# forge-tailwind
Use [Tailwind CSS](https://tailwindcss.com/) with [Django](https://www.djangoproject.com/) *without* requiring JavaScript or npm.
Made possible by the [Tailwind standalone CLI](https://tailwindcss.com/blog/standalone-cli).
```console
$ forge tailwind
Usage: forge tailwind [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...
Tailwind CSS
Options:
--help Show this message and exit.
Commands:
compile Compile a Tailwind CSS file
init Install Tailwind, create a tailwind.config.js...
update Update the Tailwind CSS version
```
## Installation
First, install `forge-tailwind` from [PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/forge-tailwind/):
```sh
pip install forge-tailwind
```
Create a new `tailwind.config.js` file in your project root:
```sh
forge tailwind init
```
This will also create a `tailwind.css` file at `static/src/tailwind.css` where additional CSS can be added.
You can customize where these files are located if you need to,
but this is the default (requires `STATICFILES_DIRS = [BASE_DIR / "static"]`).
The `src/tailwind.css` file is then compiled into `dist/tailwind.css` by running `tailwind compile`:
```sh
forge tailwind compile
```
When you're working locally, add `--watch` to automatically compile as changes are made:
```sh
forge tailwind compile --watch
```
Then include the compiled CSS in your base template `<head>`:
```html
<link rel="stylesheet" href="{% static 'dist/tailwind.css' %}">
```
In your repo you will notice a new `.forge` directory that contains `tailwind` (the standalone CLI binary) and `tailwind.version` (to track the version currently installed).
You should add `.forge` to your `.gitignore` file.
## Updating Tailwind
This package manages the Tailwind versioning by comparing `.forge/tailwind.version` to the `FORGE_TAILWIND_VERSION` variable that is injected into your `tailwind.config.js` file.
```js
const FORGE_TAILWIND_VERSION = "3.0.24"
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {},
},
plugins: [
require("@tailwindcss/forms"),
],
}
```
When you run `tailwind compile`,
it will automatically check whether your local installation needs to be updated and will update it if necessary.
You can use the `update` command to update your project to the latest version of Tailwind:
```sh
tailwind update
```
## Adding custom CSS
If you need to actually write some CSS,
it should be done in `app/static/src/tailwind.css`.
```css
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
/* Add your own "components" here */
.btn {
@apply bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white;
}
@tailwind utilities;
/* Add your own "utilities" here */
.bg-pattern-stars {
background-image: url("/static/images/stars.png");
}
```
[Read the Tailwind docs for more about using custom styles →](https://tailwindcss.com/docs/adding-custom-styles)
## Deployment
If possible, you should add `static/dist/tailwind.css` to your `.gitignore` and run the `forge tailwind compile --minify` command as a part of your deployment pipeline.
When you run `forge tailwind compile`, it will automatically check whether the Tailwind standalone CLI has been installed, and install it if it isn't.
When using Forge on Heroku, we do this for you automatically in our [Forge buildpack](https://github.com/forgepackages/heroku-buildpack-forge/blob/master/bin/files/post_compile).