Allow disabling built-in core utilities in v4

[cernymatej]

What version of Tailwind CSS are you using?

v4.2.2

What build tool (or framework if it abstracts the build tool) are you using?

Vite 7.3.1

What version of Node.js are you using?

v24.14.0

What browser are you using?

N/A

What operating system are you using?

macOS

Reproduction URL

https://play.tailwindcss.com/a45Fd8kSRO

Describe your issue

In v3, corePlugins allowed disabling individual built-in utilities:

module.exports = {
    corePlugins: {
        container: false,
    }
}

There's no equivalent in v4. This is a problem when you need a completely custom implementation of a built-in utility like container.

Defining a custom @utility doesn't replace the built-in -> both are emitted in the output CSS.

@source not inline("container") doesn't help either because it prevents the class name from being detected in source files entirely, which also blocks the custom @utility from being generated.

Some possible solutions could be:

1. custom @utility replaces built-in: when a user defines @utility, the built-in is automatically suppressed.
2. @source not inline(...)-like directive which disables only built-in utilities

related: #256

[wongjn]

Hi! Thank you for your suggestion. This seems like a feature request so I've converted the original issue into an Ideas discussion. This is where we keep our feature requests.

[cernymatej]

Sure, thank you. I wasn't sure whether to put it under discussions or issues, given that the custom @utility doesn't replace the built-in ones, which might be considered a bug fix.

[sydneyvaughn75-ops]

Putting it under discussiona would be fine

…

On Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 3:19 AM Matej Černý ***@***.***> wrote: Sure, thank you. I wasn't sure whether to put it under discussions or issues, given that the custom @Utility doesn't replace the built-in ones, which might be considered a bug fix. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#19840?email_source=notifications&email_token=B7HZNK3GT675WEXWM6GX3IL4SDXRHA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCNRSG4YDOOJRUZZGKYLTN5XKU43VMJZWG4TJMJSWJJLFOZSW45FMMZXW65DFOJPWG3DJMNVQ#discussioncomment-16270791>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/B7HZNK7GVDNSCK62FXW73G34SDXRHAVCNFSM6AAAAACW3WPXI6VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTMMRXGA3TSMI> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: <tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/repo-discussions/19840/comments/16270791@ github.com>