TW Migrate

A powerful CLI tool designed to automate the migration of Tailwind CSS classes to newer, more efficient conventions. Modernize your codebase without manual refactoring, improving maintainability and consistency across your project.

🌟 Why TW Migrate?

As Tailwind CSS evolves, certain class patterns become deprecated or less efficient, requiring developers to manually refactor large codebases—a time-consuming and error-prone process. This tool addresses that challenge by providing automated, rule-based conversion of outdated class usages into their modern equivalents.

Example transformations:

• w-4 h-4 → size-4 (unified sizing)
• mx-4 my-4 → m-4 (axis consolidation)
• bg-red-500 bg-opacity-50 → bg-red-500/50 (modern opacity syntax)
• space-x-4 space-y-4 on flex containers → gap-4 (modern gap usage)

✨ Features

• 🔄 Automated Class Migration: Updates Tailwind CSS classes based on predefined conversion rules
• 🎯 Interactive Mode: Guided selection of conversions with checkbox interface
• 🛡️ Git Integration: Ensures repository is clean before making changes, preventing data loss
• 📁 Flexible Path Targeting: Support for glob patterns to target specific files or directories
• 🏢 Monorepo Friendly: Easily integrate into monorepo setups across multiple packages
• 🔍 Environment Detection: Automatically detects project framework (React, Vue, Svelte, Next.js, etc.)
• 📊 Real-time Progress: Live progress reporting with percentage completion
• ⚡ Parallel Processing: Efficient file processing for large codebases

📦 Installation

Quick Start with npx (Recommended)

The fastest way to get started is using npx for one-time or ad-hoc usage:

npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate

This downloads and runs the latest version without requiring local installation.

Global Installation

For regular use or CI/CD integration:

npm install -g @yae-tools/tw-migrate

After installation, the command is available system-wide:

tw-migrate -c size -p "src/**/*.tsx"

Prerequisites

• Node.js: v20.19+, v22.13+, or v23.5+
• Git: Optional but recommended for safety checks
• Tailwind CSS: v2.0+ (see compatibility section for specific requirements)

🚀 Quick Start

Interactive Mode (Recommended for First Use)

Run without arguments to enter interactive mode:

npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate

The tool will:

1. Display project environment detection
2. Prompt you to select conversion types
3. Show real-time progress with file-by-file updates
4. Provide a summary of changes made

Non-Interactive Mode

For scripts or CI environments:

# Apply specific conversions
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size margin -p "src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}"

# Multiple conversions with custom path
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c "size,gap,color-opacity" -p "./components/**/*.tsx"

📖 Usage Examples

Target Specific Files

# Process only TypeScript React files
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size -p "src/**/*.{ts,tsx}"

# Process a single file
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c color-opacity -p "components/Button.tsx"

# Process HTML and CSS files
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c gap -p "**/*.{html,css}"

Monorepo Usage

# Target specific package
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size -p "packages/ui/**/*.tsx"

# Process all packages
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c margin padding -p "packages/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}"

# Workspace-specific targeting
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c "size,gap" -p "apps/web/src/**/*.tsx"

CI/CD Integration

# Skip Git checks in CI environment
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size --ignore-git -p "src/**/*.tsx"

# Preview changes without writing files
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size --dry-run --diff

# CI check: fail if files would change
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c "size,margin,padding,color-opacity,gap" --check --json --ignore-git

🔄 Conversion Types

Size Conversion (size)

Merges identical w-{value} and h-{value} classes into unified size-{value} classes.

<!-- Before -->
<div class="w-4 h-4 w-full h-full">

<!-- After -->
<div class="size-4 size-full">

Requirements: Tailwind CSS v3.4+

Axis Conversion (margin, padding)

Consolidates axis-specific classes when values are identical.

<!-- Before -->
<div class="mx-4 my-4 px-2 py-2">

<!-- After -->
<div class="m-4 p-2">

Supported patterns:

• mx-{value} + my-{value} → m-{value}
• px-{value} + py-{value} → p-{value}

Color Opacity Conversion (color-opacity)

Modernizes opacity usage by merging separate color and opacity classes.

<!-- Before -->
<div class="bg-red-500 bg-opacity-50 text-blue-600 text-opacity-75">

<!-- After -->
<div class="bg-red-500/50 text-blue-600/75">

Supported prefixes: bg, text, border, ring, divide, placeholder

Gap Conversion (gap)

Converts space-x and space-y to gap when used together on flex or grid containers.

<!-- Before -->
<div class="flex space-x-4 space-y-4">

<!-- After -->
<div class="flex gap-4">

Note: Only applies when both space-x and space-y have the same value and container uses flex or grid.

Tailwind v4 Utility Conversion (v4-utilities)

Updates renamed and removed utilities for Tailwind CSS v4 compatibility.

<!-- Before -->
<div class="shadow-sm rounded outline-none ring flex-shrink-0">

<!-- After -->
<div class="shadow-xs rounded-sm outline-hidden ring-3 shrink-0">

Supported patterns: renamed shadow/drop-shadow/blur/backdrop-blur/radius utilities, outline-none → outline-hidden, ring → ring-3, flex-shrink-* → shrink-*, flex-grow-* → grow-*, overflow-ellipsis → text-ellipsis, and decoration-* box-decoration replacements.

Tailwind v4 CSS API Conversion (css-api)

Updates legacy Tailwind CSS entrypoint directives to the v4 import API.

