A lightweight CSS utility library with no build step. Prewind provides the most useful utilities for everyday styling while encouraging a simpler, more maintainable approach to CSS. The entire library is ~7KB gzipped. No build step, no purging, no tree-shaking — just one CSS file.
If you know Tailwind, you already know Prewind. The utilities you reach for every day — flex, padding, margin, text color, background, borders, rounded corners, shadows — they're all here with the same class names. The only difference: use t-shirt sizes (p-md, gap-lg) instead of arbitrary numbers. Skip the animations and complex state variants, and you'll find that most of what you actually type in Tailwind works exactly the same way.
Created by Codepilot. Inspired by Tailwind CSS and Utopia.
Prewind follows a "Global First" approach to styling. Instead of reaching for utility classes by default, start with global CSS and get more specific only when needed:
-
Global CSS for global styles. Navigation links, typography defaults, form elements — things that should look the same everywhere belong in your global stylesheets.
-
Utility classes for one-offs. When you need to tweak spacing, change a color, or adjust layout for a specific element, use a utility class. This is where Prewind shines.
-
Inline styles for arbitrary values. If you need a margin of exactly 37px for one specific case, use a
styleattribute. Don't fight the platform.
This approach keeps your HTML readable. You won't end up with 30 classes on a single element.
Prewind works with the platform, not around it. CSS already has a cascade, variables, and specificity rules that work well — we don't need to reinvent them.
Create a styles.css file that sets up CSS layers, imports your theme and Prewind, and contains your global styles:
@layer reset, styles, prewind;
@import url("theme.css");
@import url("https://unpkg.com/prewindcss@1.2.9");
@layer styles {
body {
font-family: var(--font-body);
color: var(--black);
background: var(--white);
}
/* Your global styles go here */
}Then link to it in your HTML:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css" />That's it. The layer order ensures Prewind utility classes override your global styles when you need them to.
The theme.css import contains CSS variables for colors, spacing, fonts, and other design tokens. Run npx prewindcss theme to copy the default theme to your clipboard, then save it as theme.css and customize as needed. See the Theming section for details on all available variables.
Prewind includes a minimal CSS reset in the reset layer. It sets box-sizing: border-box on all elements, removes default margins and padding, makes images block-level and responsive, inherits fonts on form elements, and removes default button and link styling. You can see the full reset at the top of prewind.css.
All of prewind's design decisions flow through CSS variables. To customize your site's look, edit these variables. These variables aren't just for utility classes — you can reference them in your own CSS too. This keeps your global styles and utility classes consistent.
Prewind uses simple, memorable color names:
Brand colors for your primary palette:
--brand-1,--brand-1-light--brand-2,--brand-2-light--brand-3,--brand-3-light--brand-4,--brand-4-light
Neutral colors for things like text and backgrounds:
--black,--darker,--dark,--midtone,--light,--lighter,--white
Semantic colors for UI feedback:
--success,--success-light--info,--info-light--warning,--warning-light--error,--error-light--link--highlight
Prewind uses t-shirt sizes for spacing and typography: 3xs, 2xs, xs, sm, md, lg, xl, 2xl, 3xl, 4xl.
These aren't arbitrary — they're generated using the same math as Utopia. Each size scales fluidly with the viewport using CSS clamp(), and the proportional relationship between sizes stays constant. So when the viewport grows, md and lg both get bigger, but lg is always the same ratio larger than md.
This gives you responsive typography and spacing without writing media queries, and it enforces a consistent design system. You pick from a constrained set of sizes, which leads to more harmonious layouts than choosing arbitrary pixel values.
To generate custom fluid sizes for your project:
npx prewindcss text # Generate fluid typography scale
npx prewindcss space # Generate fluid spacing scaleEach command launches an interactive configurator where you can adjust:
- Viewport range (min/max)
- Base size at each viewport
- Scale ratio (using musical intervals like Major Third, Perfect Fifth, etc.)
The generated CSS is copied to your clipboard — just paste it into your theme variables.
Note: The t-shirt sizes used for borders (--border-sm, --border-lg), border radius (--rounded-sm, --rounded-lg), and shadows (shadow-sm, shadow-lg, are not fluid — they're fixed values you set manually in your theme variables.
