Web Components Tailwind Starter Kit

Overview:

The Tailwind web components starter kit is a tool designed to facilitate the development of web components using Tailwind CSS. Despite the challenges of integrating Tailwind and web components, this starter kit provides a simple and elegant solution without the need for hacks or unusual technologies. It boasts no dependencies and is based on the lit-element library.

Features:

• Tailwind Element: The starter kit provides a TailwindElement class that extends the functionality of LitElement, allowing for seamless integration of Tailwind CSS and custom styles.
• Separate Style Import: To maintain separation between CSS and logic, the starter kit requires styles to be imported from a separate file. This also allows for the use of CSS or SCSS.
• Scoped Styles: By adding the “?inline” query parameter to the file path, the styles are scoped within the component, preventing them from being added to the head of the HTML.
• Easy Setup: Initializing the project involves running a few simple commands using pnpm, making it quick and easy to get started.
• Customization: Developers have the option to clone the repository and modify the files in the shared folder to suit their specific needs.

Installation:

To install and set up the Tailwind web components starter kit, follow these steps:

1. Run pnpm install to install the necessary dependencies. This only needs to be done once.
2. Run pnpm start to start the server and run the project.
3. If you want to develop the library further, run pnpm build to build the project, and then copy the static assets to the desired location.

For more control over the project, you can also:

1. Copy the files from the shared folder, including tailwind.element.ts which extends the LitElement to add Tailwind support, tailwind.global.css which includes the Tailwind base classes into each component, and globals.d.ts which avoids TypeScript errors when importing CSS/SCSS files.
2. Copy the relevant sections from the package.json, postcss.config.js, tailwind.config.js, and tsconfig.js files to your own project.

Summary:

The Tailwind web components starter kit offers a seamless solution for integrating Tailwind CSS and web components using common technologies. With no dependencies and based on the lit-element library, it provides a straightforward way to develop web components with Tailwind styling. By separating CSS from logic and offering scoped styles, it offers flexibility and maintainability. The starter kit has been used to implement a web session player for an open source SaaS browserbot and welcomes contributions and feedback from the community.