/* Before */
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

/* After */
@import "tailwindcss";

⚙️ Command Reference

Core Options

Flag	Alias	Type	Description	Default
--conversions	-c	string[]	Conversion types to apply	Interactive prompt
--path	-p	string	Glob pattern for file targeting	./**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx,html,css,svelte}
--ignore-git		boolean	Skip Git repository checks	false
--exclude	-e	string[]	Glob patterns to exclude	[]
--config		string	Path to config JSON file	auto-detect
--dry-run		boolean	Preview changes without writing files	false
--diff		boolean	Print a diff for changed files	false
--check		boolean	Exit with code 1 if files would change	false
--json		boolean	Print machine-readable summary	false
--version			Display version information
--help			Show help information

Available Conversions

• size - Merge w-/h- classes to size-
• margin - Consolidate margin axis classes
• padding - Consolidate padding axis classes
• color-opacity - Modernize color opacity syntax
• gap - Convert space- to gap classes
• v4-utilities - Rename Tailwind v4 utilities and removed deprecated class names
• css-api - Replace v3 @tailwind entrypoint directives with the v4 @import "tailwindcss" API

Interactive vs Non-Interactive Mode

Interactive Mode (when stdout is TTY):

• Displays ASCII logo and environment detection
• Prompts for conversion selection if not specified
• Shows real-time progress with file updates
• Provides confirmation dialogs

Non-Interactive Mode (scripts/CI):

• Requires --conversions flag
• Silent execution with minimal output
• Exits with error if conversions not specified

🔧 Configuration

Environment Detection

The tool automatically detects your project environment:

• Framework Detection: React, Vue, Svelte, Next.js, Nuxt.js, Angular
• Tailwind Version: Validates compatibility requirements
• Git Status: Checks for uncommitted changes
• File Types: Adjusts processing based on detected framework

Config File

You can store repeatable options in tw-migrate.config.json or .tw-migraterc.json:

{
  "path": "src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx,html,svelte}",
  "exclude": ["**/*.test.tsx", "**/dist/**"],
  "conversions": ["size", "margin", "padding", "color-opacity", "gap"],
  "dryRun": false,
  "diff": false,
  "check": false,
  "ignoreGit": false
}

Use a custom location with:

npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate --config ./config/tw-migrate.json

Git Integration

By default, the tool prevents execution if uncommitted changes exist:

# Check Git status
git status

# Commit changes before running
git add .
git commit -m "Pre-modernization commit"

# Or override with --ignore-git flag
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate --ignore-git

🔗 Compatibility

Tailwind CSS Version Requirements

Conversion Type	Minimum Version	Notes
size	v3.4+	Uses modern size utilities
margin, padding	v2.0+	Basic axis consolidation
color-opacity	v2.0+	Modern opacity syntax
gap	v2.0+	Gap utilities
Arbitrary values	v2.2+	[custom-values] support

Framework Support

• React: .js, .jsx, .ts, .tsx
• Vue: .vue, .js, .ts
• Svelte: .svelte
• Angular: .html, .ts
• Generic: .html, .css

Node.js Compatibility

• Minimum: Node.js v20.19+, v22.13+, or v23.5+
• Dependencies: All dependencies are bundled for minimal installation overhead

🚨 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Framework not detected:

# Verify package.json exists in project root
ls package.json

# Check for framework dependencies
cat package.json | grep -E "(react|vue|svelte|next|nuxt|angular)"

Tailwind version warnings:

# Check Tailwind version
npm list tailwindcss

# Upgrade if needed
npm install tailwindcss@latest

Git repository issues:

# Initialize Git if needed
git init

# Or skip Git checks
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate --ignore-git

File permission errors:

# Check file permissions
ls -la src/components/

# Ensure read/write access
chmod 644 src/components/*.tsx

Debug Mode

For detailed output, run with verbose logging:

# Preview the exact changes
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size --dry-run --diff

# Machine-readable output for automation
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size --check --json --ignore-git

🏗️ Advanced Usage

Custom File Patterns

# Process only specific directories
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size -p "src/components/**/*.tsx"

# Multiple pattern matching
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c gap -p "{components,pages}/**/*.{js,ts}"

# Exclude specific files
npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c margin -p "src/**/*.tsx" --exclude "**/*.test.tsx"

Integration with Build Tools

package.json scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "modernize:interactive": "tw-migrate",
    "modernize:size": "tw-migrate -c size",
    "modernize:all": "tw-migrate -c size,margin,padding,color-opacity,gap",
    "modernize:ci": "tw-migrate -c size --ignore-git"
  }
}

Pre-commit hooks:

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
- repo: local
  hooks:
    - id: tw-migrate
      name: Modernize Tailwind classes
      entry: npx @yae-tools/tw-migrate -c size --ignore-git
      language: system
      files: \.(js|jsx|ts|tsx|html|css|svelte)$

📊 Performance

• Processing Speed: ~100-500 files/second (depending on file size)
• Memory Usage: Minimal memory footprint with streaming processing
• Parallel Processing: Automatically optimizes for available CPU cores
• Large Codebases: Tested on projects with 10,000+ files

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how to get started:

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Yae-Tools/tw-migrate.git
cd tw-migrate

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Test locally
npm run start

Adding New Conversions

1. Create conversion function in src/util/
2. Add type definitions in src/types/conversionTypes.ts
3. Register in src/conversions.ts
4. Add comprehensive tests
5. Update documentation

Reporting Issues

When reporting issues, please include:

• Node.js version (node --version)
• Tailwind CSS version
• Sample code that reproduces the issue
• Expected vs actual behavior

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Tailwind CSS team for the amazing framework
• Contributors and community for feedback and improvements
• Open source libraries that make this tool possible

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Made with ❤️ for the Tailwind CSS community
⭐ Star on GitHub • 🐛 Report Bug • 💬 Discussions