Prewind is a lightweight Tailwind alternative. It's for projects where you want utility classes without the complexity.
Choose Prewind when:
- You don't want a build step
- You prefer a constrained design system with t-shirt sizes
- You're comfortable writing global CSS for global styles
- You want a smaller library that covers most common cases
Choose Tailwind when:
- You want utilities for everything (grid, animations, transforms, gradients)
- You need arbitrary values like
w-[347px] - You want comprehensive hover/focus/active/disabled variants
- You don't mind using a build system
Prewind intentionally excludes some things to stay lightweight and encourage better practices:
No grid utilities. Flexbox covers most layout needs. For complex grids, write CSS.
No animations, transitions, or transforms. These are powerful features that benefit from being defined in one place (your global CSS) rather than scattered across utility classes.
No predefined color palette. Tailwind ships with hundreds of color utilities like bg-sky-500. Prewind uses semantic color names like bg-brand-1 that you define yourself. You pick your own colors.
No arbitrary values. Instead of m-[37px], use style="margin: 37px". This keeps the utility class system constrained to your design tokens.
No ring utilities. Modern CSS supports outline-radius, so prewind uses outline utilities instead of the box-shadow workaround used for Tailwind ring utilities.
Limited variants. Hover variants exist for colors, background opacity, and cursor. Responsive variants exist for display, flexbox, and text alignment. That covers most real-world needs without exploding the file size.
The goal is useful utilities for most of what you need, most of the time — not coverage of every edge case.
These utility classes are unique to Prewind or behave differently than their Tailwind counterparts:
container— Uses CSSclamp()for fluid responsive width, unlike Tailwind's breakpoint-based container.max-w-text— Constrains width for optimal reading measure.max-w-form— Constrains width for form layouts.debug— Adds a dashed lime outline and subtle green background to visualize layout boundaries during development.revert— Resets all CSS properties to browser defaults usingall: revert.bg-opacity-{n}— Controls background opacity with values ranging from 0 to 100 in increments of 10.font-body,font-heading— Prewind uses semantic font family names instead of Tailwind'sfont-sans,font-serif,font-mono.
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
container |
margin-inline: auto; padding: var(--container-padding); width: clamp(360px, 100%, var(--container-max)) |
revert |
all: revert |
debug |
outline: 2px dashed lime; outline-offset: -2px; background: rgba(0, 255, 0, 0.05) |
appearance-none |
appearance: none |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
sr-only |
Visually hidden but accessible to screen readers |
not-sr-only |
Reverses sr-only |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
aspect-square |
aspect-ratio: 1 / 1 |
aspect-video |
aspect-ratio: 16 / 9 |
aspect-auto |
aspect-ratio: auto |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
backdrop-blur-sm |
backdrop-filter: blur(4px) |
backdrop-blur |
backdrop-filter: blur(8px) |
backdrop-blur-lg |
backdrop-filter: blur(16px) |
backdrop-blur-none |
backdrop-filter: none |
Background color classes use the --bg-opacity variable, allowing you to control opacity separately:
<div class="bg-brand-1 bg-opacity-50">50% opacity background</div>| Class | Property |
|---|---|
bg-{color} |
background: rgb(from var(--{color}) r g b / var(--bg-opacity, 1)) |
bg-opacity-{0-100} |
--bg-opacity: {value} |
Available colors: brand-1, brand-1-light, brand-2, brand-2-light, brand-3, brand-3-light, brand-4, brand-4-light, black, darker, dark, midtone, light, lighter, white, success, success-light, info, info-light, warning, warning-light, error, error-light, link, highlight
Opacity values: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100
Repeat:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
bg-repeat |
background-repeat: repeat |
bg-repeat-x |
background-repeat: repeat-x |
bg-repeat-y |
background-repeat: repeat-y |
bg-no-repeat |
background-repeat: no-repeat |
Size:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
bg-cover |
background-size: cover |
bg-contain |
background-size: contain |
bg-auto |
background-size: auto |
Position:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
bg-center |
background-position: center |
bg-top |
background-position: top |
bg-bottom |
background-position: bottom |
bg-left |
background-position: left |
bg-right |
background-position: right |
bg-left-top |
background-position: left top |
bg-left-bottom |
background-position: left bottom |
bg-right-top |
background-position: right top |
bg-right-bottom |
background-position: right bottom |
Attachment:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
