tailwindcss CLI looks at .gitignore files from outside of current repo

[samf]

What version of Tailwind CSS are you using?

v4.0.0-beta.8

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

Just a super simple static web page with a shell script that invokes the CLI

What version of Node.js are you using?

v23.6.1

What browser are you using?

Safari and Firefox

What operating system are you using?

macOS 15.1.1

Reproduction URL

https://github.com/samf/v4bug

...but, the issue won't reproduce unless you clone this below a directory that has a problematic .gitignore file within.

Describe your issue

A previous discussion is here: #15753

The problem I was having was that npx tailwindcss -i ./content/main.css -o ./public/main.css wasn't reading my content/index.html file. The repo above (v4bug) worked when someone jumped in and tried it, but not for me.

I switched to a Linux environment, and it still failed for me, but when I created a new account on the Linux machine, it worked! Cloning my v4bug repo into /tmp, rather than under my home, also fixed the problem.

Long story short, my home directory has a .gitignore file in it, the entire contents of which is *. I do this so that I can keep my home directory under git, but not have it pester me to add things I don't want. Anyway, tailwindcss seems to look at .gitignore files. This is fine, but perhaps it is climbing up the directory tree too far?

[samf]

Hello! It appears that your home directory’s .gitignore file is affecting Tailwind CSS because it’s climbing up the directory tree too far. To fix this, ensure you have a specific .gitignore in your project, adjust your home directory’s .gitignore to be more selective, or use a tailwind.config.js file to specify content paths. These steps should prevent the issue and ensure Tailwind CSS processes the necessary files.

Hi @Joel742Bushong , thanks!

These are all good workarounds, except for having a local .gitignore. The v4bug project does have a local .gitignore, but that isn't stopping tailwindcss from climbing further up the tree. Nor should it -- .gitignore files are cumulative.

I think what really needs to happen is that tailwindcss stop climbing the tree when it sees that it's at the root of a git repo.

For now, my workaround of choice is keeping my project outside of my home directory.

[tobeycodes]

I am experiencing this too. I have my dotfiles in a git repository in my home directory that ignores everything by default. All of my projects appear in a code folder within the home directory. A project that uses tailwind v4 has a .gitignore file at the root of the repository. Tailwind picks up the .gitignore in my home directory and then ignores everything.

[wongjn]

I believe this should have been fixed by #15941 in v4.0.1.

[samf]

This seems to have done it. Thanks!

[Pyramiden]

Hello,
I have exactly the same issue in the latest version (4.1.11)

[wongjn]

Consider checking you have run git init in the root of your project.