11ai Tailwind CSS v3 cheatsheet
Version baseline: Tailwind CSS 3.4.19 (stable v3 family), verified 2026-07-31; exclude Tailwind v4 CSS-first configuration, dedicated v4 packages, and upgrade-only APIs.
Use the installed package, active config, build tool, input stylesheet, and repository conventions as the source of truth. This lookup surface stops before unrequested installation or file changes.
Inspect
npm ls tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer --depth=0
rg -n 'tailwindcss|@tailwind|content:|safelist:|darkMode:|plugins:' package.json tailwind.config.* postcss.config.* src app
Confirm the v3 major, package manager, configuration module format, stylesheet entry, scripts, and generated-output ownership before selecting a command.
Common commands and directives
npx tailwindcss -i INPUT.css -o OUTPUT.css
npx tailwindcss -i INPUT.css -o OUTPUT.css --watch
npx tailwindcss -i INPUT.css -o OUTPUT.css --minify
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;
Do not use the Tailwind v4 @import "tailwindcss", @theme, @source, @utility, or @variant APIs as v3 instructions.
Domain map
| Skill | Use it for |
|---|---|
11ai-operator-tailwind-v3-build-content |
CLI or PostCSS builds, content globs, safelists, watch mode, and output |
11ai-operator-tailwind-v3-theme-config |
JavaScript configuration, presets, tokens, and core settings |
11ai-operator-tailwind-v3-utilities-components |
Utilities, arbitrary values, layers, components, and apply |
11ai-operator-tailwind-v3-variants-responsive |
States, responsive behavior, dark mode, group, peer, data, and containers |
11ai-operator-tailwind-v3-plugins |
Official and custom plugins and their generated APIs |
Answer format
Lead with the smallest v3-valid command or snippet, then name the inspected target, expected output, verification, and one risk. Stop before dependency changes, configuration replacement, broad template rewrites, or overwriting production CSS.