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CSS tooling</span></a><meta property="position" content="3"/></li></ol></nav></div></div></div><main class="curriculum-content-container container with-sidebar main-wrapper curriculum-module topic-tooling"><div class="sidebar-container"><aside id="sidebar-quicklinks" class="sidebar"><button type="button" class="button action backdrop" aria-label="Collapse sidebar"><span class="button-wrap"></span></button><nav aria-label="Related Topics" class="sidebar-inner"><div class="sidebar-inner-nav"><div class="in-nav-toc"><div class="document-toc-container"><section class="document-toc"><header><h2 class="document-toc-heading">In this module</h2></header><ul class="document-toc-list"><li class="document-toc-item "><a class="document-toc-link" href="#8.1_css_frameworks">8.1 CSS frameworks</a></li><li class="document-toc-item "><a class="document-toc-link" href="#8.2_css_preprocessors">8.2 CSS preprocessors</a></li></ul></section></div></div><aside class="curriculum-sidebar " data-current="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/css-tooling/"><ol><li class=""><a href="/en-US/curriculum/">MDN Curriculum</a></li><li class=""><a href="/en-US/curriculum/about-curriculum/">About Curriculum</a></li><li class="toggle"><details><summary>Getting started modules</summary><ol><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/getting-started/">Getting started overview</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/getting-started/soft-skills/">1. Soft skills</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/getting-started/environment-setup/">2. Environment setup</a></li></ol></details></li><li class="toggle"><details><summary>Core modules</summary><ol><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/">Core overview</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/web-standards/">1. Web standards</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/semantic-html/">2. Semantic HTML</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/css-fundamentals/">3. CSS fundamentals</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/css-text-styling/">4. CSS text styling</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/css-layout/">5. CSS layout</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/javascript-fundamentals/">6. JavaScript fundamentals</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/accessibility/">7. Accessibility</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/design-for-developers/">8. Design for developers</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/core/version-control/">9. Version control</a></li></ol></details></li><li class="toggle"><details open=""><summary>Extensions modules</summary><ol><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/">Extensions overview</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/transform-and-animate-css/">1. Transform & animate CSS</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/custom-js-objects/">2. Custom JS objects</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/web-apis/">3. Web APIs</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/performance/">4. Performance</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/security-and-privacy/">5. Security and privacy</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/testing/">6. Testing</a></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/a-practical-understanding-of-javascript-frameworks/">7. JavaScript frameworks</a></li><li><em><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/css-tooling/" aria-current="page">8. CSS tooling</a></em></li><li><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/other-tooling-types/">9. Other tooling types</a></li></ol></details></li><li class=""><a href="/en-US/curriculum/faq/">Frequently asked questions</a></li><li class=""><a href="/en-US/curriculum/resources-for-educators/">Resources for Educators</a></li></ol></aside></div><section class="place side"></section></nav></aside><div class="toc-container"><aside class="toc"><nav><div class="document-toc-container"><section class="document-toc"><header><h2 class="document-toc-heading">In this module</h2></header><ul class="document-toc-list"><li class="document-toc-item "><a class="document-toc-link" href="#8.1_css_frameworks">8.1 CSS frameworks</a></li><li class="document-toc-item "><a class="document-toc-link" href="#8.2_css_preprocessors">8.2 CSS preprocessors</a></li></ul></section></div></nav></aside><section class="place side"></section></div></div><article id="content" class="curriculum-content" lang="en-US"><header><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 60 60" role="none" class="topic-icon topic-tooling"><circle cx="30" cy="30" r="30" fill="#fff"></circle><path fill="#481C6A" d="M32.57 33.768a.5.5 0 0 0 .004.703l6.793 6.793a.5.5 0 0 0 .71-.004l1.94-1.985a.5.5 0 0 0-.005-.703L35.22 31.78a.5.5 0 0 0-.71.004zm4.304-6.146c-.369 0-.76-.036-1.107-.13a.57.57 0 0 0-.556.13L21.565 41.207a.5.5 0 0 1-.706 0l-1.931-1.931a.5.5 0 0 1 0-.708l8.556-8.544a.5.5 0 0 0 0-.706l-1.511-1.52a.5.5 0 0 0-.703-.006l-.197.191a.5.5 0 0 1-.697 0l-.616-.599a.5.5 0 0 0-.848.359v2.184a.5.5 0 0 1-.147.354l-.373.373a.5.5 0 0 1-.709-.002l-3.697-3.74a.5.5 0 0 1 .002-.704l.377-.377a.5.5 0 0 1 .354-.147h2.104a.5.5 0 0 0 .355-.852l-.553-.557a.5.5 0 0 1 .002-.705l4.097-4.098a3.72 3.72 0 0 1 4.904-.326c.217.167.217.483.026.68l-1.946 1.991a.5.5 0 0 0 .006.704l1.054 1.047a.5.5 0 0 1 .001.709l-.178.178a.5.5 0 0 0 .001.708l1.523 1.514a.5.5 0 0 0 .712-.007l1.692-1.748a.57.57 0 0 0 .122-.55 4.1 4.1 0 0 1-.142-1.088c0-2.462 1.95-4.4 4.375-4.4q.755 0 1.398.246c.304.115.353.503.123.734l-2.53 2.53a.5.5 0 0 0 0 .706l1.168 1.168a.5.5 0 0 0 .707 0l2.53-2.53c.23-.23.619-.181.735.123.163.425.244.887.244 1.423 0 2.4-1.937 4.338-4.375 4.338"></path></svg><h1>8. CSS tooling</h1><p class="module-topic">Tooling</p><p class="module-group">Extensions modules</p></header><div class="section-content"><p>Tooling is not just confined to JavaScript frameworks. There are also common CSS tooling types that you'll encounter on your learning journey.