tailwindcss
A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.
About
A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.
What detecting tailwindcss tells you about a site
Detecting tailwindcss tells you the site styles with utility classes compiled at build time rather than hand-written CSS or a runtime CSS-in-JS library. In a shipped bundle it usually surfaces via its companion utilities, and it signals a design system built on Tailwind's token scale.
Why the exact tailwindcss version matters
Tailwind v4 replaced the JavaScript config and PostCSS pipeline with a CSS-first, Oxide-engine setup — a major migration from v3. The exact version tells you which configuration model and which default class set the project uses, which matters when reading or auditing the styles.
tailwindcss in a real-world stack
When you find tailwindcss in a bundle, it rarely travels alone. clsx or tailwind-merge for conditional classes, and class-variance-authority plus Radix UI in shadcn/ui-style stacks.
Quick facts
npm install tailwindcssThis package powers Tailwind CSS
The tailwindcss package is the canonical implementation of Tailwind CSS. Sourcemap Explorer uses this exact npm package as the framework-level fingerprint when it flags Tailwind CSS on a page — both via the bundled node_modules/tailwindcss/ source paths and via the embedded package.json inside the JavaScript sourcemap.
How Sourcemap Explorer detects tailwindcss
tailwindcss ships as v4.3.3, published 2026-07-16 and carries 0 direct dependencies, 2,642 versions on the registry. Those exact numbers are the footprint Sourcemap Explorer matches when tailwindcss rides inside a deployed bundle — here is how the detection works.
We catch tailwindcss from two complementary signals: bundled source paths and the embedded package.json. Modern bundlers (webpack, Vite, esbuild, Rollup, Turbopack) preserve the original node_modules/tailwindcss/ paths inside the JavaScript sourcemap's sources[] array — that's the canonical signal. When the matching package.json is also captured in sourcesContent[], we read the exact version field — patch number included. No regex guessing, no version inference.
- 1
Confirm the site exposes sourcemaps
In DevTools Network, check the response headers of any application script for `SourceMap` or `X-SourceMap`. Failing that, fetch the script's last 4 KB and look for a `//# sourceMappingURL=` comment — that map is where the `tailwindcss` paths live.
- 2
Find the package in the bundle
Open DevTools → Network → reload. Click any application script and look at its sourcemap. Inside, search `sources[]` for entries matching `node_modules/tailwindcss/` — every match confirms the package is bundled. The matching `sourcesContent[i]` for `node_modules/tailwindcss/package.json` gives you the exact installed version.
- 3
Read the version directly from package.json
Run `jq -r '. as $m | $m.sources | to_entries[] | select(.value | endswith("node_modules/tailwindcss/package.json")) | $m.sourcesContent[.key] | fromjson | .version' bundle.js.map`. Sourcemap Explorer automates the same query in the popup.
Major releases of tailwindcss
When each major version first landed. Major bumps are where breaking changes live, so this timeline is the fastest way to date the tailwindcss version a site actually ships against the ecosystem.
Recent versions
tailwindcss README
Live mirror of the GitHub README, for reference. Updated whenever the repo's default branch changes.
A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.
Documentation
For full documentation, visit tailwindcss.com.
Community
For help, discussion about best practices, or feature ideas:
Discuss Tailwind CSS on GitHub
Contributing
If you're interested in contributing to Tailwind CSS, please read our contributing docs before submitting a pull request.
FAQ
What is tailwindcss used for?
A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.
How can I tell if a website is using tailwindcss?
Open the page in Chrome with the Sourcemap Explorer extension installed and read the Stack tab. We catch `tailwindcss` from two complementary signals: `node_modules/tailwindcss/` paths inside the JavaScript sourcemap, and the embedded `package.json` we read for exact-version detection. Without the extension you can do the same lookup manually in DevTools — the steps are listed in the "How Sourcemap Explorer detects" section above.
How do I find out which version of tailwindcss a website is running?
Read it straight from the site's JavaScript sourcemap. When a build ships source maps, the bundled `tailwindcss/package.json` carries the exact `version` string — Sourcemap Explorer extracts it in one click on the Stack tab, and you can do it by hand in DevTools by opening the `.map` file and searching for `node_modules/tailwindcss/package.json`. That is far more reliable than inferring the version from an asset-hash or a `?ver=` query string, which is all surface-level detectors have to go on. The current npm release is 4.3.3, but real deployments frequently run an older pinned version — which is exactly why reading the bundled number matters.
What is the latest version of tailwindcss?
4.3.3, as published on the npm registry. The "Recent versions" table on this page lists the most recent 8 releases with their release dates. Sourcemap Explorer reports the version actually bundled into a site, which can lag the latest release by months on real-world deployments.
Is tailwindcss actively maintained?
Very actively maintained — the last release shipped within the past three months. The last published release was 2026-07-16. Source code: https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss.
What is the relationship between tailwindcss and Tailwind CSS?
tailwindcss is the canonical npm package for Tailwind CSS. Sourcemap Explorer treats finding `tailwindcss` in a bundle as the framework-level signal that Tailwind CSS is on the page, and the page you're reading is the canonical Sourcemap Explorer entry for the package itself.
Where can I read more?
Project homepage: https://tailwindcss.com. Source code: https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss. Published on npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/tailwindcss. Licensed as MIT.
Detected by Sourcemap Explorer
When a bundle ships sourcemaps, we read the embedded package.json for tailwindcss and report the precise version (the registry's latest is v4.3.3, published 2026-07-16; the bundled copy is often older). Without sourcemaps, an import / require in the page's scripts is enough to flag it.