> The immediate problem I hit was that tailwind essentially requires a build;
1. If you don't want to build something, you don't need Tailwind. https://every-layout.dev/ will get you very far (well, it will get you very far regardless of what you use for CSS)
2. "No build" is a mantra and a cult. There's nothing bad about building your final app. The problem is that the web made it extremely complex.
Re:Mesh: I tried Htmx, then ditched it
by halfcat on Tuesday September 23, 2025 @06:13PM
(#45353456)
I’ve use Tailwind standalone CLI with non-node projects (Django, etc) and it’s always worked well.
But: Using the Tailwind standalone CLI is a build step. Which means you're no longer no-build.
Re:Mesh: I tried Htmx, then ditched it
by yawaramin on Tuesday September 23, 2025 @08:38PM
(#45354744)
Bulma doesn't require a build, and works quite well.
Re:Mesh: I tried Htmx, then ditched it
by kubafu on Wednesday September 24, 2025 @02:30AM
(#45356987)
I've been doing no-build apps for a couple years now and it's been a great ride. The thing is you need to stick to the basics of the web, which tailwind isn't.
That's just my $0.02, some upsides, some downsides, it may not work for everyone.
The immediate problem I hit was that tailwind essentially requires a build; at the most basic level because you don't want to bundle properties that your app isn't using, but at a more sophisticated level, because properties like `md:flex` or `max-w-[100px]` intrinsically demand some amount of dynamism in their generation. I played around with re-creating a functional no-build subset of tailwind, but it quickly hit many-many dozens of kilobytes while being unable to cover even a small subset of Tailwind's capability.
So, no tailwind, which I feel is a major loss in productivity. I didn't end up pursuing the dream further; a hyper-minimal vite app, even just using basic HTML & CSS, feels to me a very small price to pay given all the benefits it carries.