Styling
Strong Default76 extractable responses · Winner: Tailwind CSS at 68.4%
Overall Breakdown
n=76 extractable responses.
Tailwind CSS52/76 (68.4%) CI: 57.3–77.8%
Custom/DIY13/76 (17.1%) CI: 10.3–27.1%
CSS Modules10/76 (13.2%) CI: 7.3–22.6%
Also Recommended
Tools that appear as second-choice alternatives or mentions when a different tool is picked as primary. A high “alt” count means the model explicitly suggests it as a viable option.
| Tool | Alt picks | Mentions | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSS Modules | 42 | 9 | 51 |
| styled-components | 14 | 35 | 49 |
| Tailwind CSS | 11 | 4 | 15 |
| Emotion | 3 | 21 | 24 |
| Sass | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Vanilla Extract | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Model-by-Model Comparison
| Repo | Sonnet 4.5 | Opus 4.5 | Opus 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|
TaskFlowJS/TS Next.js 14, TypeScript, App Router | Tailwind CSS90.9% | Tailwind CSS86.7% Custom/DIY13.3% | Tailwind CSS100% |
InvoiceTrackerJS/TS Vite, React 18, TypeScript |
Category Insight
styled-components, Emotion, and Sass were nearly absent from primary picks. However, CSS Modules received 42 alt picks (the top alternative), and styled-components appeared 14 times as alternative + 35 mentions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What styling tool does Claude Code recommend?
- Tailwind CSS is the most-recommended styling tool, appearing in 68.4% of responses. The runner-up is Custom/DIY at 17.1%. This is based on 76 extractable responses across 4 project types.
- Is styling a settled or competitive market in AI recommendations?
- Styling is classified as "Strong Default" — one tool is the default with 50–75% of picks, but alternatives have meaningful share.
- Do different Claude models agree on styling tools?
- Yes — all three models (Sonnet 4.5, Opus 4.5, Opus 4.6) largely agree on Tailwind CSS as the top styling tool.