I've been using Tailwind CSS for a while now, and I genuinely enjoy it; it's fast to prototype with, the developer experience is smooth, and I rarely have to context-switch between files to style a component.
But the more I use it, the more a question keeps coming back to me.
On large projects that live and evolve for a long time, does Tailwind start becoming a pain to maintain? Between utility classes scattered across every single template, design systems that change over time, and teams where everyone has slightly different habits, I wonder if things can get messy fast.
Before Tailwind, I was heavy on SCSS. Variables, mixins, partials, a clear folder structure. It felt organized and easy to evolve. But it also came with its own overhead.
I'd love to hear from people with real experience on this:
Are you using Tailwind on large, long-lived applications?
Do you combine it with SCSS, CSS Modules, or something else?
Have you put conventions or rules in place to keep things from going off the rails over time?
What's worked, what hasn't? I'm genuinely curious about the good and the bad. 👇