How to install Tailwind CSS v3 in your Next.js application

This guide will walk you through how to install Tailwind CSS v3 in your Next.js application.

Good to know: For the latest Tailwind 4 setup, see the Tailwind CSS setup instructions.

Installing Tailwind v3

Install Tailwind CSS and its peer dependencies, then run the init command to generate both tailwind.config.js and postcss.config.js files:

pnpm add -D tailwindcss@^3 postcss autoprefixer
npx tailwindcss init -p

Configuring Tailwind v3

Configure your template paths in your tailwind.config.js file:

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
module.exports = {
  content: [
    './app/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx,mdx}',
    './pages/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx,mdx}',
    './components/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx,mdx}',
  ],
  theme: {
    extend: {},
  },
  plugins: [],
}

Add the Tailwind directives to your global CSS file:

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

Import the CSS file in your root layout:

import './globals.css'
 
export default function RootLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
}) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  )
}

Using classes

After installing Tailwind CSS and adding the global styles, you can use Tailwind's utility classes in your application.

export default function Page() {
  return <h1 className="text-3xl font-bold underline">Hello, Next.js!</h1>
}

Usage with Turbopack

As of Next.js 13.1, Tailwind CSS and PostCSS are supported with Turbopack.