Next.js and Tailwind CSS Setup Complete Guide (2022)

Welcome to this complete guide on Nextjs and Tailwind CSS Setup! In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the steps of creating a new Next.js project, installing and configuring Tailwind CSS, and using it to style our components.

But first, let’s take a moment to introduce Next.js and Tailwind CSS and explain why you might want to use them together.

Next.js is a popular JavaScript framework for building server-rendered React applications. It provides a simple, lightweight approach to server-side rendering, automatic code splitting, and optimized performance out of the box. If you’re familiar with React, you’ll find that Next.js is easy to pick up and offers a powerful set of tools for building modern web applications.

Tailwind CSS, on the other hand, is a utility-first CSS framework that provides a large set of pre-defined classes for styling your HTML elements. Instead of defining your own custom styles, you can use these classes to apply styles directly to your elements, saving you time and effort. Tailwind CSS is highly customizable, allowing you to define your own styles and override the default ones as needed.

By combining Next.js and Tailwind CSS, you can build fast, responsive, and stylish web applications with minimal effort. In this guide, we’ll show you how to get started with these tools and start building your own Next.js projects with Tailwind CSS.

Before we begin, it’s worth noting that this tutorial assumes you have a basic familiarity with JavaScript and CSS. If you’re new to these technologies, you may want to take some time to learn the fundamentals before diving into this tutorial.

With that out of the way, let’s get started!

Setting up a Next.js project

Now that we’ve introduced Next.js and Tailwind CSS, it’s time to get started on our project of Nextjs and Tailwind CSS Setup. The first step is to create a new Next.js project using the create-next-app command-line utility.

To do this, you’ll need to have Node.js and npm installed on your machine. If you don’t have these tools already, you can download the latest version of Node.js from the official website and follow the instructions to install it.

Once you have Node.js and npm set up, open a terminal window and run the following command:

npx create-next-app my-app
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

This will create a new Next.js project called my-app in a new directory with the same name. The create-next-app utility will handle setting up the necessary files and dependencies for you, including the latest version of React and Next.js.

Once the project has been created, navigate to the project directory and start the development server by running the following command:

cd my-app
npm run dev
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

This will start the development server and open a new browser window with the starter page for your Next.js project. You should see a message saying “Welcome to Next.js” along with a link to the documentation.

At this point, you have a working Next.js project up and running. You can start building your application by modifying the files in the pages directory and adding your own components and styles.

There are other ways to create a Next.js project as well, such as manually setting up a package.json file or using a different tool like Next CLI. However, using the create-next-app utility is the simplest and quickest way to get started, and it’s what we’ll be using in this tutorial.

Installing and configuring Tailwind CSS

The next part of our Nextjs and Tailwind CSS Setup is to install and configure Tailwind CSS. To do this, we’ll need to install the Tailwind CSS npm package and create a configuration file for our styles.

To install Tailwind CSS, open a terminal window and navigate to your Next.js project directory. Then run the following command:

npm install tailwindcss
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

This will install the latest version of Tailwind CSS and add it to your project’s dependencies.

Next, we’ll create a configuration file for Tailwind CSS. This file, called tailwind.config.js, allows you to customize the default styles and add your own styles to the framework.

To create the configuration file, run the following command:

npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
npx tailwindcss init -p
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

This will create a new file called tailwind.config.js and postcss.config.js in the root of your project. Open tailwind.config.js in your text editor and you’ll see the default configuration for Tailwind CSS.

By default, the configuration file includes a set of predefined styles called “utility classes” that you can use to style your HTML elements. You can also define your own custom styles using the @apply directive and override the default styles as needed.

Add the paths to all of your template files in your tailwind.config.js file.

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

To apply the styles from Tailwind CSS to your Next.js project, you’ll need to import the styles into a global stylesheet or apply them to specific components. There are a few different ways to do this, depending on your preferences and the structure of your project.

For example, you might create a new stylesheet called globals.css and import the styles from Tailwind CSS into it like this:

@import 'tailwindcss/base';
@import 'tailwindcss/components';
@import 'tailwindcss/utilities';
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Then, in your _app.js file, you can import the global stylesheet and apply it to your application like this:

import '../styles/globals.css';

function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }) {
  return <Component {...pageProps} />;
}

export default MyApp;
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

You can now apply the styles directly to your components using the utility classes provided by Tailwind CSS. For example, you might add a class of text-red-500 to a paragraph element to give it a red text color:

<p class="text-red-500">This text is red</p>
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

There are many other customization options available with Tailwind CSS, and we’ll explore some of these in the next section. For now, let’s move on to applying these styles to our Next.js project.

You can check out the code here: Next with Tailwind (codedamn.com)

Customizing the styles with Tailwind CSS

The next step in our Nextjs and Tailwind CSS Setup is to start styling our components. In this section, we’ll explore some of the options available for customizing the styles with Tailwind CSS.

One of the key features of Tailwind CSS is its large set of utility classes, which allow you to apply styles directly to your HTML elements. These classes are organized by category (e.g., text, background, border, etc.) and take the form of {category}-{value}, where the category is the type of style being applied and the value is the specific style.

For example, to apply a red text color to a paragraph element, you might use the text-red-500 class:

<p class="text-red-500">This text is red</p>
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

You can use multiple utility classes on a single element to apply multiple styles at once. For example, to give a button element a blue background color and white text, you might use the bg-blue-500 and text-white classes:

<button class="bg-blue-500 text-white">Click me</button>
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

In addition to the utility classes, Tailwind CSS also provides the @apply directive, which allows you to define your own custom styles and apply them to your elements. This can be useful if you want to create more complex styles or reuse the same styles across multiple elements.

For example, you might define a custom class called rounded-lg like this:

@layer components {
    .rounded-lg {
        @apply rounded p-3;
    }
}
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Then you can apply this class to an element like this:

<button class="bg-blue-500 text-white rounded-lg">Click me</button>
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Tailwind CSS also supports a number of plugins and advanced features, such as responsive styles, hover and focus states, and background gradients. You can find more information about these features in the official documentation: Tailwind CSS.

You can check the code here: Customizing Next with Tailwind (codedamn.com)

In conclusion, Tailwind CSS provides a flexible and powerful set of tools for styling your Next.js components. Whether you prefer using the utility classes or defining your own custom styles, you’ll find that Tailwind CSS makes it easy to create beautiful and consistent designs for your applications.

Conclusion

In this complete guide of Nextjs and Tailwind CSS Setup, we’ve covered the steps of setting up a Next.js project with Tailwind CSS and using it to style our components. We’ve covered how to create a new Next.js project, install and configure Tailwind CSS, and customize the styles using the utility classes and the @apply directive.

We’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible with Next.js and Tailwind CSS, and there’s still a lot more to explore and learn. To continue your journey with these tools, you might want to check out the official documentation for Next.js and Tailwind CSS. There are also many online resources and tutorials available to help you learn more about these tools and how to use them in your projects.

I encourage you to experiment with Next.js and Tailwind CSS on your own projects and see what you can create. With a little practice and creativity, you’ll be building fast, responsive, and stylish web applications in no time.

Thank you for following along with this tutorial. I hope you’ve found it helpful and that you’re ready to start building your own Next.js projects with Tailwind CSS.