Tailwind CSS 4 is a complete rewrite of the engine. For this portfolio, I decided to jump in head-first to see if the hype was real.
Lightning Fast
The most noticeable change is the build speed. The new Rust-based engine is incredibly fast, making development cycles feel instantaneous.
Dynamic Everything
With CSS-first configuration and better support for modern browser features, I was able to implement complex animations like the "glow" buttons and "architecural" lines with much less custom CSS than before.
Conclusion
If you are starting a new project in 2026, there is no reason not to use version 4. It's leaner, faster, and much more intuitive for modern web standards.