I’ve been using Tailwind CSS for a while now and I love it. It’s a great way to build web applications quickly and efficiently. It also plays nicely with tools like ChatGPT and other AI-powered workflows.
Recently, I started a new project where I just needed a single index.html file to display some data. I wanted to use Tailwind CSS but without adding a full build system like Vite or Webpack.
That’s when I discovered the Tailwind CSS standalone binary.
Tailwind CSS Standalone Binary
The Tailwind CSS standalone binary lets you use Tailwind in your project without installing Node.js, PostCSS, or any bundler. It’s a lightweight Bun-powered CLI tool that includes everything you need to process Tailwind classes.
How to Use It
First, download the binary for your platform from Tailwind’s GitHub Releases.
Once downloaded, make it executable and run it like this:
./tailwindcss-macos-arm64 -i ./src/input.css -o ./dist/output.css --minify
This will generate a minified CSS file in the dist folder.
Building with Makefile
I’m a big fan of make. It’s a simple way to automate build steps without adding more tools.
So, I wrote a Makefile to handle Tailwind CSS builds automatically.
Here’s the Makefile from my repo: moni/Makefile
This script will:
- Detect your platform
- Download the correct Tailwind binary if missing
- Compile your CSS with minification
Run make to build everything.
Conclusion
Using Tailwind’s standalone binary keeps things simple and dependency-free. Pairing it with a Makefile gives you a clean, reproducible way to build your CSS without relying on Node or a bundler.
For small projects, static sites, or quick experiments, this setup is a perfect match.