# enforce-negative-arbitrary-values
oxlint rule that moves the negative sign into Tailwind CSS arbitrary values, like `-top-[5px]` →
`top-[-5px]`, with an autofix.
## At a glance
| Autofix | Editor suggestions | Design system | Options |
| ------- | ------------------ | ------------- | ------- |
| Yes | Yes | Not used | None |
## What this rule does
Detects utilities written with a negative prefix outside an arbitrary value bracket — `-top-[5px]`,
`-translate-x-[10px]`, `-mt-[8px]` — and rewrites the negative sign into the bracket: `top-[-5px]`,
`translate-x-[-10px]`, `mt-[-8px]`. The outer `-` is redundant once you have an arbitrary value, and
moving it inside makes the intent explicit and matches how `@tailwindcss/node` canonicalizes the
same shape. Auto-fix lands the first hit, suggestions cover the rest in the same string. Variants
(`hover:-mt-[8px]`) and `!` (important, prefix or suffix) are preserved.
The rule only fires when both conditions hold: the utility starts with `-` (after stripping `!`) AND
there is an arbitrary value bracket whose inner content does **not** already start with `-`. So
`top-[-5px]` and `-translate-x-1` (no brackets) are both correct as written.
Pure string transform — no design system, no worker, no entry point. This is the only rule in the
Modernization bucket that does not load the DS. It will run identically whether or not
`settings.tailwindcss.entryPoint` is configured.
## Options
This rule has no options. It applies the same transformation everywhere.
## Examples
### ✗ Incorrect
```tsx
// Negative outside brackets — move it inside
// →
// Transform with arbitrary value
// →
// Variant prefix preserved
// →
// Important modifier preserved
// →
```
### ✓ Correct
```tsx
// Negative is inside the bracket
// Negative without arbitrary value — fine
```
## Interactions with other rules
- **`enforce-canonical`**: complementary. `enforce-canonical` will also normalize the canonical form
of negative arbitraries through the worker; this rule provides the same fix without paying the DS-
load cost. If both are enabled the autofixes converge on the same output.
- **`no-unnecessary-arbitrary-value`**: orthogonal. That rule only fires when the arbitrary value
has a named equivalent; this one fires whether or not it does.
- **`prefer-theme-tokens`**: orthogonal. Theme-token references (`bg-(--name)`) don't carry an outer
negative, so the two never touch the same class.
## When to disable it
- **You prefer the outer-negative form for readability** at the call site (rare — most teams find
the inner-negative form clearer once they see it).
- **You're auto-generating class strings** that always emit the outer- negative form and you don't
want lint diagnostics in that generated layer. Prefer disabling the rule in the generated file
rather than project-wide.