PostCSS is a tool for transforming CSS with JavaScript plugins. It reads your stylesheet, turns it into a tree that code can inspect, lets each plugin make one focused change, and then writes clean CSS back out. That one idea powers Autoprefixer, Stylelint, cssnano, CSS Modules and the PostCSS integration of Tailwind CSS. You choose the plugins, so the same core can add vendor prefixes, lint your code, compile future CSS syntax or minify output for production.
PostCSS does very little on its own. Its power comes from a small, stable core and a plugin API that hundreds of tools are built on. These nine elements explain what you actually get.
The core parses and prints CSS. Everything else is a plugin: a small JavaScript function that receives the stylesheet and changes it. You stack plugins in the order you need, add only what your project uses and drop what it does not. Plugins can run on the whole file once or react to specific node types such as Declaration or AtRule.
CSS becomes a tree of Root, Rule, AtRule, Declaration and Comment nodes with walk, clone and replace methods.
Adds the vendor prefixes your Browserslist targets still need, using Can I Use data. You write standard CSS.
postcss-preset-env converts modern CSS features into code that older browsers in your targets understand.
Stylelint is built on PostCSS and catches errors and inconsistent style rules before they ship.
cssnano runs as a plugin to remove whitespace, merge rules and shorten values for production.
The map option produces maps and carries previous maps forward, so DevTools point to your original files.
Swap the parser with postcss-scss, postcss-less or SugarSS to process files that are not plain CSS.
postcss-loader for webpack, built-in support in Vite, postcss-cli, gulp-postcss or the JS API, all sharing one config.
Get the latest tagged release straight from the official GitHub repository, or install it into your project with npm. Both give you the same MIT-licensed code.
$ npm install --save-dev postcss
Source: github.com/postcss/postcss/releases. The buttons download the archive directly; this site does not host or modify the file.
Information checked on November 9, 2026. The release date is when version 8.5.32 was published to npm; the check date is when we last confirmed these details.
The download button saves the official source archive of the 8.5.32 tag from GitHub. Here is how to choose the right package and confirm you have the genuine release.
Make sure Node.js and npm are installed. PostCSS itself accepts Node.js 10, 12 or 14+, but a current LTS release is recommended for its tooling.
Choose npm for project use. Choose the .zip (Windows-friendly) or .tar.gz (macOS/Linux-friendly) archive if you want the tagged source code.
Every button here points to the official postcss/postcss repository on GitHub. Clicking it downloads the archive directly. No new tab opens.
Save the archive in a project or downloads folder, then extract it. It contains source code, tests and docs, not an installer.
Compare the version with the GitHub releases page and the npm registry. For npm installs, the lockfile records integrity hashes automatically.
What the button actually does: it requests postcss-8.5.32.zip from GitHub's archive service for the official repository. Your browser saves it and you stay on this page. Keep your antivirus and browser protections on; a source archive of JavaScript files does not need them disabled.
PostCSS was created by Andrey Sitnik, the author of Autoprefixer, and first published to npm in November 2013. Learn more about this site on the About page.
PostCSS sits between the CSS you write and the CSS the browser receives. It does not invent a new language. Instead it gives JavaScript a reliable way to read and change stylesheets, and lets the community publish those changes as reusable plugins.
It is meant for front-end developers, design-system maintainers, framework authors and anyone running a build step for CSS. The main benefits are control and focus: each plugin does one job, the config file shows exactly what happens to your styles, and you can replace a plugin without touching the rest of the pipeline.
A team writes standard properties and lets Autoprefixer add -webkit- and other prefixes only for the browsers listed in Browserslist.
A project uses CSS nesting and newer color functions, while postcss-preset-env adds fallbacks for older targets.
Maintainers run Stylelint in CI and write a small custom plugin that warns when someone uses a raw hex color instead of a token.
PostCSS has no setup wizard and needs no administrator rights. It installs per project with npm and runs from the command line or your bundler.
Install a current Node.js LTS release, which includes npm. Check with node -v.
Run npm init -y in a new folder to create package.json.
Install the core, the CLI and a first plugin as dev dependencies. postcss-cli 12 needs Node.js 22+.
Create postcss.config.js and list your plugins. Order matters: plugins run top to bottom.
Process a file with npx postcss, or add the command to an npm script. Bundlers pick up the same config automatically.
# 1. project + dependencies
npm init -y
npm install --save-dev postcss postcss-cli autoprefixermodule.exports = {
plugins: [
require('autoprefixer')
]
}# 2. process a stylesheet
npx postcss src/style.css -o dist/style.css
# watch mode while you work
npx postcss src/style.css -o dist/style.css --watchPostCSS is a Node.js library, so its requirements are Node.js requirements. The table separates what is documented from what we could not confirm.
| Environment | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Windows, macOS, Linux | Any system with a supported Node.js; x64 and ARM both work because there is no native code | Supported |
| Node.js (core package) | ^10 || ^12 || >=14 | Supported |
| postcss-cli 12 | Node.js 22 or newer | Stricter |
| postcss-loader 8 | webpack 5 and Node.js 18.12+; use postcss-loader v4 for webpack 4 | Supported |
| Vite | Applies your PostCSS config automatically | Supported |
| Tailwind CSS v4 | Via the @tailwindcss/postcss plugin | Supported |
| Bun and Deno runtimes | Not listed in the package's engines field | Unconfirmed |
| Android and iOS apps | PostCSS is a build tool, not a mobile app | Not applicable |
These tools overlap but are not identical. Versions and licenses were checked on npm on November 9, 2026.
