? 🤔