Tailwind CSS Development Skill

File Organization: This skill uses split structure. See references/ for advanced patterns.

1. Overview

This skill provides Tailwind CSS expertise for styling the JARVIS AI Assistant interface with utility-first CSS, creating consistent and maintainable HUD designs.

Risk Level: LOW - Styling framework with minimal security surface

Primary Use Cases:

• Holographic UI panel styling
• Responsive HUD layouts
• Animation utilities for transitions
• Custom JARVIS theme configuration

2. Core Responsibilities

2.1 Fundamental Principles

1. TDD First: Write component tests before styling implementation
2. Performance Aware: Optimize CSS output size and rendering performance
3. Utility-First: Compose styles from utility classes, extract components when patterns repeat
4. Design System: Define JARVIS color palette and spacing in config
5. Responsive Design: Mobile-first with breakpoint utilities
6. Dark Mode Default: HUD is always dark-themed
7. Accessibility: Maintain sufficient contrast ratios

3. Implementation Workflow (TDD)

3.1 TDD Process for Styled Components

Follow this workflow for every styled component:

Step 1: Write Failing Test First

// tests/components/HUDPanel.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest'
import { mount } from '@vue/test-utils'
import HUDPanel from '~/components/HUDPanel.vue'

describe('HUDPanel', () => {
  it('renders with correct JARVIS theme classes', () => {
    const wrapper = mount(HUDPanel, {
      props: { title: 'System Status' }
    })

    const panel = wrapper.find('[data-testid="hud-panel"]')
    expect(panel.classes()).toContain('bg-jarvis-bg-panel/80')
    expect(panel.classes()).toContain('border-jarvis-primary/30')
    expect(panel.classes()).toContain('backdrop-blur-sm')
  })

  it('applies responsive grid layout', () => {
    const wrapper = mount(HUDPanel)
    const grid = wrapper.find('[data-testid="panel-grid"]')

    expect(grid.classes()).toContain('grid-cols-1')
    expect(grid.classes()).toContain('md:grid-cols-2')
    expect(grid.classes()).toContain('lg:grid-cols-3')
  })

  it('shows correct status indicator colors', async () => {
    const wrapper = mount(HUDPanel, {
      props: { status: 'active' }
    })

    const indicator = wrapper.find('[data-testid="status-indicator"]')
    expect(indicator.classes()).toContain('bg-jarvis-primary')
    expect(indicator.classes()).toContain('animate-pulse')

    await wrapper.setProps({ status: 'error' })
    expect(indicator.classes()).toContain('bg-jarvis-danger')
  })

  it('maintains accessibility focus styles', () => {
    const wrapper = mount(HUDPanel)
    const button = wrapper.find('button')

    expect(button.classes()).toContain('focus:ring-2')
    expect(button.classes()).toContain('focus:outline-none')
  })
})

Step 2: Implement Minimum to Pass

<!-- components/HUDPanel.vue -->
<template>
  <div
    data-testid="hud-panel"
    class="bg-jarvis-bg-panel/80 border border-jarvis-primary/30 backdrop-blur-sm rounded-lg p-4"
  >
    <div
      data-testid="panel-grid"
      class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4"
    >
      <slot />
    </div>
    <span
      data-testid="status-indicator"
      :class="statusClasses"
    />
    <button class="focus:ring-2 focus:outline-none focus:ring-jarvis-primary">
      Action
    </button>
  </div>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
import { computed } from 'vue'

const props = defineProps<{
  title?: string
  status?: 'active' | 'warning' | 'error' | 'inactive'
}>()

const statusClasses = computed(() => ({
  'bg-jarvis-primary animate-pulse': props.status === 'active',
  'bg-jarvis-warning': props.status === 'warning',
  'bg-jarvis-danger': props.status === 'error',
  'bg-gray-500': props.status === 'inactive'
}))
</script>

Step 3: Refactor if Needed

Extract repeated patterns to @apply directives:

/* assets/css/components.css */
@layer components {
  .hud-panel {
    @apply bg-jarvis-bg-panel/80 border border-jarvis-primary/30 backdrop-blur-sm rounded-lg p-4;
  }

  .hud-grid {
    @apply grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-4;
  }
}

Step 4: Run Full Verification

# Run all style-related tests
npm run test -- --grep "HUDPanel"

# Check for unused CSS
npx tailwindcss --content './components/**/*.vue' --output /dev/null

# Verify build size
npm run build && ls -lh .output/public/_nuxt/*.css

4. Performance Patterns

4.1 Purge Optimization

// tailwind.config.js
// Good: Specific content paths
export default {
  content: [
    './components/**/*.{vue,js,ts}',
    './layouts/**/*.vue',
    './pages/**/*.vue',
    './composables/**/*.ts'
  ]
}

// Bad: Too broad, includes unused files
export default {
  content: ['./src/**/*']  // Includes tests, stories, etc.
}

4.2 JIT Mode Efficiency

// Good: Let JIT generate only used utilities
export default {
  mode: 'jit',  // Default in v3+
  theme: {
    extend: {
      // Only extend what you need
      colors: {
        jarvis: {
          primary: '#00ff41',
          secondary: '#0891b2'