Unable to Run npx tailwindcss init -p - "Could Not Determine Executable to Run"

[abderrahimlaribi]

I am encountering an error while trying to initialize a Tailwind CSS configuration in my project using the command:

npx tailwindcss init -p

The error message I get is:

npm ERR! could not determine executable to run
npm ERR! A complete log of this run can be found in:
C:\Users\DELL\AppData\Local\npm-cache_logs\2025-01-24T16_26_01_565Z-debug-0.log

What I've Tried:
Installed the dependencies using:
npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer

This was successful, and I verified that they were added to devDependencies in my package.json.

Looked in the .bin directory under node_modules but couldn't find the tailwindcss executable.

Any suggestions or insights into resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[wongjn]

The init command no longer exists in v4. Consider checking the installation documentation that is most relevant to your project to integrate Tailwind v4.

If you are trying to use v3, ensure the version qualifier is used:

$ npm install -D tailwindcss@3 postcss autoprefixer
$ npx tailwindcss init -p

[Pushkar026]

thank you so much bro

[MrHanestein]

Thank you

[nicoderr]

Thank you so much, it workeddd!!!

[Rohit02Jaiswal]

Thanks for clearing the confusion !!

[jhzrmx]

ShadCN should also consider updating their docs after this update. Issue: shadcn-ui/ui#6504

[adixshrma1]

It is because tailwind documentation has changed, Please install tailwind with the new guidelines

[KaiZenSpace]

But what happened to the tailwind.config.js?
Normally the init command created that file.

[wongjn]

You don't need it anymore, config is in your CSS file now.

[KaiZenSpace]

Yes I found this here:
https://tailwindcss.com/blog/tailwindcss-v4#css-first-configuration

_One of the biggest changes in Tailwind CSS v4.0 is the shift from configuring your project in JavaScript to configuring it in CSS.

Instead of a tailwind.config.js file, you can configure all of your customizations directly in the CSS file where you import Tailwind, giving you one less file to worry about in your project..._

Thank you!

[jishnupn04]

So for someone who needs to implement shadcn components,they need to use tailwind v3 right?Since shadcn requires the tailwind.config.js.

[wongjn]

You can still load a v3 config in v4 via the @config directive.

[sturmenta]

for anyone trying to use tailwindcss outside a npm project, you can install globally with:

how to install and configure tailwindCSS executable?

• tailwind docs

# download tailwind binary and move to "~/.tailwindcss/bin"
mkdir ~/.tailwindcss; cd ~/.tailwindcss/
mkdir bin; cd bin
# this works for arm64, check docs for other arch
curl -sLO https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases/latest/download/tailwindcss-macos-arm64
chmod +x tailwindcss-macos-arm64
mv tailwindcss-macos-arm64 tailwindcss

• add to your .zshrc or .bashrc:

# tailwindcss
export PATH=$PATH:~/.tailwindcss/bin

now you can use tailwindcss

tailwindcss --help

[MondaSamuel]

watch this tutorial on how to fix it fast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m9jkqXEc28

[sturmenta]

to use tailwindcss outside a npm project