
Show HN: Tailwind Builder – online editor for the Tailwind CSS framework - kemyd
https://tailwind.build/
======
kemyd
Hi!

I am the author of Tailwind Builder. I launched it today!

It's the first genuinely advanced online editor for the Tailwind CSS
framework.

I based it on the same technology I used to start
[https://bootstrapshuffle.com](https://bootstrapshuffle.com) and
[https://bulma.dev](https://bulma.dev)

Features:

* 140 ready-to-use HTML components (drag & drop).

* All Tailwind settings are available with convenient pickers.

* Autocomplete for CSS classes.

* Live edit & online preview.

* You can export code to HTML and CSS (compiled version) and Pug and Tailwind config (sources).

* Easy build ("npm run build")

Any feedback is welcome!

~~~
jdefelice
How do you plan to compete with
[https://www.tailwindui.com/](https://www.tailwindui.com/) or do you see it
working alongside?

~~~
slig
How is there a competition when the link you provided is a landing page with
an input box to "sign up [...] to find out when it's ready"?

~~~
jdefelice
It's going to be a component library by the author of Tailwind, Adam Wathan. I
guess my comment needed some context.

~~~
slig
Thanks, I did not know that!

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gitgud
I've been using Tailwind for a few months now and this is the perfect example
of how flexible and powerful _" functional css"_ can be.

Components truly encapsulate _everything_ , by including all styling in the
HTML, the only dependency is tailwind.css.

Although the markup looks messy (at first), you get the advantage of high
portability of components, high flexibility and super fast development time.

~~~
dmix
Not having to hunt down random nested CSS to fix styling is worth the cost of
the slightly ugly and verbose class based functional approach.

You can copy any other Tailwind block of code and it should work predictably
on your site. Which is very rare in the CSS world.

The hardest part of this is forcing yourself to use the system instead of side
stepping it.

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milsebg
I really like the idea of life time purchases rather than subscriptions.

To minimize the risk that your site goes down (or is economically unstable at
some point in time), you could consider making this a paid downloadable app.

~~~
kemyd
In fact, you can buy lifetime license and use it on
[https://tailwind.build](https://tailwind.build) &
[https://bootstrapshuffle.com](https://bootstrapshuffle.com) &
[https://bulma.dev](https://bulma.dev)

If my sites go down, I'll release a self-hosted version of the service, so
you'll be able to run the editor on your local machine.

~~~
camkego
I'd pay double for a self-hosted version, that isn't phone-home dependent.
This removes a huge risk that the service will one day disappear. (If your
sites go down you may not be able to release a self-hosted version)

------
Brajeshwar
I'm yet to try it, so pardon my question.

Does it generate a tailwindconfig.js that I can replace in any tailwind
project?

A good friend introduced me to Tailwind about a year back but I was not sure
where to fit in. I've been wary of rolling out a totally new custom framework
from scratch but also do not want to wander anywhere near the paths that can
lead to a Bootstrap-esque framework.

About a month back, I decided to try out TailwindCSS myself before deciding
the fate of the next 5+ years of front-end styling of a big-enough company. I
was totally amazed with what it can do. So, my thumb rule was TailwindCSS +
something to purge the un-used styles. I can even expose the TailwindConfig to
other apps (React, Custom, etc) so they can just pick up the 'Styleguide' and
start off in whatever they are writing.

The best part I realized that I can optionally drop Sass if I want and stick
with just plain CSS/CSS4 + Tailwind and let PostCSS handle the processing.

~~~
kemyd
Yes, it exports the Tailwind config. I recommend you to try our demo :)

By the way, you can try [https://tailwind.build](https://tailwind.build)
[https://bootstrapshuffle.com](https://bootstrapshuffle.com) and
[https://bulma.dev](https://bulma.dev) (all exports demo project without an
account, so easy test) and compare which framework (structure, config) works
for you best!

------
martypitt
Congrats on your launch - this is fantastic, and I'll be signing up for a pro
account. To echo what others have said here, having an $89 lifetime option
made this an easy decision -- great value-for-money price point, and I don't
have to worry about forgetting to unsubscribe from a monthly recurring bill.

