Prerequisites
Before starting the project make sure to install the following utilities:
Creating a new Django application
Let's create a fresh Django application so that we can go through all the steps together.
Step 1
Add Python virtual environment.
mkdir my-project cd my-project py -3 -m venv venv mkdir my-project cd my-project python -3 -m venv venv Step 2
Now activate created environment. After this you should see venv catalogue and in your terminal will be visible (venv) badge.
venv/Scripts/activate source venv/bin/activate Step 3
Install Django.
pip install django Step 4
Create src folder in the root directory and there initialize Django project.
mkdir src cd src django-admin startproject mysite . Step 5
Create a folder called static in the src directory. You can place your own CSS files there. Let's create there a file named input.css. There you can put your own CSS styles.
Step 6
Navigate to the settings.py in the mysite folder and update the section with paths for static files.
STATIC_URL = 'static/' STATICFILES_DIRS = [ BASE_DIR / "static" ] STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR.parent / "static" Step 7
Create a folder named templates in the src directory. Then, open the settings.py file in the mysite folder and update the section with the template paths.
TEMPLATES = [ { ... 'DIRS': [BASE_DIR / 'templates'], ... }, ] Step 8
Create a file named base.html in the templates directory. This file will be a base for all other pages. Additionally, within this folder, create new named pages, and inside it, create a file named home.html.
{% load static %} <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <link href="{% static 'input.css' %}" rel="stylesheet" /> <title> {% block head_title %}TWE Django Integration Tutorial{% endblock %} </title> </head> <body> <div>{% block content %} {% endblock %}</div> </body> </html> {% extends "base.html" %} {% block content %} <h1>Django application</h1> {% endblock %} Step 9
Create views.py file in mysite folder and put in there render for your home page.
from django.shortcuts import render def home_view(request): return render(request, "pages/home.html", {}) Step 10
Then in urls.py file (also located in mysite folder) add import newly created views.py file and attach urls for paths with static files.
from django.contrib import admin from django.urls import path from django.conf import settings from . import views urlpatterns = [ path('admin/', admin.site.urls), path('', views.home_view, name='home') ] if settings.DEBUG: from django.conf.urls.static import static urlpatterns += static(settings.STATIC_URL, document_root=settings.STATIC_ROOT) Step 11
To see if everything works, run the server:
python manage.py runserver Installing and configuring Tailwind CSS and TW Elements
Step 1
To initialize an npm project, run the following command in the root directory:
npm init -y Step 2
Install Tailwind CSS.
npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer npx tailwindcss init -p File structure
If you have followed all instructions mentioned earlier, your file structure should look like this:
my-project/ ├── node_modules/ ├── src/ │ ├── mysite/ │ │ ├── ... │ │ ├── settings.py │ │ ├── urls.py │ │ ├── views.py │ │ └── ... │ ├── static/ │ | └── input.css │ ├── templates/ │ | ├── pages/ │ | | └── home.html │ | └── base.html │ └── manage.py ├── venv/ ├── package-lock.json ├── package.json ├── postcss.config.js └── tailwind.config.js Step 3
Add the paths to all of your template files in your tailwind.config.js file.
/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */ module.exports = { content: [ "./src/**/*.{html,js}", "./node_modules/tw-elements/js/**/*.js", ], theme: { extend: {}, }, darkMode: "class", plugins: [require("tw-elements/plugin.cjs")], }; Step 4
Replace your own styles in input.css file with Tailwind directives.
@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:300,400,500,700,900&display=swap"); @tailwind base; @layer base { html { @apply text-surface; @apply bg-white; } html.dark { @apply text-neutral-50; @apply bg-body-dark; } } @tailwind components; @tailwind utilities; p { @apply leading-[1.6]; } Step 5
Install TW Elements.
npm install tw-elements Step 6
Go to settings.py file and update section with paths for static files.
... STATICFILES_DIRS = [ BASE_DIR / "static", BASE_DIR.parent / "node_modules", ] ... Step 7
In the head section of the base.html file, substitute the href attribute from input.css to the Tailwind CSS file named output.css, which will be generated during the Tailwind CLI build process. Furthermore, add a link to the TW Elements JS at the end of the body tag.
... <head> ... <link href="{% static 'output.css' %}" rel="stylesheet" /> ... </head> <body> ... <script src="{% static 'tw-elements/dist/js/tw-elements.umd.min.js' %}" type="text/javascript"></script> </body> ... Step 8
Add the TWE components you intend to use in your project.
{% extends "base.html" %} {% block content %} <div class="mt-16 flex justify-center"> <p class="text-lg"> Hover the link to see the <a href="#" class="text-primary transition duration-150 ease-in-out hover:text-primary-600 focus:text-primary-600 active:text-primary-700 dark:text-primary-400 dark:hover:text-primary-500 dark:focus:text-primary-500 dark:active:text-primary-600" data-twe-toggle="tooltip" title="Hi! I'm tooltip" >tooltip</a > </p> </div> {% endblock %} Step 9
Start the Tailwind CLI build process. Run the CLI tool to scan your template files for classes and build your CSS.
npx tailwindcss -i src/static/input.css -o src/static/output.css --watch And run the local server. If changes doesn't apply, try hard reload. Awesome! You're all set to dive into using TW Elements for your Django project. Have fun!
python manage.py runserver Initializing via JS
By default all components have autoinit which means they are initialized by data attributes. But if you want to make init by JavaScript - there is also possibility to do that.
Step 1
Initialize components which are you intend to use.
{% extends "base.html" %} {% block content %} <div class="mt-16 flex justify-center"> <p class="text-lg"> Hover the link to see the <a id="tooltip" href="#" class="text-primary transition duration-150 ease-in-out hover:text-primary-600 focus:text-primary-600 active:text-primary-700 dark:text-primary-400 dark:hover:text-primary-500 dark:focus:text-primary-500 dark:active:text-primary-600" title="Hi! I'm tooltip" >tooltip</a > </p> </div> <script type="module"> const myTooltip = new twe.Tooltip(document.getElementById("tooltip")); </script> {% endblock %}