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I only do front-end dev occasionally, but these are my 3 goto articles that make me lean towards not using Tailwind: 1: https://www.zolkos.com/2025/12/03/vanil

by hakunin 25d ago

I only do front-end dev occasionally, but these are my 3 goto articles that make me lean towards not using Tailwind: 1: https://www.zolkos.com/2025/12/03/vanilla-css-is-all-you-need https://www.zolkos.com/2025/12/03/vanilla-css-is-all-you-nee... 2: https://www.joshwcomeau.com/css/subgrid/ https://www.joshwcomeau.com/css/subgrid/ 3: https://railsdesigner.com/custom-elements/ https://railsdesigner.com/custom-elements/ (more Rails specific)

bsimpson 25d ago
It's my primary role. I started using jsxstyle a dozen years ago alongside React and really liked the ability to style my components in situ without breaking browser architecture assumptions. I recently had to help out on a vibe coded project that inherited Tailwind (I think from Figma). It was a short assignment so I didn't dig that deep, but I don't understand the value prop of Tailwind. There was no obvious improvement over what I've been used to; in fact, it seemed a lot messier.
- hakunin 24d ago
  A lot of the time the choice comes down to abundance of resources and community support. So if we're comparing tools (e.g. jsxstyle vs tailwind) maybe Tailwind could actually win on those parameters (no actual idea, just guessing based on the number of stars jsxstyle has on Github), but if we're comparing vanilla to [any tool] then vanilla usually takes the cake.
  - bsimpson 24d ago
    I often feel like I'm the only person using jsxstyle, which is wild since it was done by Pete Hunt, same guy who spun React out of Instagram.
    - hakunin 24d ago
      If I was using React, I'd probably like this tool too. The best counter to "community supported" is "so conceptually simple and small that it doesn't need a community". But perhaps that's kind why I'm not big on React in general.
mock-possum 24d ago
I’m a full time front end dev, and I’ve basically accepted at this point that some people are really into tailwind, and some people are not. I’m not, and for a while I strongly preferred working with other devs who were also not… but at this point, LLMs have completely erased that distinction.

by hakunin 25d ago

bsimpson 25d ago

It's my primary role. I started using jsxstyle a dozen years ago alongside React and really liked the ability to style my components in situ without breaking browser architecture assumptions. I recently had to help out on a vibe coded project that inherited Tailwind (I think from Figma). It was a short assignment so I didn't dig that deep, but I don't understand the value prop of Tailwind. There was no obvious improvement over what I've been used to; in fact, it seemed a lot messier.

hakunin 24d ago
A lot of the time the choice comes down to abundance of resources and community support. So if we're comparing tools (e.g. jsxstyle vs tailwind) maybe Tailwind could actually win on those parameters (no actual idea, just guessing based on the number of stars jsxstyle has on Github), but if we're comparing vanilla to [any tool] then vanilla usually takes the cake.
- bsimpson 24d ago
  I often feel like I'm the only person using jsxstyle, which is wild since it was done by Pete Hunt, same guy who spun React out of Instagram.
  - hakunin 24d ago
    If I was using React, I'd probably like this tool too. The best counter to "community supported" is "so conceptually simple and small that it doesn't need a community". But perhaps that's kind why I'm not big on React in general.

mock-possum 24d ago

I’m a full time front end dev, and I’ve basically accepted at this point that some people are really into tailwind, and some people are not. I’m not, and for a while I strongly preferred working with other devs who were also not… but at this point, LLMs have completely erased that distinction.