Building a Minimalist To-Do App with React and TailwindCSS

March 30, 2025

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by CRUD5th-273-

This article outlines a clean and efficient approach to building a minimalist to-do application using React, TailwindCSS, and Vite. The objective: clarity, responsiveness, and maintainability.

Stack Overview

React for UI component abstraction
TailwindCSS for rapid utility-first styling
Vite as the build tool for optimal DX and performance

Core Features

Task creation, completion toggle, and deletion
Responsive layout architecture
Optional dark mode support via Tailwind’s native variant handling

Project Initialization

Generate the project with Vite:

npm create vite@latest todo-app -- --template react
cd todo-app
npm install

Install TailwindCSS:

npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
npx tailwindcss init -p

Update tailwind.config.js to enable purging and dark mode as needed.

Inject the Tailwind directives into your index.css:

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

Component Architecture

The app structure is decomposed into functional components:

TodoInput: Handles user input
TodoList: Manages and renders the list
TodoItem: Displays each task with controls

Example: TodoItem.tsx

interface Props {
  task: { id: string; text: string; completed: boolean };
  onToggle: () => void;
  onDelete: () => void;
}

const TodoItem: React.FC<Props> = ({ task, onToggle, onDelete }) => (
  <div className="flex justify-between items-center px-4 py-2 border-b">
    <span className={task.completed ? "line-through text-gray-400" : ""}>
      {task.text}
    </span>
    <div className="flex gap-2">
      <button onClick={onToggle} aria-label="Toggle Completion">✔</button>
      <button onClick={onDelete} aria-label="Delete Task">✖</button>
    </div>
  </div>
);

Final Notes

This implementation favors readability, modular design, and performance-first tooling.

If you’re interested in expanding this further—authentication, persistence, drag-and-drop—modular scalability is already baked in.

Repository link: [coming soon]

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by CRUD5th-273-

react tailwindcss