Vite/React build with TailwindCSS v4 not purging unused classes.

[ckdev88]

Hi everyone.

On beforehand, thanks for taking the time :)
Maybe I'm just really overlooking something, but I can't see anyone talking about this "issue".

My Issue: I can't get the build npm run build of Vite/React/TailwindCSS to purge unused classes, meaning my ./dist/assets/index-XXX.css is huge.

The dev build is working, applying the Tailwind classes correctly.

I just did the Vite setup (v6.0.11) through ~ npm create vite@latest, with React and TypeScript, as per instructions on https://vite.dev/guide/#scaffolding-your-first-vite-project

And the Tailwind setup, as per instructions on https://tailwindcss.com/docs/installation/using-vite

package.json:

  "name": "acme",
  "private": true,
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "build": "tsc -b && vite build",
    "lint": "eslint .",
    "preview": "vite preview"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@tailwindcss/vite": "^4.0.0",
    "react": "^18.3.1",
    "react-dom": "^18.3.1",
    "tailwindcss": "^4.0.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@eslint/js": "^9.17.0",
    "@types/react": "^18.3.18",
    "@types/react-dom": "^18.3.5",
    "@vitejs/plugin-react-swc": "^3.5.0",
    "eslint": "^9.17.0",
    "eslint-plugin-react-hooks": "^5.0.0",
    "eslint-plugin-react-refresh": "^0.4.16",
    "globals": "^15.14.0",
    "typescript": "~5.6.2",
    "typescript-eslint": "^8.18.2",
    "vite": "^6.0.5"
  }
}

Does anybody know more about this?

Thank you.

[wongjn]

Do you have a project we could look at please? Could you be more specific when you say it is "huge"? Do you have some examples of unused classes?

[ckdev88]

yes, it's here: https://github.com/ckdev88/acme

Edit: sorry, by "huge" i mean 19kb, but what mostly stands out to me is that i see all the colors I am not using, like --color-lime-500:oklch(.768 .233 130.85);--color-lime-600:oklch(.648 .2 131.684);-

[ckdev88]

My apologies, but thank you very much,

I overlooked something :( The colors in the build are done differently than in Tailwind 3 where I would not get the full palette by default, this must have confused me.

[wongjn]

Yep, all the theme variables being included is by design: https://tailwindcss.com/docs/theme#using-your-theme-variables

[blry]

@wongjn can we disable them? If not used - do not include

[wongjn]

You can disable them all and then reinstate the ones you need: https://tailwindcss.com/docs/theme#overriding-the-default-theme