> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://tailwindweekly.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Tailwind Weekly #229: cn, Anchor positioning, and the future of frontend development ✨ - URL: https://tailwindweekly.com/issue-229/ - Published: 2026-09-05T12:00:46.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-05T12:00:46.000Z - Author: Vivian Guillen Hello folks! shadcn shipped cn, a drop-in for `clsx` and `tailwind-merge` that's 30× faster. You've also got Josh Comeau on CSS Anchor Positioning and `monowind` for Tailwind TUIs in the browser. Let's dive in 👇 ## **🌟 News** [![](https://tailwindweekly.com/content/images/2026/09/news-cn.png)](https://github.com/shadcn-ui/cn?ref=tailwindweekly.com) ### **cn** [**0.2**](https://github.com/shadcn-ui/cn?ref=tailwindweekly.com) shadcn and Aiden Bai shipped `cn` 0.2\. It replaces `clsx` and `tailwind-merge` with the same APIs and zero deps. Migrate with `npx shadcn@latest migrate cn`, then `import { cn } from "cn"`. A typical component call (`cn(base, variant, condition && extra)`) runs 30× faster but its Tailwind v4 only so stay on `tailwind-merge` v2 if you're still on v3. ### New components in the shadcn ecosystem Seven registries shipped new items this week: - [**react-bits**](https://reactbits.dev/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – AeroShards, a GPU wind-sculpture of flowing foil shards for interactive backgrounds - [**magicui**](https://magicui.design/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – floating-3d-particles, a canvas particle field with rotation and buoyant drift - [**reui**](https://reui.io/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – code-block (Shiki streaming, diffs, folding), data-grid cell-selection and i18n, plus gantt examples - [**intentui**](https://intentui.com/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – radar-chart and radial-bar-chart - [**blocks.so**](https://blocks.so/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – chat-01 and chat-02 AI chat threads (bubbles, streaming; chat-02 adds a model menu) - [**beui**](https://beui.dev/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – adaptive-stepper, a numeric stepper that shrinks or hides the ± controls at min/max - [**spectrumui**](https://github.com/arihantcodes/spectrum-ui?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – seven pricing-section variants (banner, blueprint, dark-matrix, gradient, offset, receipt, and serif tiers) ## **🤩 Windy Picks** [![](https://tailwindweekly.com/content/images/2026/09/windy-picmal.png)](https://picmal.app/?atp=redpixel&ref=tailwindweekly.com) ### [Picmal](https://picmal.app/?atp=redpixel&ref=tailwindweekly.com) — convert and compress on your Mac If you convert HEICs or compress a video to fit an email, Picmal does it on your Mac. Images, video, audio, and PDFs, over 100 formats, no uploads and no account. Drop a folder in and it batch converts. You can compress without changing format, strip GPS from screenshots, split a PDF into pages, or hook the same engine into Finder, Raycast, and the CLI. $39 once for 2 Macs. Pro is $69 for 5\. 14-day refund. Mac only, Sequoia and up. ## **📚 Learning** [![](https://tailwindweekly.com/content/images/2026/09/learn-anchor.png)](https://www.joshwcomeau.com/css/anchor-positioning/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) ### [Getting Started with Anchor Positioning](https://www.joshwcomeau.com/css/anchor-positioning/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) Tooltips and dropdowns used to mean a pile of JavaScript to keep them on screen. Josh Comeau walks through the CSS Anchor Positioning API that landed across major browsers in January 2026\. Name the trigger with `anchor-name: --my-anchor`, point the floater at it with `position-anchor` and `position-area: top`, and the browser keeps it stuck. Overflow flips with `position-try-fallbacks: flip-block`, and Level 2 anchored container queries can swap the caret when it flips (Chromium for now). Support sits around [81% on caniuse](https://caniuse.com/css-anchor-positioning?ref=tailwindweekly.com), so he covers Oddbird's polyfill and `@supports (position-area: top)` fallbacks. ### [I used to hate Tailwind CSS](https://yannickkouakou.com/blog/why-i-hated-tailwind-css/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) Yannick