`--watch` command does not clean output up when classes are removed from watched files

[pinzonjulian]

What version of Tailwind CSS are you using?

• 3.4.14
• 4.0.0-alpha28

Both using macOS-arm64

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

Standalone CLI

What version of Node.js are you using?

Not relevant

What browser are you using?

Not relevant

What operating system are you using?

macOS Sonoma 14.6.1

Reproduction

https://github.com/pinzonjulian/tailwind_css_cli_watch_bug

There are folders for Tailwind 3 and 4 here. Follow the steps to download the executables from:

• https://tailwindcss.com/blog/standalone-cli
• https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases

Describe your issue

The watch command successfully adds classes when they are identified in the watched files (in the case of the reproduction repo, the application.html file). However when the classes are removed from the file, the watcher does not remove them from the output file.

[wongjn]

Possible dupe (at least for v3): #14180, #14290, #4098

[pinzonjulian]

Thanks for pointing it out. Closed because it seems it's deliberate.