</p></div><section aria-labelledby="8.1_css_frameworks"><h2 id="8.1_css_frameworks"><a href="#8.1_css_frameworks">8.1 CSS frameworks</a></h2><div class="section-content"><blockquote class="curriculum-notes"> <p><strong>Notes</strong>:</p> <p>The aim here is not to have an exhaustive understanding of any one framework, but rather to understand the pros and cons, what a CSS framework can do, and what general usage looks like.</p> </blockquote> <p class="curriculum-outcomes">Learning outcomes:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Understand the value that CSS frameworks bring — consistency, organization, ready-made components and style guidelines, and built-in best practices.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand the problems with CSS frameworks — they are often overkill (in terms of complexity and file size), new syntax to learn, your sites will start to look like everyone else's, and they can be hard to override if you want to customize them.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand the basics of using popular CSS frameworks such as <a href="https://getbootstrap.com/" class="external" target="_blank">Bootstrap</a>, <a href="https://get.foundation/" class="external" target="_blank">Foundation</a>, and <a href="https://tailwindcss.com/" class="external" target="_blank">Tailwind</a>.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand how they integrate into a web project.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand how to weigh up the burden of adopting a CSS framework (e.g. handling integration and initial learning curve) versus the advantages (how much they can speed up development once you are familiar with them).</p> </li> </ul></div></section><section aria-labelledby="8.2_css_preprocessors"><h2 id="8.2_css_preprocessors"><a href="#8.2_css_preprocessors">8.2 CSS preprocessors</a></h2><div class="section-content"><blockquote class="curriculum-notes"> <p><strong>Notes</strong>:</p> <p>The aim here is not to have an exhaustive understanding of any one preprocessor, but rather to understand the pros and cons, what a CSS preprocessor can do, and what general usage looks like.</p> </blockquote> <p class="curriculum-outcomes">Learning outcomes:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Understanding the value of CSS preprocessors — bringing features to CSS that are not available natively (such as loops or if/else structures), and speeding up the writing of your code.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand the problems with CSS preprocessors — for example, they often require learning new syntax.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand the basics of using popular CSS preprocessors such as <a href="https://sass-lang.com/" class="external" target="_blank">Sass</a> and <a href="https://postcss.org/" class="external" target="_blank">PostCSS</a>.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand how they integrate into a web project.</p> </li> <li> <p>Understand how to weigh up the burden of adopting a CSS preprocessor (e.g. handling integration and initial learning curve) versus the advantages (how much they can speed up writing CSS once you are familiar with them).</p> </li> </ul></div></section><section class="curriculum-prev-next"><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/a-practical-understanding-of-javascript-frameworks/" target="_self" class="button primary has-icon"><span class="button-wrap"><span class="icon icon-curriculum-prev "></span>Previous: 7. JavaScript frameworks</span></a><a href="/en-US/curriculum/extensions/other-tooling-types/" target="_self" class="button primary has-icon"><span class="button-wrap"><span class="icon icon-curriculum-next "></span>Next: 9. Other tooling types</span></a></section></article></main></div><footer id="nav-footer" class="page-footer"><div class="page-footer-grid"><div class="page-footer-logo-col"><a href="/" class="mdn-footer-logo" aria-label="MDN homepage"><svg width="48" height="17" viewBox="0 0 48 17" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><title id="mdn-footer-logo-svg">MDN logo</title><path d="M20.04 16.512H15.504V10.416C15.504 9.488 15.344 8.824 15.024 8.424C14.72 8.024 14.264 7.824 13.656 7.824C12.92 7.824 12.384 8.064 12.048 8.544C11.728 9.024 11.568 9.64 11.568 10.392V14.184H13.008V16.512H8.472V10.416C8.472 9.488 8.312 8.824 7.992 8.424C7.688 8.024 7.232 7.824 6.624 7.824C5.872 7.824 5.336 8.064 5.016 8.544C4.696 9.024 4.536 9.64 4.536 10.392V14.184H6.6V16.512H0V14.184H1.44V8.04H0.024V5.688H4.536V7.32C5.224 6.088 6.32 5.472 7.824 5.472C8.608 5.472 9.328 5.664 9.984 6.048C10.64 6.432 11.096 7.016 11.352 7.8C11.992 6.248 13.168 5.472 14.88 5.472C15.856 5.472 16.72 5.776 17.472 6.384C18.224 6.992 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Content available under <a href="/en-US/docs/MDN/Writing_guidelines/Attrib_copyright_license">a Creative Commons license</a>.</p></div></div></footer></div><script type="application/json" id="hydration">{"url":"/en-US/curriculum/extensions/css-tooling/","doc":{"locale":"en-US","title":"8. CSS tooling","mdn_url":"/en-US/curriculum/extensions/css-tooling/","native":"English (US)","body":[{"type":"prose","value":{"id":null,"title":null,"isH3":false,"content":"<p>Tooling is not just confined to JavaScript frameworks. 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