Tailwind CSS Init Fails with npx – "Could not determine executable to run"

[Kimirry]

❓ Problem

I'm setting up Tailwind CSS on Windows 11, and after installing Tailwind via:

bash
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npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer

the CLI installation succeeds, but running:

bash
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npx tailwindcss init -p

produces this error:

arduino
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npm ERR! could not determine executable to run

No stack trace is shown other than a log file reference.

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🛠 Environment

Item | Version / Details -- | -- OS | Windows 11 Node | v18.x (or v20.x) npm | Latest Project Path | E:\js-simple\github\Portfolio\ Tailwind Installed | Shown in npm ls tailwindcss as 4.1.11 node_modules/.bin | The tailwindcss binary is missing despite install

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✅ What I’ve Tried

1. Renamed folder to remove spaces (js simple ➝ js-simple)

2. Deleted node_modules/, package.json, package-lock.json, and re-ran npm init and reinstall

3. Cleared npm cache clean --force

4. Tried running binary manually:

   bash
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   .\node_modules\.bin\tailwindcss init -p
   

   → Triggers “not recognized” error

5. Attempted fallback paths:

   bash
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   npx -- tailwindcss init -p
   

   → Same failure

6. Verified Node and npm versions and reinstalled Node.js fresh

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❔ Questions

• What could cause npx to fail to detect the Tailwind executable even when installed?

• Is this a bug in npx on Windows or a Tailwind packaging issue?

• Are there recommended workarounds to initialize Tailwind without npx?

• Any debugging steps to pinpoint why the binary isn’t being generated?

[wongjn]

The init command no longer exists in the most recent major version of Tailwind. Consider checking the installation documentation that is most relevant to your project to integrate Tailwind CSS properly.

If you are trying to use v3, ensure the version qualifier is used:

$ npm install -D tailwindcss@3 postcss autoprefixer
$ npx tailwindcss init -p