[v4] Standalone cli doesn't bundle tailwindcss js library

[leifmetcalf]

What version of Tailwind CSS are you using?

v4.0.0-beta.3

What build tool (or framework if it abstracts the build tool) are you using?

None

What version of Node.js are you using?

v22.8.0

What browser are you using?

N/A

What operating system are you using?

Ubuntu 24.10

Reproduction URL

https://github.com/leifmetcalf/tailwind-repro/tree/8cfa9c2b2b13a3d3e87cc115000ee553ea0a11df

Describe your issue

Run this command in the reproduction repo above

tailwindcss-linux-x64 --input app.css --output out.css

The command returns error code 1 with no message. Installing tailwind with npm install tailwindcss fixes the problem and the output file is created as expected.

[melissa59zebrowski]

Hello,

It seems that the problem arises when using the standalone tailwindcss-linux-x64 binary directly, as opposed to installing it via npm. When running the binary, it returns error code 1 with no message, which doesn't provide much information about the root cause of the failure. However, when you install Tailwind via npm, it works correctly, generating the output file as expected.

One possible explanation could be a mismatch between the binary's expected environment or configuration and the local system setup. It may also be that the binary is not automatically handling some dependencies or configurations that the npm installation process takes care of. Additionally, error messages are sometimes omitted for issues hmfusa app like missing environment variables or misconfigured paths, which could explain why you're seeing a generic error code without more details.