Tailwind CSS v4.1.3: npm install fails to create .bin links / npx error "could not determine executable"

[sibersky]

When installing tailwindcss@4.1.3 using npm v10.8+ (tested on Node v20 LTS and Node v22 Current), the necessary executable links (tailwindcss, tailwindcss.cmd, etc.) are not created in the node_modules/.bin directory. Consequently, attempting to run the CLI via npx tailwindcss fails with the error npm error could not determine executable to run.

This issue occurs even in a minimal, clean project setup and has been reproduced on both Windows and Linux (Kali).

Importantly, installing tailwindcss@3 under the exact same environment conditions works correctly: the .bin links are created, and npx tailwindcss --version executes successfully. This strongly suggests the issue is specific to the v4.1.3 package or its interaction with recent npm versions.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Create a new directory and navigate into it:

   mkdir test-tailwind && cd test-tailwind

2. Initialize a new npm project:

   npm init -y

3. Install Tailwind CSS v4.1.3:

   npm install tailwindcss@4.1.3 --save-dev

4. Check for bin links (this step fails):

   # On Linux/macOS/Git Bash:
   ls ./node_modules/.bin/tailwind*
   # On PowerShell:
   Get-ChildItem ./node_modules/.bin/tailwind*

5. Attempt to run via npx (this step fails):

   npx tailwindcss -v

Expected Behavior:

• Step 4 should list the executable links (tailwindcss, tailwindcss.cmd, etc.).
• Step 5 should execute the Tailwind CLI (and potentially output version info or ask for input, but not produce the npx error).

Actual Behavior:

• Step 4 produces no output (or a "No such file or directory" / "PathNotFound" error).
• Step 5 fails with the error:

  npm error could not determine executable to run
  npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: <path-to-log-file>
  

  (The debug log indicates the failure occurs in libnpmexec's getBinFromManifest function).

Environment:

• Tailwind CSS Version: 4.1.3
• Node.js Versions Tested: v20.19.0 (LTS), v22.14.0 ("Current")
• NPM Versions Tested: v10.8.2 (with Node 20), v10.9.2 (with Node 22)
• Operating Systems Tested: Windows 10/11, Kali Linux (Issue occurs identically on both)

Additional Context:

• Running npm install tailwindcss@3 --save-dev in the same environments works correctly, creating the .bin links and allowing npx tailwindcss --version to execute.
• Other packages (e.g., next) installed in the same projects do correctly create their .bin links.

[wongjn]

For v4, the CLI interface has been moved to the @tailwindcss/cli package:

$ npm install @tailwindcss/cli
$ npx @tailwindcss/cli

[BarnabasSzabolcs]

AI did not seem to get the info tho XD

[aarifmahdi]

AI did not seem to get the info tho XD

yep! chatgpt couldn't :(

[aarifmahdi]

For v4, the CLI interface has been moved to the @tailwindcss/cli package:

$ npm install @tailwindcss/cli
$ npx @tailwindcss/cli

so do we just need to run these two commands?
what about the tailwind.config.js file? in the official mern stack tutorial it says to edit its content. Should we just skip this part and carry on with the official tutorial?
i am referring to this tutorial: https://www.mongodb.com/resources/languages/mern-stack-tutorial#what-is-the-mern-stack

[BarnabasSzabolcs]

Well, you're better off sticking to v3 for now, I think, until the AI support catches up. It's probably good enough, tailwindcss is a very mature project.

[aarifmahdi]

Well, you're better off sticking to v3 for now, I think, until the AI support catches up. It's probably good enough, tailwindcss is a very mature project.

Thanks. I already continued with v3, it worked.

[codehardee]

I was facing the same problem but then used v3 of tailwid and postcss and autofixer too , which all are compatible of eachother and it worked!

command: npm install -D tailwindcss@3.0.0 postcss@8.4.38 autoprefixer@10.4.16