no-build-css-systems

name	no-build-css-systems
description	Use when avoiding build complexity. Vanilla CSS or Tailwind via CDN — no build step, deploys anywhere.

No-Build CSS Systems

No-build CSS = no Webpack/Vite/PostCSS. Two approaches: vanilla CSS with tokens, or Tailwind via CDN. Fastest deployment.

Vanilla CSS approach

Plain stylesheet linked from HTML:

<link rel='stylesheet' href='/styles.css'>

:root {
  --cream: #fbf6ec;
  --ink: #0d0807;
}
body {
  background: var(--cream);
  color: var(--ink);
  font-family: 'Inter Tight', system-ui, sans-serif;
}

No build, no compilation. Just edit and deploy.

Tailwind via CDN (development only)

<script src='https://cdn.tailwindcss.com'></script>

Good for prototypes. Production needs build for tree-shaking.

Production Tailwind: use Tailwind CLI standalone (single binary, no Node) for build-time tree-shaking.

When no-build works

1. Simple landing pages
2. Single-page artifacts
3. Prototypes
4. Documentation sites
5. Marketing pages

When you need build:

1. Multi-page SPA (React/Vue)
2. Component libraries
3. JSX compilation
4. Complex routing
5. Server-side rendering

Where this fits in the X3 empire

Approach for CardPrepAI artifacts and simple marketing pages.