bg-fixed |
background-attachment: fixed |
bg-local |
background-attachment: local |
bg-scroll |
background-attachment: scroll |
Clip:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
bg-clip-text |
background-clip: text |
Width:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
border |
border-width: var(--border); border-style: solid |
border-sm |
border-width: var(--border-sm); border-style: solid |
border-lg |
border-width: var(--border-lg); border-style: solid |
border-t |
Top border only (also -sm, -lg variants) |
border-r |
Right border only (also -sm, -lg variants) |
border-b |
Bottom border only (also -sm, -lg variants) |
border-l |
Left border only (also -sm, -lg variants) |
Radius:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
rounded-none |
border-radius: 0 |
rounded-sm |
border-radius: var(--rounded-sm) |
rounded |
border-radius: var(--rounded) |
rounded-lg |
border-radius: var(--rounded-lg) |
rounded-full |
border-radius: 9999px |
Style:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
border-solid |
border-style: solid |
border-dashed |
border-style: dashed |
border-dotted |
border-style: dotted |
border-none |
border: none |
Color:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
border-{color} |
border-color: var(--{color}) |
Same colors as backgrounds.
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
cursor-auto |
cursor: auto |
cursor-default |
cursor: default |
cursor-pointer |
cursor: pointer |
cursor-wait |
cursor: wait |
cursor-text |
cursor: text |
cursor-move |
cursor: move |
cursor-not-allowed |
cursor: not-allowed |
cursor-grab |
cursor: grab |
cursor-grabbing |
cursor: grabbing |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
block |
display: block |
inline-block |
display: inline-block |
inline |
display: inline |
flex |
display: flex |
inline-flex |
display: inline-flex |
hidden |
display: none |
contents |
display: contents |
Container:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
flex-row |
flex-direction: row |
flex-col |
flex-direction: column |
flex-row-reverse |
flex-direction: row-reverse |
flex-col-reverse |
flex-direction: column-reverse |
flex-wrap |
flex-wrap: wrap |
flex-nowrap |
flex-wrap: nowrap |
justify-start |
justify-content: flex-start |
justify-center |
justify-content: center |
justify-end |
justify-content: flex-end |
justify-between |
justify-content: space-between |
justify-around |
justify-content: space-around |
items-start |
align-items: flex-start |
items-center |
align-items: center |
items-end |
align-items: flex-end |
items-stretch |
align-items: stretch |
Item:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
self-start |
align-self: flex-start |
self-center |
align-self: center |
self-end |
align-self: flex-end |
self-stretch |
align-self: stretch |
flex-1 |
flex: 1 1 0% |
flex-auto |
flex: 1 1 auto |
flex-none |
flex: none |
flex-grow |
flex-grow: 1 |
flex-grow-0 |
flex-grow: 0 |
flex-shrink |
flex-shrink: 1 |
flex-shrink-0 |
flex-shrink: 0 |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
gap-{size} |
gap: var(--space-{size}) |
gap-x-{size} |
column-gap: var(--space-{size}) |
gap-y-{size} |
row-gap: var(--space-{size}) |
Sizes: 0, 3xs, 2xs, xs, sm, md, lg, xl, 2xl, 3xl, 4xl
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
list-none |
list-style-type: none |
list-disc |
list-style-type: disc |
list-decimal |
list-style-type: decimal |
list-inside |
list-style-position: inside |
list-outside |
list-style-position: outside |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
m-{size} |
margin: var(--space-{size}) |
mt-{size} |
margin-top: var(--space-{size}) |
mr-{size} |
margin-right: var(--space-{size}) |
mb-{size} |
margin-bottom: var(--space-{size}) |
ml-{size} |
margin-left: var(--space-{size}) |
mx-{size} |
margin-left and margin-right |
my-{size} |
margin-top and margin-bottom |
-mt-{size} |
Negative top margin |
-mr-{size} |
Negative right margin |
-mb-{size} |
Negative bottom margin |
-ml-{size} |
Negative left margin |
m-auto |
margin: auto |
mt-auto |
margin-top: auto |
mr-auto |
margin-right: auto |
mb-auto |
margin-bottom: auto |
ml-auto |
margin-left: auto |
mx-auto |
margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto |
my-auto |
margin-top: auto; margin-bottom: auto |
Sizes: 0, 3xs, 2xs, xs, sm, md, lg, xl, 2xl, 3xl, 4xl, full
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
object-contain |
object-fit: contain |
object-cover |
object-fit: cover |
object-fill |
object-fit: fill |
object-0 |
object-fit: none |
object-scale-down |
object-fit: scale-down |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
opacity-{0-100} |
opacity: {value} |
Values: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100
Prewind uses outlines instead of "ring" utilities. Modern CSS supports rounded outlines, so there's no need for the box-shadow workaround.
