Tailwind Configuration

This guide provides complete Tailwind CSS configuration for implementing the Paper UI design system across MetaCogna Suite applications.

Overview

Paper UI requires custom Tailwind configuration to support:

Semantic color tokens (Ink, Paper, Surface, Accent)
Hard shadows (4px 4px 0px 0px)
Typography system (Serif, Sans-Serif, Monospace)
Border radius constraints (max 2px)
Dark mode support

Recommended Approach: CSS Custom Properties

The recommended approach uses CSS custom properties for better dark mode support and easier theme management.

HTML Setup

<style>
  :root {
    --color-ink: 24 24 27;        /* Zinc 900 #18181b */
    --color-paper: 255 255 255;   /* White */
    --color-surface: 244 244 245; /* Zinc 100 #f4f4f5 */
    --color-accent: 16 185 129;   /* Emerald 500 #10b981 */
    --color-shadow: 24 24 27;     /* Zinc 900 #18181b */
    --color-warning: 239 68 68;   /* Red 500 #ef4444 */
    --color-dot: 228 228 231;     /* Zinc 200 #e4e4e7 */
  }
  
  .dark {
    --color-ink: 244 244 245;     /* Zinc 100 */
    --color-paper: 24 24 27;      /* Zinc 900 */
    --color-surface: 9 9 11;      /* Zinc 950 #09090b */
    --color-accent: 52 211 153;   /* Emerald 400 #34d399 */
    --color-shadow: 0 0 0;        /* Black */
    --color-warning: 248 113 113; /* Red 400 #f87171 */
    --color-dot: 39 39 42;        /* Zinc 800 */
  }
</style>

Tailwind CDN Configuration

For CDN-based setups (current MetaCogna.ai Landing approach):

<script src="https://cdn.tailwindcss.com"></script>
<script>
  tailwind.config = {
    darkMode: 'class',
    theme: {
      extend: {
        colors: {
          ink: 'rgb(var(--color-ink) / <alpha-value>)',
          paper: 'rgb(var(--color-paper) / <alpha-value>)',
          accent: 'rgb(var(--color-accent) / <alpha-value>)',
          surface: 'rgb(var(--color-surface) / <alpha-value>)',
          warning: 'rgb(var(--color-warning) / <alpha-value>)',
        },
        fontFamily: {
          serif: ['"Playfair Display"', 'serif'],
          sans: ['Inter', 'sans-serif'],
          mono: ['"JetBrains Mono"', 'monospace'],
        },
        boxShadow: {
          'hard': '4px 4px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
          'hard-sm': '2px 2px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
          'hard-lg': '6px 6px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
          'hard-hover': '6px 6px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
        },
        borderRadius: {
          'sm': '2px',
          'DEFAULT': '2px',
          'md': '2px',
          'lg': '2px',
          'full': '9999px', // Keep for circles
        },
      }
    }
  }
</script>

Standard Tailwind Config File Approach

For projects using standard Tailwind configuration files:

`tailwind.config.js`

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
export default {
  darkMode: 'class',
  content: [
    "./index.html",
    "./src/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
  ],
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        ink: {
          DEFAULT: 'rgb(var(--color-ink) / <alpha-value>)',
        },
        paper: {
          DEFAULT: 'rgb(var(--color-paper) / <alpha-value>)',
        },
        accent: {
          DEFAULT: 'rgb(var(--color-accent) / <alpha-value>)',
          hover: 'rgb(var(--color-accent-hover) / <alpha-value>)',
          light: 'rgb(var(--color-accent-light) / <alpha-value>)',
        },
        surface: {
          DEFAULT: 'rgb(var(--color-surface) / <alpha-value>)',
        },
        warning: {
          DEFAULT: 'rgb(var(--color-warning) / <alpha-value>)',
        },
      },
      fontFamily: {
        serif: ['"Playfair Display"', 'serif'],
        sans: ['Inter', 'sans-serif'],
        mono: ['"JetBrains Mono"', 'monospace'],
      },
      boxShadow: {
        'hard': '4px 4px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
        'hard-sm': '2px 2px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
        'hard-lg': '6px 6px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
        'hard-hover': '6px 6px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow))',
      },
      borderRadius: {
        'sm': '2px',
        'DEFAULT': '2px',
        'md': '2px',
        'lg': '2px',
        'full': '9999px',
      },
    },
  },
  plugins: [],
}

