Tailwind v4: What Actually Changed

Tailwind v4 moves configuration into CSS. Design tokens become theme variables and the build stops needing a JavaScript config for most projects.

Tokens live in CSS

@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-cream: #fffaf4;
  --color-ink: #2b2430;
  --font-display: "Fraunces", serif;
}

Every token generates utilities — bg-cream, text-ink, font-display — without touching a config file.

Plugins are one line

@plugin "@tailwindcss/typography";

Why it feels faster

The new engine is written for speed, and content detection is automatic. On this site the whole stylesheet builds in a few hundred milliseconds.