Width:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
outline |
outline-width: var(--border); outline-style: solid |
outline-sm |
outline-width: var(--border-sm); outline-style: solid |
outline-lg |
outline-width: var(--border-lg); outline-style: solid |
outline-0 |
outline-style: none |
Style:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
outline-solid |
outline-style: solid |
outline-dashed |
outline-style: dashed |
outline-dotted |
outline-style: dotted |
Color:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
outline-{color} |
outline-color: var(--{color}) |
Same colors as backgrounds and borders.
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
overflow-auto |
overflow: auto |
overflow-hidden |
overflow: hidden |
overflow-visible |
overflow: visible |
overflow-scroll |
overflow: scroll |
overflow-x-auto |
overflow-x: auto |
overflow-x-hidden |
overflow-x: hidden |
overflow-x-visible |
overflow-x: visible |
overflow-x-scroll |
overflow-x: scroll |
overflow-y-auto |
overflow-y: auto |
overflow-y-hidden |
overflow-y: hidden |
overflow-y-visible |
overflow-y: visible |
overflow-y-scroll |
overflow-y: scroll |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
p-{size} |
padding: var(--space-{size}) |
pt-{size} |
padding-top: var(--space-{size}) |
pr-{size} |
padding-right: var(--space-{size}) |
pb-{size} |
padding-bottom: var(--space-{size}) |
pl-{size} |
padding-left: var(--space-{size}) |
px-{size} |
padding-left and padding-right |
py-{size} |
padding-top and padding-bottom |
Sizes: 0, 3xs, 2xs, xs, sm, md, lg, xl, 2xl, 3xl, 4xl, full
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
pointer-events-none |
pointer-events: none |
pointer-events-auto |
pointer-events: auto |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
static |
position: static |
relative |
position: relative |
absolute |
position: absolute |
fixed |
position: fixed |
sticky |
position: sticky |
inset-0 |
top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0 |
top-0 |
top: 0 |
right-0 |
right: 0 |
bottom-0 |
bottom: 0 |
left-0 |
left: 0 |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
resize-none |
resize: none |
resize |
resize: both |
resize-y |
resize: vertical |
resize-x |
resize: horizontal |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
shadow-sm |
box-shadow: var(--shadow-sm) |
shadow |
box-shadow: var(--shadow) |
shadow-lg |
box-shadow: var(--shadow-lg) |
shadow-none |
box-shadow: none |
Width:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
w-0 |
width: 0 |
w-auto |
width: auto |
w-full |
width: 100% |
w-screen |
width: 100vw |
Height:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
h-0 |
height: 0 |
h-auto |
height: auto |
h-full |
height: 100% |
h-screen |
height: 100vh |
Min/Max:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
min-w-0 |
min-width: 0 |
min-w-full |
min-width: 100% |
min-w-screen |
min-width: 100vw |
max-w-0 |
max-width: 0 |
max-w-full |
max-width: 100% |
max-w-screen |
max-width: 100vw |
max-w-form |
max-width: var(--max-w-form) |
max-w-text |
max-width: var(--max-w-text) |
min-h-0 |
min-height: 0 |
min-h-full |
min-height: 100% |
min-h-screen |
min-height: 100vh |
max-h-0 |
max-height: 0 |
max-h-full |
max-height: 100% |
max-h-screen |
max-height: 100vh |
Color:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
text-{color} |
color: var(--{color}) |
Same colors as backgrounds.