CSS File (e.g., `src/index.css` or `styles.css`)

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

:root {
  --color-ink: 24 24 27;
  --color-paper: 255 255 255;
  --color-surface: 244 244 245;
  --color-accent: 16 185 129;
  --color-accent-hover: 5 150 105;
  --color-accent-light: 209 250 229;
  --color-shadow: 24 24 27;
  --color-warning: 239 68 68;
  --color-dot: 228 228 231;
}

.dark {
  --color-ink: 244 244 245;
  --color-paper: 24 24 27;
  --color-surface: 9 9 11;
  --color-accent: 52 211 153;
  --color-accent-hover: 34 197 94;
  --color-shadow: 0 0 0;
  --color-warning: 248 113 113;
  --color-dot: 39 39 42;
}

body {
  background-color: rgb(var(--color-surface));
  color: rgb(var(--color-ink));
}

Color System

Paper UI Color Tokens

Token	Light Mode	Dark Mode	Usage
Ink	`#18181b` (Zinc 900)	`#f4f4f5` (Zinc 100)	Primary text, borders, shadows
Paper	`#ffffff` (White)	`#18181b` (Zinc 900)	Cards, modals, backgrounds
Surface	`#f4f4f5` (Zinc 100)	`#09090b` (Zinc 950)	Background/desk surface
Accent	`#10b981` (Emerald 500)	`#34d399` (Emerald 400)	Success, highlights, links
Warning	`#ef4444` (Red 500)	`#f87171` (Red 400)	Errors, delete actions

Additional Accent Variants

:root {
  --color-accent-hover: 5 150 105;    /* Emerald 600 */
  --color-accent-light: 209 250 229;  /* Emerald 100 */
}

.dark {
  --color-accent-hover: 34 197 94;    /* Emerald 500 */
}

Typography

Font Families

Paper UI uses three distinct typefaces:

fontFamily: {
  serif: ['"Playfair Display"', 'serif'],  // Authority (headings)
  sans: ['Inter', 'sans-serif'],            // Utility (body)
  mono: ['"JetBrains Mono"', 'monospace'],  // Machine (code, metadata)
}

Font Loading

Include in HTML <head>:

<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;500;600;700&family=Playfair+Display:wght@700&family=JetBrains+Mono:wght@400;500;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

Shadows

Hard Shadows

Paper UI uses hard, non-blurred shadows to create physical depth:

shadow-hard: 4px 4px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow)) - Default card shadow
shadow-hard-sm: 2px 2px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow)) - Small elements
shadow-hard-lg: 6px 6px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow)) - Hover states
shadow-hard-hover: 6px 6px 0px 0px rgb(var(--color-shadow)) - Interactive hover

Usage

<div className="shadow-hard">Card with hard shadow</div>
<div className="hover:shadow-hard-hover">Hover to increase shadow</div>

Border Radius

Paper UI uses minimal border radius (max 2px) for “hard edges”:

borderRadius: {
  'sm': '2px',
  'DEFAULT': '2px',
  'md': '2px',
  'lg': '2px',
  'full': '9999px', // Only for circular elements
}

Animations

Custom Animations (Optional)

animation: {
  'slide-in': 'slideIn 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.16, 1, 0.3, 1) forwards',
  'fade-in': 'fadeIn 0.4s ease-out forwards',
},
keyframes: {
  slideIn: {
    '0%': { transform: 'translateX(-100%)' },
    '100%': { transform: 'translateX(0)' },
  },
  fadeIn: {
    '0%': { opacity: '0', transform: 'translateY(10px)' },
    '100%': { opacity: '1', transform: 'translateY(0)' },
  }
}

Dark Mode Setup

Toggle Implementation

// React example
const [isDark, setIsDark] = useState(() => {
  if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
    const saved = localStorage.getItem('theme');
    if (saved) return saved === 'dark';
    return window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches;
  }
  return false;
});

useEffect(() => {
  if (isDark) {
    document.documentElement.classList.add('dark');
    localStorage.setItem('theme', 'dark');
  } else {
    document.documentElement.classList.remove('dark');
    localStorage.setItem('theme', 'light');
  }
}, [isDark]);