| Criteria | PostCSS | Sass | Less | Lightning CSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Plugin-based CSS processor | Stylesheet language (preprocessor) | Stylesheet language (preprocessor) | CSS parser, transformer and minifier |
| Written in | JavaScript | Dart (also published to npm) | JavaScript | Rust (Node bindings) |
| License | MIT | MIT | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Latest on npm | 8.5.32 | 1.108.1 | 4.9.1 | 1.33.0 |
| Vendor prefixes | Via Autoprefixer plugin | Not built in | Not built in | Built in (browser targets) |
| Minification | Via cssnano plugin | Compressed output style | Unconfirmed | Built in |
| Extending it | Any JavaScript plugin | Modules and custom functions | Plugins | Visitor API for custom transforms |
| Best fit | Custom pipelines and tooling | Authoring with mixins and logic | Existing Less codebases | Fast prefix and minify step |
Cause: a modern plugin is running inside an old runner that bundles PostCSS 7.
Fix: update the runner (postcss-loader, postcss-cli, gulp-postcss) and install postcss 8 directly in your project.
Cause: wrong file name, wrong folder, or ESM syntax in a CommonJS file.
Fix: place postcss.config.js in the project root; use .mjs for export default or .cjs for module.exports.
Cause: Tailwind v4 moved its PostCSS plugin into a separate package.
Fix: install @tailwindcss/postcss and use it in your config instead of tailwindcss.
Cause: your Browserslist targets only modern browsers that need no prefixes.
Fix: run npx browserslist to see the targets, then adjust .browserslistrc or the browserslist key.
Cause: plugins run in the order they are listed.
Fix: put syntax plugins (imports, nesting) first, Autoprefixer after them, and cssnano last.
Cause: an old nested copy below 8.4.31 is still in your dependency tree.
Fix: run npm ls postcss, update the parent package, or use npm overrides as a last resort.
Read the official release notes before bumping plugin majors.
package-lock.json pins exact versions and integrity hashes for every machine.
Remove plugins your targets no longer need; fewer plugins mean faster builds.
Editorial use case · Solo developer
A freelancer building marketing sites adds Autoprefixer and cssnano through Vite's built-in PostCSS support. There is no extra loader to configure, and the same config travels from project to project. The main gain is time: no checking which properties still need a prefix.
Editorial use case · Design-system team
A team runs Stylelint on every pull request and adds a tiny plugin that flags raw colors instead of tokens. Reviews focus on design, not formatting.
Editorial use case · Tool author
A developer building a CSS analysis tool uses the PostCSS AST and source positions instead of maintaining a parser. Error messages can point to exact lines.
These are illustrative scenarios written by our editors, not quotes from real users. We do not publish ratings or invented reviews.
Answers about downloading, licensing, compatibility, configuration and security. For deeper explanations, browse the PostCSS guides.
Yes. PostCSS is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can use it in personal, commercial and client projects at no cost. Most plugins are also open source, but each has its own license, so check the plugins you add.
The latest release we verified is PostCSS 8.5.32, published on October 26, 2026. We checked the npm registry and the GitHub tags on November 9, 2026. Run npm view postcss version to see the newest version at any time.
For real projects, install PostCSS with npm (npm install --save-dev postcss). npm adds the three runtime dependencies and keeps versions in your lockfile. The ZIP and tar.gz files on this page are the tagged source code from GitHub, which is useful for reading the code, auditing a release or keeping an offline copy.
Yes. PostCSS is pure JavaScript and runs anywhere Node.js runs, including Windows, macOS and Linux. There is no native binary and no separate installer per operating system.
The package.json of PostCSS 8.5.32 declares ^10 || ^12 || >=14. Tools around it can need more: postcss-cli 12 requires Node.js 22 or newer, and postcss-loader 8 requires Node.js 18.12 or newer. A current Node.js LTS release avoids most problems.
Not exactly. Sass is a stylesheet language with its own syntax. PostCSS is a processor that runs plugins over CSS. Many teams use both: Sass for authoring and PostCSS for Autoprefixer and minification. Others drop Sass and use PostCSS plugins for nesting and modern syntax.
Create a postcss.config.js (or .cjs, .mjs, .ts, a .postcssrc file, or a postcss key in package.json) that lists your plugins. Most runners discover it automatically. Our PostCSS config guide covers every format.
Tailwind CSS v4 ships its PostCSS integration as a separate package, @tailwindcss/postcss. Install it, add it to your PostCSS config, and import Tailwind in your CSS with @import "tailwindcss";. See the PostCSS Tailwind guide.
The best-known advisory is CVE-2023-44270, a medium-severity line-return parsing issue that affected versions before 8.4.31. It mainly affected tools that parse untrusted CSS, such as linters. Version 8.5.32 already includes the fix. Read the vulnerability guide for the details.
No. The button links directly to the source archive that GitHub hosts for the 8.5.32 tag. Your browser saves the file and you stay on this page. Nothing is installed automatically.
Report bugs in PostCSS itself on the official GitHub issue tracker. Report plugin problems to that plugin's own repository. This website is independent and cannot provide official support.
Write standard CSS, let plugins handle prefixes, modern syntax and minification, and keep your whole pipeline in one readable config file.