Ensure @tailwindcss/postcss rebuilds when the input CSS changes but its mtime is unchanged

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Prevent `theme('colors.foo')` in JS plugins from returning an internal disambiguation object when a CSS theme key shares a prefix with a sibling key like `--color-foo-bar` ([#20299](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20299))
 - Ensure fractional opacity modifiers work with named shadow sizes like `shadow-sm/12.5`, `text-shadow-sm/12.5`, `drop-shadow-sm/12.5`, and `inset-shadow-sm/12.5` ([#20302](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20302))
 - Fix parsing selectors like `[data-foo]div` as one selector instead of two ([#20303](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20303))
+- Fix stale `@tailwindcss/postcss` output when changed input CSS is passed from a preprocessor like Sass without updating the input file on disk ([#20310](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/20310))
 
 ## [4.3.2] - 2026-06-26
 

packages/@tailwindcss-postcss/src/index.test.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,16 @@ function inputCssFilePath() {
 
 const css = dedent
 
+async function run(plugin: any, from: string, input: string): Promise<string> {
+  let ast = postcss.parse(input)
+  for (let runner of plugin.plugins) {
+    if (runner.Once) {
+      await runner.Once(ast, { postcss, result: { opts: { from }, messages: [] } })
+    }
+  }
+  return ast.toString()
+}
+
 test("`@import 'tailwindcss'` is replaced with the generated CSS", async () => {
   let processor = postcss([
     tailwindcss({ base: `${__dirname}/fixtures/example-project`, optimize: { minify: false } }),
@@ -422,17 +432,7 @@ describe('concurrent builds', () => {
 
     let plugin = tailwindcss({ optimize: { minify: false } })
 
-    async function run(input: string): Promise<string> {
-      let ast = postcss.parse(input)
-      for (let runner of (plugin as any).plugins) {
-        if (runner.Once) {
-          await runner.Once(ast, { postcss, result: { opts: { from }, messages: [] } })
-        }
-      }
-      return ast.toString()
-    }
-
-    let result = await run(input)
+    let result = await run(plugin, from, input)
 
     expect(result).toContain('.underline')
 
@@ -448,14 +448,51 @@ describe('concurrent builds', () => {
       `,
     )
 
-    let promise1 = run(input)
-    let promise2 = run(input)
+    let promise1 = run(plugin, from, input)
+    let promise2 = run(plugin, from, input)
 
     expect(await promise1).toContain('.red')
     expect(await promise2).toContain('.red')
   })
 })
 
+test('rebuilds when the input CSS changes even if the `from` file on disk did not', async () => {
+  let dir = await mkdtemp(path.join(tmpdir(), 'tw-postcss'))
+  // The `from` file exists on disk with a stable mtime. The input CSS is handed
+  // to the plugin directly (as a preprocessor like Sass would produce it), so it
+  // can change without `from`'s mtime ever changing.
+  await writeFile(path.join(dir, 'index.css'), '')
+
+  let from = path.join(dir, 'index.css')
+  let plugin = tailwindcss({ base: dir, optimize: { minify: false } })
+
+  let first = await run(
+    plugin,
+    from,
+    css`
+      @tailwind utilities;
+      .first {
+        @apply underline;
+      }
+    `,
+  )
+  let second = await run(
+    plugin,
+    from,
+    css`
+      @tailwind utilities;
+      .second {
+        @apply line-through;
+      }
+    `,
+  )
+
+  expect(first).toContain('.first')
+  expect(second).toContain('.second')
+
+  await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+})
+
 test('does not register the input file as a dependency, even if it is passed in as relative path', async () => {
   let processor = postcss([
     tailwindcss({ base: `${__dirname}/fixtures/example-project`, optimize: { minify: false } }),

packages/@tailwindcss-postcss/src/index.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ const DEBUG = env.DEBUG
 
 interface CacheEntry {
   mtimes: Map<string, number>
+  inputCss: string
   compiler: null | ReturnType<typeof compileAst>
   scanner: null | Scanner
   tailwindCssAst: AstNode[]
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ function getContextFromCache(postcss: Postcss, inputFile: string, opts: PluginOp
   if (cache.has(key)) return cache.get(key)!
   let entry = {
     mtimes: new Map<string, number>(),
+    inputCss: '',
     compiler: null,
     scanner: null,
 
@@ -194,6 +196,16 @@ function tailwindcss(opts: PluginOptions = {}): AcceptedPlugin {
                 rebuildStrategy = 'full'
                 context.mtimes.set(file, changedTime)
               }
+
+              // The mtimes above only track files on disk. When the input CSS is
+              // generated by another tool (e.g. Sass) and passed to `process()`,
+              // it can change without any tracked file's mtime changing, so also
+              // rebuild when the input CSS itself differs from the last build.
+              let inputCss = root.source?.input.css ?? root.toString()
+              if (context.inputCss !== inputCss) {
+                rebuildStrategy = 'full'
+                context.inputCss = inputCss
+              }
             }
             DEBUG && I.end('Register full rebuild paths')