How To Use Tailwind CSS With Vue And Vite

If you are a noob developer and want to learn how to use Tailwind CSS, Vue, and Vite together, you have come to the right place. Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that makes it easy to design and build modern web applications. Vue is a progressive JavaScript framework for building user interfaces, and Vite is a next-generation front-end build tool that is fast and efficient. In this article, we will walk through the steps to set up and use Tailwind CSS with Vue and Vite.

Step 1: Set Up a Vue Project

The first step is to set up a new Vue project. You can do this by using the Vue CLI (Command Line Interface) or by manually creating the project structure. For this tutorial, we will use the Vue CLI to create a new project. Open your terminal and run the following command:


$ npm install -g @vue/cli
$ vue create vue-tailwind


Follow the prompts to set up your new Vue project. Once the project is created, navigate to the project directory in your terminal and run the following command to start the development server:


$ cd vue-tailwind
$ npm run serve


Step 2: Install Tailwind CSS

Next, we need to install Tailwind CSS and its dependencies. In your project directory, run the following command:


$ npm install tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer


After the installation is complete, create a new file called tailwind.config.js in the root of your project and add the following configuration:


// tailwind.config.js

module.exports = {
purge: [],
darkMode: false, // or 'media' or 'class'
theme: {
extend: {},
},
variants: {},
plugins: [],
}


Step 3: Configure Tailwind CSS

After installing Tailwind CSS, we need to configure it to work with our Vue project. Create a new file called postcss.config.js in the root of your project and add the following configuration:


// postcss.config.js

module.exports = {
plugins: {
tailwindcss: {},
autoprefixer: {},
},
}


Now create a new file called tailwind.css in the src folder of your project and add the following:


@import 'tailwindcss/base';
@import 'tailwindcss/components';
@import 'tailwindcss/utilities';


Lastly, we need to import the tailwind.css file into our main.js file to apply the styles to our Vue components:


// src/main.js

import { createApp } from 'vue'
import App from './App.vue'
import './tailwind.css'

createApp(App).mount('#app')


Step 4: Add Tailwind CSS to Your Vue Components

Now that Tailwind CSS is set up and configured, you can start using it in your Vue components. Open any Vue file in the src folder of your project and add Tailwind CSS classes to style your elements. For example:





Step 5: Build and Deploy Your Project

Once you have finished styling your Vue components with Tailwind CSS, you can build your project for production. In your terminal, run the following command:


$ npm run build


This will create a dist folder in your project directory, which contains the optimized and minified files for deployment. You can then deploy your Vue project to a web server or hosting platform of your choice.

And there you have it! You have successfully set up and used Tailwind CSS with Vue and Vite. You can now create beautiful and responsive web applications with ease. Happy coding!