Standalone Tailwind CSS CLI, installable via pip

Use Tailwind CSS without Node.js — install it via pip.

Why

Tailwind CSS is notoriously dependent on Node.js. If you're a Python developer, this dependency may not be welcome in your team, your Docker container, or your inner circle.

The Tailwind CSS team recently announced a new standalone CLI build that gives you the full power of Tailwind CLI in a self-contained executable — no Node.js or npm required.

However, installing the standalone CLI isn't as easy as running npm install.

That's why I created this package to make it as simple as running the pip install command. Now you can install the standalone Tailwind CLI via pip by running:

pip install pytailwindcss

Now you can run tailwindcss in your terminal:

tailwindcss -i input.css -o output.css --minify

Voilà!

Get started

1. Install pytailwindcss via pip:

   pip install pytailwindcss
   

2. [Recommended] Preinstall the tailwindcss binary:

   tailwindcss_install
   

   By default, the latest binary version will be downloaded. To pin to a specific Tailwind CSS version, set the TAILWINDCSS_VERSION environment variable before running the command:

   # In a Dockerfile
   ENV TAILWINDCSS_VERSION=v4.1.16
   RUN tailwindcss_install
   
   # On Linux/macOS
   export TAILWINDCSS_VERSION=v4.1.16
   tailwindcss_install
   
   # On Windows (cmd)
   set TAILWINDCSS_VERSION=v4.1.16
   tailwindcss_install
   
   # On Windows (PowerShell)
   $env:TAILWINDCSS_VERSION="v4.1.16"
   tailwindcss_install
   

   To see a list of available Tailwind CSS releases, visit: https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases

   If you skip this step, the binary will be downloaded automatically on the first run of the tailwindcss command.

3. The tailwindcss command should now be available in your terminal. Try running it:

   tailwindcss
   

   You should see the help output for the tailwindcss command. If you skipped step 2, the binary will be downloaded automatically on this first run. Use tailwindcss to create a new project or work with an existing Tailwind CSS project.

4. Create a new Tailwind CSS project by navigating to your project directory and initializing it:

   tailwindcss init
   

   This command creates the default tailwind.config.js file.

5. Start a watcher to compile CSS automatically during development:

   tailwindcss -i input.css -o output.css --watch
   

6. Compile and minify your CSS for production:

   tailwindcss -i input.css -o output.css --minify
   

That's it! For more information on using Tailwind CSS and its CLI, refer to the official Tailwind CSS documentation.

Caveats

While this approach simplifies your setup, there are some trade-offs. Without Node.js, you won't be able to install third-party plugins or additional dependencies for your Tailwind CSS setup. However, this might not be a dealbreaker for most use cases.

You can still customize Tailwind CSS via the tailwind.config.js file, and the standalone build includes all official Tailwind CSS plugins: @tailwindcss/aspect-ratio, @tailwindcss/forms, @tailwindcss/line-clamp, and @tailwindcss/typography. This covers approximately 90% of typical Tailwind CSS usage scenarios.

Here's what the Tailwind CSS team says about the standalone build:

If you're working on a project where you don't otherwise need Node.js or npm, the standalone build can be a great choice. If Tailwind was the only reason you had a package.json file, this is probably going to feel like a nicer solution.

Bugs and Suggestions

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Please use the issue tracker on GitHub:

https://github.com/timonweb/pytailwindcss/issues

2021 - 2025 (c) Tim Kamanin — A Full-Stack Django and Wagtail Developer