I'd love a local editor or support for offline editing, as I often work whilst
communiting, with spotty connectivity.

Congrats again

------
jmuguy
Very nice, I like that you're including access to your other products under
the same account/license

------
timboslice
Love this. For those of us with existing colors, plugins etc in our config,
any chance you plan on allowing import of existing configs? Even if just for
the colors in the beginning

------
andrewstuart
My friend and I invented this category of product a few years ago but it
didn't work out for various reasons mainly personal and business.
[https://www.redferret.net/?p=45278](https://www.redferret.net/?p=45278) (we
were working as a project team on various projects, in this case it was my
idea and he wrote all the code and came up with the idea of the drag and drop
site builder - basically he was the inventor).

Since then there has been an explosion of site builders following this exact
pattern.

This is a really nice implementation and looks like he has worked out the
business model too. Very nice job.

------
jstummbillig
While I am sure that people will be using this, this product simply and
completely disregards what Tailwind was designed for: Rapid development by
building from utilities in just HTML and extracting into CSS components later.
To quote from the Tailwind website: "Instead of opinionated predesigned
components, Tailwind provides low-level utility classes that let you build
completely custom designs without ever leaving your HTML."

You can agree or disagree with the paradigm -- but if you disagree, there
really is no point in using Tailwind :)

~~~
milsebg
I really don't think this is a contradiction:

First, Tailwind encourages you to use apply to build reusable components,

second, Taking building blocks from a generator like the one posted here,
makes at least to me more sense than it would be for Bootstrap: You see a
component and can (thanks to utility classes) see how it's built and change
the appearance relatively fast. With Bootstrap you would basically just add a
component class and that's it - customizing is more complex then.

------
pvsukale3
I am going to try it out ASAP. This might be really empowering for backed
developers who want to ship stuff fast because of the ease of customising
components in Tailwind.

------
bbmario
One thing I don't understand is the lack of "subtemplates" for sale. I'm not
sure if that would be a good name, but I would love to be able to buy a
template pack that uses vanilla Bootstrap, Bulma or anything else, and with
the building blocks, creates template pages for various use cases: pricing
tables, admin dashboards, my account sections, cart, search results, etc.

------
license2e
Certificate error: [https://tailwind.build](https://tailwind.build) \-
NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID

[https://bootstrapshuffle.com](https://bootstrapshuffle.com) and
[https://bulma.dev](https://bulma.dev) \- Work fine

~~~
kemyd
weird. In all three I'm using Cloudflare and their certificate

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jlabs_
Ah man! No joke, I started to outline a project nearly identical to this over
the weekend. Well done though!

~~~
kemyd
Good luck with your project!

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preya2k
Looks good! Personally I'd like to have some more form templates (could only
find the contact form).

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WilliamEdward
This is excellent. You should make it easier to see what the underlying css
looks like imo.

~~~
kemyd
You can export your project :) All sources are included

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Scarbutt
The problem with this solutions IME is that now you start to fight the editor
and wasting a lot time:
[https://imgur.com/a/Zt0M9DX](https://imgur.com/a/Zt0M9DX)

~~~
Zopieux
Fun, got the same issue. Clicking around & opening stuff makes it eventually
disappear.

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greensoup
Looks nice,

\- What are your plans to expand the amount of items?

\- What do you think about the option to add your own build items, and maybe
share them across users?

~~~
kemyd
1/ I'll invest in content creation for sure. In addition, I'll try to find
authors who will sell their works on my platform.

2/ My technology is not ready yet to support "any content" but that's the
inevitable future.

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deltron3030
Is it possible to add your own templates/components and pick them from the
menu?

~~~
kemyd
Unfortunately, not yet. Our technology is not ready to support "any content",
but that's the inevitable future and our direction (custom components). (I
copied my answer from Product Hunt, someone asked the same question a moment
ago. Maybe you? ;))

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rbur0425
Does it make a responsive design or do you have to do that yourself?

