[FIXED] npx tailwindcss init -p fails: "could not determine executable to run" #16992

[ampolperlada]

What version of Tailwind CSS are you using? v4.0.11

What build tool (or framework if it abstracts the build tool) are you using? Next.js 15.2.0

What version of Node.js are you using? v20.18.3

What browser are you using? Edge

What operating system are you using?
✅ Windows 11

Describe your issue
I'm experiencing an issue where running npx tailwindcss init -p fails with the error:

npm error could not determine executable to run
Steps to Reproduce:
Installed Tailwind CSS with:

npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
Tried to initialize Tailwind with:

npx tailwindcss init -p
Received error:
vbnet

npm error could not determine executable to run
What I Expected to Happen:
The command should generate tailwind.config.ts and postcss.config.js in my project root.

What Actually Happened:
npx fails with "could not determine executable to run"
Running ls node_modules/.bin does not list tailwindcss
Running node_modules/.bin/tailwindcss -v fails
Additional Debugging:
npm list tailwindcss shows Tailwind is installed
Deleting node_modules and reinstalling did not fix the issue:

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json && npm install
npx --no-install tailwindcss init -p also fails
Is this an issue with Tailwind CLI on Windows, or is there something wrong with my setup? Thanks for the help!

[RobinMalfait]

Hey!

Tailwind CSS v4 doesn't have a tailwind config file and everything is configured in your CSS. Make sure to follow the v4 docs on how to install Tailwind CSS v4 in your Next.js application: https://tailwindcss.com/docs/installation/framework-guides/nextjs

[ampolperlada]

thanks for the suggestion! but as of Tailwind CSS v4, it works by default without needing to run npx tailwindcss init. Next.js automatically processes it through PostCSS. Are there any downsides to not having a tailwind.config.js file aside from not being able to customize the config?

[ampolperlada]

fixed in #16992!
Note: Tailwind CSS v4 no longer requires a tailwind.config.js file, but adding one is useful for customization.
The issue was due to Tailwind CSS v4 no longer requiring a tailwind.config.js file. Next.js automatically processes it through PostCSS, so running npx tailwindcss init -p is unnecessary.