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

Last updated April 23, 2026

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

npm

yarn

bun

Terminal

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

Configuring Tailwind v3

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

tailwind.config.js

/** @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:

app/globals.css

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

Import the CSS file in your root layout:

app/layout.tsx

JavaScriptTypeScript

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.

app/page.tsx

JavaScriptTypeScript

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.

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