Size:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
text-sm |
font-size: var(--text-sm) |
text-base |
font-size: var(--text-base) |
text-lg |
font-size: var(--text-lg) |
text-xl |
font-size: var(--text-xl) |
text-2xl |
font-size: var(--text-2xl) |
text-3xl |
font-size: var(--text-3xl) |
text-4xl |
font-size: var(--text-4xl) |
Alignment:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
text-left |
text-align: left |
text-center |
text-align: center |
text-right |
text-align: right |
text-justify |
text-align: justify |
Style:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
italic |
font-style: italic |
not-italic |
font-style: normal |
Decoration:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
underline |
text-decoration-line: underline |
line-through |
text-decoration-line: line-through |
no-underline |
text-decoration-line: none |
Weight:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
font-thin |
font-weight: var(--font-thin) |
font-normal |
font-weight: var(--font-normal) |
font-semibold |
font-weight: var(--font-semibold) |
font-bold |
font-weight: var(--font-bold) |
font-heavy |
font-weight: var(--font-heavy) |
Family:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
font-body |
font-family: var(--font-body) |
font-heading |
font-family: var(--font-heading) |
Line Height:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
leading-tight |
line-height: 1.25 |
leading-snug |
line-height: 1.375 |
leading-normal |
line-height: 1.5 |
leading-relaxed |
line-height: 1.625 |
Letter Spacing:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
tracking-tight |
letter-spacing: -0.025em |
tracking-normal |
letter-spacing: 0 |
tracking-wide |
letter-spacing: 0.025em |
Transform:
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
uppercase |
text-transform: uppercase |
lowercase |
text-transform: lowercase |
capitalize |
text-transform: capitalize |
normal-case |
text-transform: none |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
select-none |
user-select: none |
select-text |
user-select: text |
select-all |
user-select: all |
select-auto |
user-select: auto |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
align-baseline |
vertical-align: baseline |
align-top |
vertical-align: top |
align-middle |
vertical-align: middle |
align-bottom |
vertical-align: bottom |
align-text-top |
vertical-align: text-top |
align-text-bottom |
vertical-align: text-bottom |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
visible |
visibility: visible |
invisible |
visibility: hidden |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
whitespace-normal |
white-space: normal |
whitespace-nowrap |
white-space: nowrap |
whitespace-pre |
white-space: pre |
whitespace-pre-wrap |
white-space: pre-wrap |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
break-normal |
overflow-wrap: normal; word-break: normal |
break-words |
overflow-wrap: break-word |
break-all |
word-break: break-all |
truncate |
overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap |
| Class | Property |
|---|---|
z-0 |
z-index: 0 |
z-10 |
z-index: 10 |
z-20 |
z-index: 20 |
z-30 |
z-index: 30 |
z-40 |
z-index: 40 |
z-50 |
z-index: 50 |
z-60 |
z-index: 60 |
z-70 |
z-index: 70 |
z-80 |
z-index: 80 |
z-90 |
z-index: 90 |
z-100 |
z-index: 100 |
Hover variants are available for colors, background opacity, and cursor:
| Prefix | Example |
|---|---|
hover:text-{color} |
hover:text-brand-1 |
hover:bg-{color} |
hover:bg-brand-1 |
hover:bg-opacity-{value} |
hover:bg-opacity-50 |
hover:cursor-{type} |
hover:cursor-pointer |
Responsive variants are available for display, flexbox, and text alignment at four breakpoints:
| Prefix | Breakpoint |
|---|---|
sm: |
640px |
md: |
768px |
lg: |
1024px |
xl: |
1280px |
Available responsive utilities:
- Display:
hidden,block,inline-block,inline,flex,inline-flex - Flex direction:
flex-row,flex-col,flex-row-reverse,flex-col-reverse - Flex wrap:
flex-wrap,flex-nowrap - Justify:
justify-start,justify-center,justify-end,justify-between,justify-around - Align:
items-start,items-center,items-end,items-stretch - Text alignment:
text-left,text-center,text-right,text-justify
Example:
<div class="flex flex-col md:flex-row gap-md">
<div class="hidden lg:block">Visible on large screens</div>
</div>