Kouakou spent more than five years avoiding Tailwind on principle after a Bootstrap-skeptical CSS upbringing. An apprenticeship in France put it in front of him every day, and the usual objections (separation of concerns, class soup, specificity wars) fell apart once he read [Adam Wathan's utility-class essay](https://adamwathan.me/css-utility-classes-and-separation-of-concerns/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) and watched the shipped CSS stay tiny while components absorbed the verbosity. He builds [Intrivio](https://intrivio.cv/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) and [Rigma](https://rigma.io/en?ref=tailwindweekly.com) on it now, and still tells his younger self to learn raw CSS first, then stop looking down on the tools. Useful if you still get the "isn't this just inline styles" pushback. ### [The asteroid currently hitting frontend web development](https://nolanlawson.com/2026/08/23/the-asteroid-currently-hitting-frontend-web-development/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) Nolan Lawson asked Claude a Chrome Style-recalc brain-teaser and got an answer on selector stats, invalidation scope, and custom properties. From there he maps why frontend education feels under pressure: agents treat UI as lower risk than migrations, "agent experience" is pushing teams toward React over Solid or Lit, and DX-focused standards look less urgent when a model can write three lines as easily as one. His bets for educators are teaching agents the big picture (MPA over SPA when it fits), building sites that agents can read, and consulting on vibe-coded messes while judgment still pays. ## **💅 Showcase** [![](https://tailwindweekly.com/content/images/2026/09/screenshot-1440x900-1788561418764.webp)](https://ente.io/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) ### [Ente Photos](https://ente.io/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) Ente Photos is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted photo backup that runs on Android, iOS, web, Mac, Linux, and Windows. You get on-device face grouping, zero-knowledge natural-language search, shared albums, public links, and family plans that share storage with up to five people at no extra cost. 10GB free forever, paid plans from $2.49/mo for 50GB, self-hostable, cryptographically audited. ## **🎁 Resource** [![](https://tailwindweekly.com/content/images/2026/09/resource-monowind.png)](https://github.com/benface/monowind?ref=tailwindweekly.com) ### [monowind](https://github.com/benface/monowind?ref=tailwindweekly.com) If you've wanted a terminal UI without leaving the browser, monowind wraps ordinary HTML and Tailwind utilities in `` and renders a strict character grid: box-drawing borders, integer cells, monospace layout, with real links, buttons, focus, and forms still working. Flex, grid, multi-column, and table layouts are in; themes like `dos`, `c64`, and `green-phosphor` live in `@monowind/themes`; `` does FIGlet banners. Early development, with a [live playground](https://play.monowind.benface.com/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) and Storybook. ## **👌 Cool Stuff** [**Windybase**](https://windybase.com/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – Explore weekly curated free & premium Tailwind templates, components, and tools to help you build modern websites and apps fast. [**Frame0**](https://frame0.app/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – Offline hand-drawn wireframes in a Balsamiq vein, with AI agent, MCP, frame mirroring, and HTML/PDF export. [**Irid**](https://irid.app/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – Free early-access Mac toolbar for color picking, measuring, grids, and design overlays (macOS 12+, Intel for now). [**Supaste**](https://www.supaste.com/?ref=tailwindweekly.com) – Visual Mac clipboard history with OCR, notch shelf, and inline shortcuts; one-time purchase, offline-first. Do you want to share something with the Tailwind CSS community? You can [submit a link](https://forms.gle/2WhynnUkJTHkM7746?ref=tailwindweekly.com) or message me on Twitter [@vivgui](https://twitter.com/vivgui?ref=tailwindweekly.com). Want to support the newsletter? You can buy me a coffee with this [link](https://buymeacoffee.com/vivgui?ref=tailwindweekly.com) 😁.