> I strongly dislike Tailwind and similar tools because they prevent this kind of coding/debugging
No they don't? I use the inspector all the time to figure out what values to set. Granted, I then translate those to Tailwind in my head, so there is an extra step compared to directly copying the style but that's a very small price to pay for all the advantages that I get from Tailwind.
What are the advantages, really? I used to use tailwind for my site, but then I realized I was essentially writing plain CSS in some DSL. Writing the plain CSS directly and using a few CSS variables for things like color and spacing simplified the whole thing greatly.
For personal projects it might be overkill depending on the scope. But if 2+ people are working on a constantly evolving system, shipping new features, and want consistency in the design system? It’s a solid foundation.
I mean… i know it’s hard. I’ve tried discussing patterns and our self-made “dialect”, and it’s a hard conversation. Using some 3rd party’s tooling makes it easier because you can all defer to the higher authority. But what if you actually agreed on some patterns and made that part of your process? To start with, it would feel like you were writing an overly prescriptive style guide and people would look at you funny… but what’s the difference between using using a 3rd party dialect and making up your own?
No they don't? I use the inspector all the time to figure out what values to set. Granted, I then translate those to Tailwind in my head, so there is an extra step compared to directly copying the style but that's a very small price to pay for all the advantages that I get from Tailwind.