Following Tailwind CSS installation guide breaks working Laravel default installation

[sanskar-mk2]

Issue Description

Tailwind CSS works perfectly in a fresh Laravel installation out of the box. However, following the official Tailwind installation guide breaks this working setup.

Error Message

[plugin:@tailwindcss/vite:generate:serve] Can't resolve 'tailwindcss' in 'F:\mre\resources\css'

Environment

• Laravel Framework: v11.31 (installed via Laravel installer v5.11.2)
• Default working Tailwind: v3.4.13 (provided by Laravel)
• Tailwind version after following docs: v3.4.17
• @tailwindcss/vite: v4.0.7

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install fresh Laravel project using Laravel installer
   • Confirm Tailwind CSS works correctly at this point
2. Follow the official guide at https://tailwindcss.com/docs/installation/framework-guides/laravel/vite
3. The previously working Tailwind setup now fails

Expected Behavior

The official Tailwind installation guide should either:

• Recognize and preserve Laravel's working default setup
• Or clearly indicate that these steps are unnecessary for Laravel's default installation

Actual Behavior

Following the documentation breaks the working default Tailwind installation that comes with Laravel.

Suggestion

The Tailwind documentation should be updated to acknowledge Laravel's default installation and provide guidance specifically for cases where additional configuration is needed beyond the default setup.

[philipp-spiess]

Hey! Check out my response here which seems to be a similar issue: #16661 (comment)