Getting started

Complete Installation first. This example uses the default DaisyUI preset and a browser stylesheet for a local prototype.

Enable the helpers

Update src/View/AppView.php, preserving any helpers your application already loads:

<?php
declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\View;

use Cake\View\View;
use TailwindUi\View\UiViewTrait;

class AppView extends View
{
    use UiViewTrait;

    public function initialize(): void
    {
        parent::initialize();
        $this->initializeUi();
    }
}

This registers Form, Html, Flash, Paginator, and Breadcrumbs under their usual aliases. If your layout is still default, the trait selects TailwindUi.default (TailwindUi.ktui for the KTUI preset). A layout you already selected is preserved.

To keep the application's default layout, use $this->initializeUi(['layout' => false]). A string selects a specific layout instead, for example ['layout' => 'admin'].

Load CSS and render a form

The plugin emits class names and HTML. Its bundled layout does not load a stylesheet automatically. Replace the contents of a template rendered by an existing controller action, such as templates/Pages/home.php, with this example. The stock CakePHP home template disables the layout; remove that call so the CSS block is rendered:

<?php
$this->append('css');
?>
<link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/daisyui@5" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@tailwindcss/browser@4"></script>
<?php
$this->end();
?>

<main class="mx-auto max-w-lg p-6">
    <h1 class="mb-4 text-2xl font-bold">Your first form</h1>
    <?= $this->Form->create(null) ?>
    <?= $this->Form->control('name', ['label' => 'Your name']) ?>
    <?= $this->Form->control('email', ['type' => 'email']) ?>
    <?= $this->Form->button('Preview', ['type' => 'button', 'class' => 'primary']) ?>
    <?= $this->Form->end() ?>
</main>

Open that page in your browser. The fields should have DaisyUI styling and the button should use its primary color. This example displays a form; saving submitted values still needs an application controller and model.

The browser build is for development. For deployment, replace the external assets with a compiled stylesheet. The example follows the official DaisyUI CDN setup; your application's content security policy must permit those external assets while using it.

If the page looks unstyled

Check that the stylesheet and browser script loaded successfully. When you keep your own layout, it must output the css block, for example <?= $this->fetch('css') ?>, inside its <head>.

If helpers still emit CakePHP's default markup, confirm initializeUi() runs after parent::initialize(). Class-map changes must happen before the helpers load. Use Helpers for individual methods and Class map for customization.