Bug: Tailwind CSS installed despite selecting "No" in CLI prompt

[unhhyyeexx]

Which project does this relate to?

Create Tanstack App

Describe the bug

Whn running pnpm create @tanstack/start@latest, if I select "No" for the Tailwind CSS prompt, the CLI still installs Tailwind dependencies and adds the Tailwind plugin to vite.config.ts.

duplicate:

• pnpm create @tanstack/start@latest configures Tailwind even when choosing "No" for Tailwind during setup #270
• Start includes Tailwind even if not requested #257
• Tanstack Start | Selecting "No" for Tailwind still installs Tailwind #242
• Tailwind being installed even if I didn't selected it in the CLI #85

This issue has been reported multiple times but appears to still be unresolved. I'd like to help fix this if confirmed as a bug.

Your Example Website or App

.

Steps to Reproduce the Bug or Issue

Steps to Resproduce

1. Run the following command:

pnpm create @tanstack/start@latest

2. Select these options:

- Project name: `your-project-name`
- Tailwind CSS: No // Key selection
- Toolchain: ESLint
- Deployment adapter: Nitro
- Add-ons: Query
- Examples: none

3. Check the generated files:

cd your-project-name
cat package.json | grep tailwind
cat vite.config.ts | grep tailwind

Actual Result:
Despite selecting "No", Tailwind dependencies are still present:

package.json:

"dependencies": {
  "@tailwindcss/vite": "^4.0.6",
  "tailwindcss": "^4.0.6"
}

vite.config.ts:

import tailwindcss from '@tailwindcss/vite'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [
    tailwindcss(), // Should not be here
  ],
})

Expected behavior

When selecting "No" for Tailwind CSS:

• @tailwindcss/vite and tailwindcss should NOT be in package.json
• tailwindcss() plugin should NOT be in vite.config.ts

Screenshots or Videos

Platform

• @tanstack/react-start: 1.132.0
• OS: macOS
• Node.js: v22.19.0
• Package Manager: pnpm 10.28.0

Additional context

I'd like to help fix this issue if confirmed as a bug.
Would you be open to a PR that fixes this? I can!

[brenelz]

Yeah I'd be open to a pr for this. I think the tricky part is that our landing pages all use tailwind so if you turn that off they would be unstyled. Almost need like a seperate landing page.

[G-hoon]

I investigated this issue and found the root cause.

Bug Location

packages/cta-ui/lib/engine-handling/generate-initial-payload.ts line 68:

tailwind: projectOptions.tailwind || true,  // Bug: false || true = true

The || operator ignores explicit false values. Should be:

tailwind: projectOptions.tailwind ?? true,  // Fix: false ?? true = false

Good News

The landing page templates already support non-Tailwind styling:

• src/routes/index.tsx.ejs has conditional rendering for both Tailwind and CSS
  classes
• src/App.css.ejs provides fallback styles when Tailwind is disabled

So the fix is straightforward - just changing || to ?? for the boolean
options.

Would you like me to submit a PR for this?

[unhhyyeexx]

Looks like this has already been fixed and merged in #151.
Closing this issue as resolved. Thanks everyone!