Nuxt•2w ago

Using TailwindCSS classes in a Nuxt Module

Hi, So i'm developing a module for Nuxt which uses Tailwind for styling. Problem is tailwind dosn't make styles for the classes i write in my module components. I can't use the direct options as i am not installing Tailwind from the module, but rather in a external layer. So what are my options? How do i make tailwind actually generate the styles? Thanks

6 Replies

kapa.ai•2w ago

Hi @V1NUM. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave: ---------------------- I understand your challenge with using Tailwind CSS classes in a Nuxt module. This is a common issue when developing modules that need styling but rely on the host project's Tailwind installation. Based on the knowledge sources, there are a few approaches you can take: 1. Use @source directive You can use Tailwind's @source directive to explicitly specify your module's source files that aren't being picked up by Tailwind's automatic content detection:

@source "../path-to-your-module";

@source "../path-to-your-module";

This should be added to the main CSS file of the project using your module, as shown in the Nuxt UI documentation here. 2. Configure external files in the host project Since Nuxt uses nuxt.config.ts as the single source of truth for configurations, you might need to instruct users of your module to include your module's paths in their Tailwind configuration:

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  // ...
  tailwindcss: {
    // Add your module's path to content sources
    content: [
      './node_modules/your-module-name/**/*.{vue,js,ts}'
    ]
  }
})

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  // ...
  tailwindcss: {
    // Add your module's path to content sources
    content: [
      './node_modules/your-module-name/**/*.{vue,js,ts}'
    ]
  }
})

3. Consider using CSS variables and design tokens Another approach is to use CSS variables and design tokens that are likely to be defined in most Tailwind projects. Nuxt UI, for example, uses semantic color aliases and design tokens that work with Tailwind:

/* Use CSS variables that are likely defined in Tailwind projects */
.your-component {
  background-color: var(--ui-bg);
  color: var(--ui-text);
  border: 1px solid var(--ui-border);
}

/* Use CSS variables that are likely defined in Tailwind projects */
.your-component {
  background-color: var(--ui-bg);
  color: var(--ui-text);
  border: 1px solid var(--ui-border);
}

This approach is demonstrated in the Nuxt UI documentation. 4. Ship with pre-generated CSS If your module's styling needs are relatively static, you could pre-generate the CSS for your Tailwind classes and ship it with your module. This would ensure the styles are available regardless of the host project's Tailwind configuration. Remember that when working with Tailwind in Nuxt 3, you need to be aware of the changes in Tailwind CSS v4, which takes a CSS-first configuration approach as mentioned in the Nuxt UI documentation. If you're still experiencing issues, you might want to look at how other Nuxt modules that use Tailwind (like Nuxt UI) handle this challenge in their source code. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------

kapa.ai•2w ago

<@610128665782517790> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.

HugoRCD•2w ago

@V1NUM Maybe you can use tailwind's CLI to generate the css file and put it in your module's exports to load it automatically once the module is installed. https://tailwindcss.com/docs/installation/tailwind-cli

Tailwind CLI - Installation

The simplest and fastest way to get up and running with Tailwind CSS from scratch.

HugoRCD•2w ago

If not, can you give me more info if I've misunderstood what you wanted to do!

V1NUMOP•2w ago

Good idea! I'll try it. Is there another way from the module itself to make sure tailwind scans its files?

HugoRCD•2w ago

The tailwind v4 scan is really powerful and normally you shouldn't have any problems 🤔 To be tested, I managed a long time ago to do a bit of what you want to do with the CLI but that was before v4

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Using TailwindCSS classes in a Nuxt Module

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