CSS Background Pattern

Optional dot pattern background:

body {
  background-image: radial-gradient(rgb(var(--color-dot)) 1px, transparent 1px);
  background-size: 24px 24px;
}

Migration Guide

From Direct Color Values

Before:

<div className="bg-white border-2 border-zinc-900">

After:

<div className="bg-paper border-2 border-ink">

From Standard Shadows

Before:

<div className="shadow-lg">

After:

<div className="shadow-hard">

Adding Dark Mode

Add CSS custom properties for dark mode
Configure darkMode: 'class' in Tailwind config
Use semantic color tokens instead of direct colors
Test all components in both light and dark modes

Current Application Status

MetaCogna RAG

Status: Uses CDN Tailwind with inline config
Dark Mode: Not implemented
Migration: Needs CSS custom properties approach

MetaCogna.ai Landing

Status: Uses CDN Tailwind with CSS custom properties ✅
Dark Mode: Fully implemented ✅
Migration: Already follows recommended approach

Parti Architecture

Status: Uses CDN Tailwind with basic config
Dark Mode: Unknown
Migration: Needs CSS custom properties and dark mode

Best Practices

Always use semantic tokens: bg-paper, text-ink, border-ink
Never use direct colors: Avoid bg-white, text-zinc-900
Test dark mode: Ensure all components work in both themes
Use CSS custom properties: Best approach for theme switching
Consistent shadows: Always use shadow-hard variants
Minimal border radius: Max 2px except for circles

Design System - Paper UI design principles
Component Guide - Component usage
Baseline Components - Standardized components

Getting Started

Gateway API

MetaCogna RAG

MetaCogna.ai Landing

Parti Architecture

Design System

Overview

Recommended Approach: CSS Custom Properties

HTML Setup

Tailwind CDN Configuration

Standard Tailwind Config File Approach

`tailwind.config.js`

CSS File (e.g., `src/index.css` or `styles.css`)

Color System

Paper UI Color Tokens

Additional Accent Variants

Typography

Font Families

Font Loading

Shadows

Hard Shadows

Usage

Border Radius

Animations

Custom Animations (Optional)

Dark Mode Setup

Toggle Implementation

CSS Background Pattern

Migration Guide

From Direct Color Values

From Standard Shadows

Adding Dark Mode

Current Application Status

MetaCogna RAG

MetaCogna.ai Landing

Parti Architecture

Best Practices

Getting Started

Gateway API

MetaCogna RAG

MetaCogna.ai Landing

Parti Architecture

Design System

​Overview

​Recommended Approach: CSS Custom Properties

​HTML Setup

​Tailwind CDN Configuration

​Standard Tailwind Config File Approach

​tailwind.config.js

​CSS File (e.g., src/index.css or styles.css)

​Color System

​Paper UI Color Tokens

​Additional Accent Variants

​Typography

​Font Families

​Font Loading

​Shadows

​Hard Shadows

​Usage

​Border Radius

​Animations

​Custom Animations (Optional)

​Dark Mode Setup

​Toggle Implementation

​CSS Background Pattern

​Migration Guide

​From Direct Color Values

​From Standard Shadows

​Adding Dark Mode

​Current Application Status

​MetaCogna RAG

​MetaCogna.ai Landing

​Parti Architecture

​Best Practices

​Related Documentation

Overview

Recommended Approach: CSS Custom Properties

HTML Setup

Tailwind CDN Configuration

Standard Tailwind Config File Approach

`tailwind.config.js`

CSS File (e.g., `src/index.css` or `styles.css`)

Color System

Paper UI Color Tokens

Additional Accent Variants

Typography

Font Families

Font Loading

Shadows

Hard Shadows

Usage

Border Radius

Animations

Custom Animations (Optional)

Dark Mode Setup

Toggle Implementation

CSS Background Pattern

Migration Guide

From Direct Color Values

From Standard Shadows

Adding Dark Mode

Current Application Status

MetaCogna RAG

MetaCogna.ai Landing

Parti Architecture

Best Practices

Related Documentation